| The Character in Modern Am Staf - by Paco Zanoia |
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In 1956, W. T. Bill Brandon in his first book on the Breed of Cliff Ormsby quoted the following character description - the same which almost
twenty years ago he used as the presentation in the American Kennel Club for the typical character of this very particular Terrier - in order to request the
official recognition."The Stafs will hunt, go to ground with the same zest as any other terrier, make excellent guard dogs, good farm dogs, are not too large for the
apartment; and the surprising part is that they seem almost immune to all the trivial dog ailments having exceptionally strong constitutions, because the
breed has never been a pampered one, and has always been all dog. Almost 75 years has passed and for what I am concerned I will not change a word about the description of the ideal character for the modern Am Staf, on the contrary, I sympathize each word of the great Bill Brandon and of our "Founding Fathers". It is thanks to these men and others before them, the breeders of the first imported crossbreed, the famous"Old Time Breeders" of Pit Bull (E. Tudor, J. Corvino, J. Colby, Al Brown, etc.); people that had surely contributed to create the so call"The Grand Old Breed" , through the"All-American Dog" transmitted till today, in the modern American Staffordshire Terrier, the typical characteristics of temperament, courage and boldness which probably we would not have without the work, sometimes "uncivil" (from today's point of view) of these people of other time, and of different dog-loving vision.The firm basic character of these dogs is surely due to the particular temperament. In order to understand the structure we absolutely need to assimilate this simple and at the same time complex concept: ' if your Am Staf is not "Gameness", it will never have the perfect temperament of its specie. Consequently, its character, as whole, will not be typical.' Let me make an example. The famous musician Duke Ellington said that in order to descript the magic of the music masterpieces: 'which existed and is going to exist thanks to the fact that they have "Swing" and that all the others that does not possess this element has no meaning at all (It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing).'The synonyms of Swing are: oscillation, rocking. For the people who are interested in art and music with knowledge, they will recognize the wording of Mr. Ellington the essence of something - which is not mathematically explainable. Describing the typical character of an Am Staf I agree and somehow also paraphrase the same concept:' it will have the ideal character and even more than typical one only if it can demonstrate that it possesses the "Gameness".' In reality the word gameness in dog-loving jargon has a very wide interpretation. From the origin of our dogs, somebody would like limit the meaning to the capability and the ability of the dog to defeat each other in a fight. In fact, as some of us know and, after 50 years of breeding Am Staf my mentor Bill Peterson teaches us: "The gameness is the expression from the dog through the extreme confidence and the desire to please it human master. They are its own will, the capability and the readiness to complete a work, in spite of how it could be discouraging and painful, to make the dog gameness". With this presumption, I write, without fear of being deny, that Am Staf possesses some psychological characteristic which very little other recognized dog breeds have, and thanks to the great versatility of work, it can be used as a household dog, guard dog, Civil Defence dog, defence dog, in Pet Therapy, and even used in the sport activities like Obedience and Agility. The objective of each serious breeder should be the one of never losing the temperament and consequently the typical character of the breed, and therefore preserving its reliability, stability, friendliness and, above all, typical reluctance of Am Staf to bite or to attack people. The American Staffordshire Terrier should be totally reliable and loyal. It is not the type of dog that wags its tail and then bites, or gaze carefully with semi -closed eyes, with lowered ears, a face slightly turned away, the tail between the legs, the hair upright. Am Staf greets unknown people with attention, determination, not hostile but interested and thoughtful: it should be a direct glance, loyal, interrogative, and intelligent. The frankness of the dog transpires in the total faith in human. We could almost say that it is like an ingenuous young boy, ready to grant credit and affection to the people that present themselves as friends; sometimes it remains disappointed, it shows its disappointment with a surprised, interrogative and saddened glance. But its nice temperament will help it to overcome easily the bad experience, and it will return rapidly to be