Ciera

Our Mission

Ciera Staffords mission it to breed healthy Staffords and Bull Terriers that exude breed types with the proper temperament and ensure none of my puppies grow up to be part of the shelter or rescue system. I do this by working with people and participating in all aspects of the dog community.

History

I have been enjoying the sport of Purebred dogs since the 1970s. I grew up with an Afghan Hound in the house and later enjoyed junior handling, conformation and obedience with our family’s Borzoi. I remember participating in the first lure coursing competitions with out family dogs. We had one of the first Lure Coursing Champions. We also coursed jack rabbits with our Sight Hounds in the fields and cow pastures of California’s central valley. As I grew older I spent many years working with horses at various ranches. Proper structure and nutrition and how it relates to overall health and performance became second nature to me.

Throughout my life I have personally owned a Borzoi, a working Australian Shepherd and a Schipperke, Miniature Bull Terriers and a few rescue dogs, as well as a handful of horses. But, the dog that got under my skin was an APBT named Tazzi. I have never been able to forget her and so it made sense that when I began to look for another purebred dog I looked at the Bull Breeds. I chose a Miniature Bull Terrier and got a nice white male I named Dino, who quickly became my first AKC Ch. Eventually I had to re-home Dino as he was not a good dog for a multi-dog household and luckily I had a great home for him. My last Mini Bull passed in February 2013, she was 14 years old.

The Official Breed Standard

The only thing I can say here is to read it, over and over until it is memorized. Don’t let anyone’s personal preference sway you from what the standard says no matter who they are. Staffordshire Bull Terrier Official Standard

Jason Nicolai, Homebrewed Staffords has some great information on his website. I encourage you to check it out. One of his more important writings is called On Balance. I highly reccomend reading it as it discusses a highly controversial but indisputable definition of balance as defined by the Official Standard.

The History of the Stafford

The Staffordshire Bull Terrier’s history is steeped in fighting, gambling and the blood of other animals as well as their own. The Stafford is a British Breed having become popular in the county of Staffordshire. The were the common man's dog. The coal miners would get off work and get their dogs take them to fight in the pit, hoping to make a little extra money. Dog fighting was outlawed in Engalnd in 1835 but persisted long after that. In AMerica most states had outlawed dog fighting byt 1960 and by 1976 it wsa illegal in all 50 states. As most people know dog fighting still continues in secret. Large raids and busts become headline news. One of the more famous dog fighting busts wsa the Michael Vic dogs. The one thing that came out of that was the fir the first time in history the dogs were considered victims rather than accessories. This has completely changed the way we treat the dogs coming into rescue.

The past nefarious activities have been outlawed for a long time and the Breed Standard has been changed a handful of times since then to account for the pet, companion, and multi-purpose dog that has emerged. Today’s dog has enjoyed many decades of being a family pet but still carries some of the stigma of its past and they are usually not very dog social. It is important to understand and accept their past in order to understand the dog today. We should never try to encourage our Staffords to have dog friends (especially strange dogs)it can back fire very badly on you. The most you can hope for is benevolent tolerance. This is a very real case of nature winning out over nuture. It is not in how you raise them.

Breed Specific Legislation - What does it mean to me?

It means everything to all dog lovers. Breed Specific Legislation known as BSL is the making of laws and rules and restrictions that target individual breeds of dog rather than dogs in general. Usually it relates to dogs deemed to be aggressive but lately I have noticed that high numbers of certain dogs in shelters, Chihuahua, for example are driving communities to create bans. If you look up BSL on the internet you will learn more than you would ever want to know. It does not matter what breed of dog you have if it comes to your community encourage your leaders to enforce existing laws rather than adding layers new laws on top that don’t really hit the core of the problem which is irresponsible owners. BSL is driving landlords, insurance companies and communities to create restrictions that are hard for us to navigate and live with.

Make sure your Stafford or any Bull Breed you that you own is a good member of the community, it reflects on all of us if you don’t.