(Jack Barnard)
...I do without a doubt like to see a stafford whith the essential spirit and
characteristics of the breed, but Iīm afraid and I will go as far as to say, the majority of our present day specimens are
lacking the essential "guts", this having been forgoten in the quest for so-called type. I am not advocating a raving
maniac, but I do maintain and uphold that a staffordshire with no spirit is like an angel without wings...
...guts having been forgotten and a thing of the past, what looks more daft than a
silly Stafford, especially to one who knows Staffords.
...I do maintain and uphold that to see a Stafford in the ring crawling on itīs
belly, utterly terrified, is enough to make a true sportsman utterly disgusted, so I do appeal to all owners and breeders
to try and maintain the true essential in the Stafford, namely spirit.
Since our standard was drawn up in 1935 some has been revised whether to the
good or detriment of the breed I refuse to say...
(H N Beilby)
In view of this rapid extension it is timely to recal the origin and purpose
of the breed, and to ask our selves whether or not it is being developed entirely along lines which are in conformity with
its primary purpose, which was to produce and maintain a fighting animal of the highest class...
...and for the elimination of those, which though they may do well in the show
ring today, might have told quite a different tale in the pit in the "bad old days". But we can, if we wish, produce dogs
which in virtue of their built, toughness, courage and inteligence are most likely to inherit and perpetuate the sterling
qualities of their ancestors. Are we doing this? Only, I fear, to a very limited extend!
...many modern staffordhires tend to be too solid and heavily built to possess
the lightness and quickness of movement which was such an imortant asset to a fighter...
It is neighter my intention nor desire to "crab" the present-day Staffordshire
- he is a grand dog, and he can be made even grander if we go about in the right manner - but do not let us labour under the
delusion that we are perpetuating the fighting dog of the past, eighter in appearance or toughness, because if we do
we shall be decieving our selves, and I am sure that most of the men who handled these dogs in the earlier part of this
century would agree...
...if the 16 ins. is the popular height limit let us keep to it, and if the corresponding
recomended weight of 37lbs. is made of bone and muscle ,well and good, but the low built, fat and puffy dog of this weight
is not typical, and to perpetuate such a type is doing a real dis-service to the breed and is getting further and
further away from the whole "inspiration" of the Staffordshire, and can only lead to the producing of bulldogs with long
muzzles.
(John F Gordon)
As any breeder knows it is comparatively simple to breed dogs with given physical
characteristics, but it is far from easy to maintain correct temperament if the medium for propagating these desired mental
factors is missing...
...and he added, most succintly, placing his hand to where, I presume, lay his
heart. "If a Stafford hasnīt got it here - heīs no Stafford, anīmark my words, laad, thatīs what theyīre aimimg for - a Stafford
without a true heart"...I am guite sure we are not deliberately aiming for anything of the sort, the fact remains that we
are nevertheless in danger of getting there...
...let us breed as closely as possible to this prized characteristic, and hold
on to the real Staffordhire spirit as long as we are able...
(A W A Cairns)
...but in any case it is what is inside your dogīs coat that will be of most
importance to you in the long run.
..."handsome is as hansome does"...
(Major Count V.C.Hollender)
The desideratum of a Staffordshire should first be gemeness, courage and endurance...