a cheerful and enthusiastic dog as always: only that the next time it will be more careful to grant its faith to the others. It is really the strong temperament that makes the Am Staf particularly balanced in its behaviour. A typical Am Staf will never refuse its own master, nor a child or a person with physical problem: due to this reason Am Staf has great result in the Pet Therapy. An insecure, slothful, nipping, disloyal, neurotic American Staffordshire Terrier is to be considered an atypical of the breed , and is always to be penalized severely and anywhere it is found and it is to be removed from the reproduction. The intelligence of this breed is formidable. Averagely they are the dogs that understand all and are particularly predispose to training: not in the least they excel in the test where it is requested rapid comprehension and mnemonic capability, like Agility and Obedience. But Am Staf expresses its intelligence also in the daily life, in the cohabitation with human; it sometimes demonstrates in a surprising way its capability of reasoning. Other aspects which are common to all the Am Staf are love and happiness of living. The American Staffordshire Terrier is a cheerful dog, friendly, affectionate, exuberant, skittish. Above all it loves to be with its master, and it is even better if it can live in a family, where there is also children, with whom it loves to play with in proportion to the physical possibility of its little friends. Being in a family is important for your Am Staf, which will have way to develop its own formidable character. Each of them has its own personal characteristic, but all of them have a great love towards the family members, and, although expressing in a different intensity, they demonstrate their feelings in a clear way which sometimes, is also touching. There is the one that follows you everywhere, participate in the domestic life, it rubs itself continuously against your legs; another which might only follow you with its sweet and tender glance from its kennel, maybe waving its tail when you pass it by; another express all its affection by biting you delicately with its teeth. In any case, each of them has its way, but all of them will let you know unequivocally that they love you. Loyalty, courage, intelligence and love towards its master are the commune characters of all typical American Staffordshire Terrier; then, each individual will express itself according to its temperament. After more than twenty years with these marvellous dogs I feel that I can conclude also this note on their character defining it: "ideal for many people, but surely not for everybody." |
| Interview with Paco Zanoia (to the Hungarian AmStaf Magazine) |
1) From where do You have this endless commitment to the American Staffordshire Terrier?Why the AmStaff? By the way, the precise motivation for which I have decided to breed this Dog was the consequence of the study of more then ten years and my attendance in the late 80s in the USA. Attending the exhibition of AKC and in particular seeing some Am Stafs presented by John McCartney at that time, ignited something inside me, something important and ambitious which brought me, after 10 years, to breed my first litter alone. Only after having evaluated my breeding program, guided by the mentors like my dear friend John. So I decided to take care of the modern American Staffordshire Terrier, the "All-american Dog" and as written above "The Grand Old Breed". You can't have any solid success if you don't know where your dogs are from... That's it! 2) During Your breeding program You emphasize the temperament. You write that the temperament is the primary respect. Please, explain us, why do You think that this is the most important respect from all? 3) Since establishing the De Paco Kennel You had countless success. Which one do You most proud of?
3) I'm proud to be able since my beginning to spell correctly the short name of the breed - LOL - Please enjoy this quick note from my good friend Richard Pascoe:
"It has become a fad to spell Staf with two F's at the end. It is interesting that in the 1940 and 1941 yearbooks, in Cliff Ormsby's book, in my book, in Jackie Frazier's book, in Wayne Brown's book and numerous articles, in Franz Diaz and Peter Mark's book, and in Paco Zanoia's books and reprints Staf is always spelled with one F.
When I had been in the breed approximately 3 years and, therefore, thought I knew everything about the dogs, I wrote an article for the newsletter in which I spelled Staf with two F's. Clifford Ormsby, founder of the Expert Kennels, wrote me a hot letter in which he admonished me for misspelling the name of the dog in this way. He said, if I recall, every office has a staff, but if you spell Staf, that has only one possible meaning and that is a breed of dog. I wrote Mr. Ormsby a return letter in which I promised I would never make this grievous error again.."
