Def Staff but crossed with what?

[PeppermintPanda]

This is my new(ish) dog, Aston

He's listed at the vet as a Staff/Boxer cross but the Boxer part is pretty much guesswork.


There's something about the tilt to his nose, though



but he's got too much leg for a pure bred Staff.

He stands about 1' 11" at the shoulder and weighs 72lbs.

Any guesses as to what the cross part might be? It has been bugging me a bit. Although I suspect that there is no way on knowing for sure

[JudyN]

This is probably not what you want to hear, but he does look quite pitbullish to me. I'm not an expert by any means though.

[PeppermintPanda]

Hi Judy,

No, that's not what I wanted to hear It's illegal to own a Pit Bull type dog in the UK. One of the reasons why I wanted to have a more definitive idea as to Aston's X part. He's such a friendly and loving dog and it would be disastrous if he was labelled as a Pit Bull. I feel sure, that, from what I've read, if the authorities thought he was then he could be taken away and destroyed, simply for being labelled a Pit Bull type though there are absolutely no problems with his nature. He's an affable, lovable, big hearted dog and not the least aggressive.

It's my biggest worry

I shall try to get more information from my daughter about his first owner....

Thanks for your response though.

[JudyN]

Nettle will be able to give you a far more expert opinion and also advise you of anything you can do to keep him safe - I'm sure she'll be along soon but if not, do drop her a PM.

He's lovely The sooner we can get shot of breed-specific legislation the better

[PeppermintPanda]

Hi Judy,

Thanks, again. He has been neutered and micro-chipped and has started training classes. I would like to know how to keep him safe and legal, though. He's far too nice natured simply to be put down because of his looks/and/or/breeding.

[minkee]

Not intended to scare... but here is a post by Emmabeth about what's legal and what's not with regards to pitbull 'types'. I only put this here as she says that there's a LOT of misinformation out there, so it's worth knowing what's true or not, and what you can do.

viewtopic.php?f=11&t=16287&p=118515#p118515

I have little experience with pitbulls so I couldn't say if yours was 'type' or not, sorry!

[PeppermintPanda]

Thanks Minkee,

I shall read it now.

[PeppermintPanda]

@ Minkee,

I wish I hadn't read it now I've had a look at some pictures on the internet and some of the registered Pit Bulls don't look much like Aston. They are stockier and seriously muscle-bound. Aston's quite leggy and has a slender backside. On the other hand there are a few pictures of Pit Bulls that do look a bit like him.

Am now really worried

[Nettle]

Definitely stafford, and the other part is something with a squashed-in muzzle which might be boxer but I wonder about something mastiff-y or American/Victorian bulldog -y. Hard to tell without the dog in front of me, but that muzzle upturn says to me that he isn't a pit type.

What I would therefore recommend is you go back to wherever you got him from and get in writing that he is a boxer/stafford cross. This isn't a get out of jail free card, as even pedigree staffords with full paperwork have been confiscated as being pits in the past, but that was before the DDA was amended. With good luck, it will help you should someone 'in authority' claim he is a pit type. It's good that the vets estimate him as a boxer/stafford cross too.


Other than that, worry isn't going to change anything so do try not to (easy for me to say, I know) you have a lovely dog and you are doing well with him. He IS a breed mix that isn't going to care for other dogs once he is all grown up, but he will love people, so concentrate on being his best friend and forget all about him playing with other dogs. It really is best if he learns to ignore them. And I'd be saying that even if he were a pure stafford.

He looks a real sweetie.

[PeppermintPanda]

Thanks, Nettle,

That's eased my mind a bit. I shall do what I can to get in touch with his first owner. His second was my daughter and she wasn't too sure about the boxer part....

Thanks again

[JudyN]

that muzzle upturn says to me that he isn't a pit type.

That's brilliant news Apologies if I got you worried unnecessarily, PP

[gwd]

it would seem unlikely, given your location, but it sure looks rather like a brindle amstaff to me.

http://www.mountbrieramstaffs.com/coatcolors

[Nettle]

This is how I worked it out. Doesn't mean I'm right, but this is my deductive process.