4) Could You describe, what does the ideal AmStaff means for You? Which type is closest to You? 5) Could You name a female and a male from Your dogs, who You think closest to Your ideal AmStaff? 6) You can rarely meet a breeder, who provides You detailed information of the genetical background of a breeding for anyone. Why do You keep this so important?
7) In Your breeding program You both use the inbreeding and the out blood. In the breeding the AmStaff both ways are necessary?
8) Currently we can hear a lot about the "old-type" and the "modern-type" of the AmStaff. What is the difference between the two types? 9) In which type could you categorize the current De Paco AmStaffs? 9) I strive to breed Am Staf for moderate-type, confident, calm, happy and willing to work for anyone.10) If this difference exists between the two type, does it mean good for the breed? Could we construe like the breed is developing? Or may be it?s not good for the breed, because the "modern-type" moves away from the original standard?
11) In recent years the breed's popularity soared dramatically throughout the world. Generally if a breed comes popular, it's harmful in point of the whole breed. How do You see this in case of the AmStaff?
12) Hungarian breed AmStaffs have achieved great success around the world in recent years. On the World Dog Show in 2006 a Hungarian breed and owned AmStaff won the B.O.B.. On the World Dog Show of 2009 and 2010 also Hungarian owned AmStaffs won the World Youth Winner, and there were more Hungarian AmStaffs won their classes. What is Your opinion about the Hungarian AmStaff flock? Are the hungarian breeders on a good way?
13) What advice could You give to a start-up breeder?
14) During the planning of a breeding which one has a more important role, the female or the male? I mean that You would like to improve on the phenotype of the female with the male, or You would like better to involve to Your own breeding the properties of the male?
15) Do You have a favourite Hungarian AmStaff?
16) Let's see the health tests. In Your breeding program You tone the health results of the dogs. Which one do You think the most important of them? Whis is that, from what You don't allow, even if that dog is fit to all other criteria?
17) To my knowledge there is not a De Paco dog in Hungary. This could just by coincidence, or You would give a dog to Hungary reluctantly?
18) Beut let's move up a few thoughts of the things of the writer De Paco. In our info You wrote two books about AmStaffs and a gold number set and You are the co-author of two more books. Do You keep important, that You popularize the AmStaff not just like a famous breeder, but the literature of the AmStaff could expand by You?
19) From where do You have this unbelievable energy? De Paco the Breeder, De Paco the Writer and... De Paco the Judge... Recently You judged several times, even on really eminent shows, for example on the Pannonia Terrier Show. As a judge, how do You feel criticizing Your love, the AmStaff? What type of judge do You consider Yourself? Critical, or who try to find the positive in each dog?
20) Would You judging AmStaff in Hungary?
21) As a judge and as a breeder of course, what is the order of priority for You? Style, shape, size, movement, head, bone, colour, markings, etc.?
22) If You should list the five top historical AmStaff, who were they for You?
CH WILLYNWOOD BLUEBONNET LADY CH PATTON RED ROCK SKILLET CH KNIGHT BOMBER CH SKY KING OF HAR-WYN 23) If You should list the current five top AmStaff female and the current five top AmStaff male (not bred by You), who were they?
24) Is there any new hope at the De Paco Kennel? Who(s) are they? Could You let us know a few words about them?
25) Could You send some words to the Hungarian AmStaff fans?
My dears Hungarian friends in the breed my words are: HAVE FAITH! God bless you and bless your American Staffordshire Terrier. 26) Would You like to append anything more to the interview?
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| ALL AMERICANS - by Paco Zanoia |
Does a dog look like its master? This very common expression usually doesn't harm anyone - except the dog.
For my breed of American Staffordshire Terriers (Am Staf), even more than for other breeds, it's crucial that
the person who selects the dog in the first place, and later the owners, should be both qualified and experienced.
So in this respect it's fundamental that the training for this particular breed of dog should take place be broad
and serious. It's true that most of the so-called "breeders" in Italy, the rest of Europe and America have no idea
why the dogs which they keep at home mate, but perhaps they do know what they can hope to earn from the sale "the
upshot of the mating". Having made that clear, I'll now continue in order to be of assistance to the around 20
percent of real lovers of the Breed, those who really care about its future.There's no breed on earth that can boast such a rich, genetic inheritance as ours, all of which is amply documented in a good number of publications. On several occasions I've had a chance to illustrate the paths of "The Grand Old Breed" has trodden in the last century in a bid to achieve recognition by the A.K.C. - F.C.I. which has given it its most recent name of American Staffordshire Terrier. Today, as I am writing this article on "an American dog", I am listening to American music, namely Jerry Lee Lewis's latest record called "Last Man Standing". You might find what you&'re about to read surprising, but I hope it will help you to understand the spirit and reason behind the Am Staf which really is an "All-American Dog". At the beginning of the 1950's in Memphis (Tennessee) a man called Sam Phillips opened a small recording studio, Sun Records. While Sam didn't have much money he did have a great deal of passion and wished to encourage young, up and coming musicians. It was from his tiny recording studio some fifty years ago that "rock and roll" emerged. Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Roy Orbison, Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis, to name just a few, were among its pioneers. They all had enormous talent, some were men of genius, they had open minds and shared one big passion: music and more music. At that time in the United States there was a lot of racism - it was in people's everyday lives. Just imagine, then, when Sun Records started making discs by Whites and Afro-Americans musicians, without any distinction whatsoever. Then white musicians and singers began going to church to listen to sermons, gospel music and spirituals. This was the unbelievable revolution that allowed a group of determined people, with deep cultural origins to blend Jazz, Blues, Country, Hillbilly and Sacred Music into an all American music style that was later taken up and shared the world over. While the development was not always easy and without hiccups, today we still talk about rock'n'roll even if in a modern way. As I listen to Jerry Lee - he's over seventy nowadays - singing "The Last Man Standing" accompanied song after song by the famous rock stars of the '60s, '70s and '80s, he gives me hope that one day in my field there'll be future "breeders" of Am Stafs, who before "recording" a litter, will have taken the trouble to study the breed, its origins and pedigree, its history and genetic mapping, and why not, seeing that some experienced and successful breeders are still around, they&'ll ask them for advice. Present-day dog breeding has no other references, except the Judge's opinion at dog shows and he - more often than not - is like a deaf music critic, or even worse, he hasn't the slightest wish to make himself understood. Here's a piece of advice: you've got to leave behind the darkness of commonplaces (they're growing steadily more frequent) and if you've got a dream of becoming a dog breeder, this is one of the best dogs in the world that can fulfil your dream. Still you have to be sure that this is your kind of "musicdog". As for me, I'm going to carry on breeding and rearing exclusively Am Stafs as well as listening to Rock'n'Roll, probably because I know where "these particular Americans" come from and what they want. Okay, it's only "Staf'n'Roll"... but I like it!!! |





In 1956, W. T. Bill Brandon in his first book on the Breed of Cliff Ormsby quoted the following character description - the same which almost
twenty years ago he used as the presentation in the American Kennel Club for the typical character of this very particular Terrier - in order to request the
official recognition.
Does a dog look like its master? This very common expression usually doesn't harm anyone - except the dog.
For my breed of American Staffordshire Terriers (Am Staf), even more than for other breeds, it's crucial that
the person who selects the dog in the first place, and later the owners, should be both qualified and experienced.
So in this respect it's fundamental that the training for this particular breed of dog should take place be broad
and serious. It's true that most of the so-called "breeders" in Italy, the rest of Europe and America have no idea
why the dogs which they keep at home mate, but perhaps they do know what they can hope to earn from the sale "the
upshot of the mating". Having made that clear, I'll now continue in order to be of assistance to the around 20
percent of real lovers of the Breed, those who really care about its future.