The muzzle is the critical aspect. PP's dog has a definite upturn in the muzzle with associated wrinkling. Staffords, pits and Amstaffs don't. Boxers, mastiffs and bulldog derivatives do. The dog is light in the hindquarters compared to his head, which again says stafford (Am or UK) rather than pit, which have good strong quarters that balance their heads. Ears are on the large side and 'fly' but you do see this in some staffords.

[PeppermintPanda]

Thank you all and apologies for my late reply. I've been down my daughter's for the last few days as it was her 28th birthday. I took Aston with me as he has a great relationship with my grandsons, especially Kaiden, 7, who is autistic.
He had a wonderful time re-bonding with Aston.

Thanks, Nettle, I've often wondered about his wrinkly muzzle. When he tilts his head forward the wrinkles practically fall down his nose.... He has more wrinkles than I do. I often joke that I'll book us both face lifts before we get much older. And he is light in the headquarters. I've always felt that he has more of a Boxer look to his body, whereas my daughter's dog, Luna (a staffy/Shar pei X) is more of a barrel shape with shorter legs and is only half his height.

I love the term 'fly' for his ears. I'll have to look it up though to find out what it means.

Absolutely no luck finding out more about his breeding . The story is quite a convoluted one. It was my daughter's partner, Jay, who heard about Aston from his cousin by marriage, Del. Del's sister's daughter's boyfriend acquired Aston somewhere in the East End of London close by where he lives. Tammy told me that he originally purchased Aston to have a large, fearsome-looking dog that he could train to be aggressive (as this is word of mouth, I'm not at all sure how accurate this information is...my daughter is prone to exaggeration at times). The boyfriend and the girlfriend split up and the boyfriend, not wanting Aston because he wouldn't be aggressive, took all his dog training paraphernalia and left the girlfriend with a dog she didn't want and didn't have time for. She moved back to her mother's and Aston, not wanted by either her or her mother, spent most of his time shut up in the kitchen. He was no more than a pup...

When he was about 7 months old Tammy and Jay took him on as a companion to Luna, but Luna didn't like him. She doesn't like other dogs generally. I've wondered whether that's the Shar Pei part of her breeding as they can be quite aloof to other dogs, apparently. Also, being a boisterous young dog, he was too bouncy and so, sadly, he ended up spending most of his time in the garden, not being fed properly and hardly ever taken for a walk.

After I lost my dear departed Belle at the grand old age of 17, I was bereft. I asked Tammy if I could borrow one of her dogs for a couple of weeks to help me get over the grief of losing Belle. Tammy told me that I could have Aston if I wanted. Almost 7 months on, I have had him inoculated, neutered, micro-chipped and insured. I've put him on a good diet with regular feeds to bulk him out (he was so skinny!) and made him a big part of my life. He's got the run of the house....no shutting him in a room or a backyard and ignoring him....he's such a people dog and needs to be loved and around people who love him. He's totally non aggressive and, surprisingly really, loves other dogs and ignores the more irritable ones he meets. He's a real treasure and I couldn't have picked a better natured dog if I tried and he just landed in my lap so to speak. I love him dearly .

Oh, and Happy Easter everyone

[Nettle]

What a lucky dog to have found you after such a dodgy start in life.

As your vet is happy to describe him as a boxer/stafford cross, you can go with that and he certainly sounds a great chap. Strong bouncy breeds are very good with autistic people, so wonderful that Aston has a job to do when he visits.

'Fly' ears are one sthat look as if they are going to fly off his head. Not pricked, drop, rose, or any other formal look, but asymmetrical and half-pricked. It isn't a derogatory term except in serious showing circles where a dog is only allowed one sort of ear in its breed standard. If you weren't in UK I'd wonder if his ears had been cut, but it's likely just the way they have turned out. One of my friends breeds KC show-winning staffords and has one that turned out with fly ears. She's very cross about it, but I think it looks charming.