Terriers: the dogs of the earth

Jolly Roger de Cavecanem, the Pirate Dog, feels at ease at a dog show, but his real happyness lays in the dirt. Lets not forget that Terrier (a French word, BTW) refers to an earth dog, meant to dig in the dirt and catch his prey in subterranean dens. The Staffords were originally considered "strong terriers", and their job consisted in getting small but fierce game such as the badger, out of their caves, where they had previously been located and chased by lighter terriers. No so long ago, their gameness was proved in the "Taestas Mor", a test that certified that the dog was indeed capable of facing the extremely brave and well armed badger underground. In Ireland, such test was a requisite for obtaining the championship.

Those blood tests were left behind long ago, but the terrier instinct was not. To be happy, our friends need to be now and then allowed to get dirtied from nose to toe, digging for their ancestor's roots. And maybe dream of finding a badger, catching it by the tail, and bringing it up back to the light, to master...

Cavecanem pups, in all colors!

I find one of the coolest things about STBs is the number of colors allowed by the standard: black, blue, white, red, brindle, fawn, and pied. Only black-and-tan and liver are not allowed. There is some debate as to what liver is. I think that, in plain English, it means any brown other than red and fawn. Black-and-tan is as in a German Shepherd. Both colors are very dominant and, if allowed, would probably make all others dissapear. Above, Red de Cavecanem, Bombay de Cavecanem and Pukka de Cavecanem. Underneath, Blue, Cuyaquiare, Ch Dum Dum, and Red and Blue de Cavecamen.

More Cavecanem STBs handled by children

I'd like to apoligize for my slug-like slowness at translating my blog. In the meanwhile, please do check the Spanish version for many nice pics! Above, Ven Ch Belnite de Cavecanem (named to honor the great Irish kennel) and World and Multi Ch Dead Game de Cavecanem share good times with children

The Nanny Dog

I quote from the second line of the KC Staffordshire Bull Terrier standard: "Traditionally of indomitable courage and tenacity. Highly intelligent and affectionate especially with children". Both AKC and FCI standards have similar phrasing. Our breed was the first, and until recently the only one whose standard specifically mentions its goodness towards children. This alone should give an idea of how strong is the tie between STBs and kids. In 1997, the Southampton University made a serious analysis about the temperament of all KC breeds. Based on this, the Pet Dogs magazine asked Dr. John Bradshaw, Antrozoology Director in that U, and Sarah Whitehead, expert in canine etiology, to pick the top 10 breeds for children, in no particular order. Of course, the Staffordshire Bull Terrier made that list, and the authors went on to say that they were so extremely patient with children, that the kids should be trained so they didn't harm the dogs!

Our experience upholds all that was said before, and then some. Our “nanny dogs” have literally grown up with my daughters, keeping them company, having fun together, and when the push comes to shove, defending them. In this entry's pics you can see Fiona (Ch Int Lat Ven Lib Dugar de Baladrar Death’s Bride) first with Isabela and then with Ana Lucía, who handled her in Junior Showmanship since she was 5 years old, winning too often for my liking ;-) Frankly, and having bred before Pugs and Bulldogs, both "children's breeds", I think the STB is peerless when it comes to relating with kids.

Fiona's sire is Multi Ch Makeready Dugar, the top Ch producing sire outside the UK, and she has given us the unparalleled satisfaction of producing a World Champion in each of her two litters. That must be a record! Our thanks go to her breeder, my friend and mentor Juan Manuel Durá.

The Head

One of the most striking features of the SBT is the head. The standard is not the most comprehensive one, so some comments are needed. To illustrate them, we'll use Mamuz (Dugar de Baladrar Marquis of Sade), whose head is the best one I have seen.

Head and Skull: Short. Let the ambiguities begin. "Short" is a comparative word, so we need to ask ourselves short as compared to what? In the original, 1935 standard, there are several instances in which the STB features are compared to those of a terrier. Many experts agreed that we should understand that such comparisons are made with a typical shaped terrier, as in a Fox or an Airedale, dogs with very long heads and almost no stop. Accordingly, when the standard calls for a short head, it does not mean a bulldog head, but one that is shorter then those of typical terriers.

...deep though with broad skull. Deepness refers to the height of the head, which must be considerable. The broadness is clearly shown in this picture:

Very pronounced cheek muscles, distinct stop, short foreface, nose black. According to Alan Mitchell, the height of the stop should be approx. one inch. Most important, the stop should exist. Many dogs simply lack any stop worth mentioning. The short foreface is one of the most debated points in the standard. Please let us remember that we are comparing our STB with a Fox Terrier, so the foreface should not be extremely short, as we would lose the typical STB expression, and, far worse, we would start having breathing troubles. How short is short enough? To Alec Waters, a skull/foreface proportion of two by one should be regarded as ideal, with half inch of tolerance in either way. This ratio is typical of short-faced breeds, and can be seen in the first photo. I don't think a shorter face would be desirable. The big cheek muscles, remainders of the STB's gladiator past, are indispensable to correct expression. They show fairly clearly in all pictures, but far better in Turron's one in the first entry.
Mouth: Lips tight and clean. Jaws strong, teeth large, with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws. Not much to say here, as the standard is very specific for once. It is remarkable how well the bite is described, and this should be regarded as an indication of how very important the proper scissor bite is, as nothing else is acceptable.

Eyes: Dark preferred but may bear some relation to coat colour. Round, of medium size, and set to look straight ahead. Eye rims dark. A picture is worth a thousand words. Eyes are round, not triangular or slanted. Only with that eye shape can a dog have the proper STB expression. Today's FCI and KC standards regretfully omit an important feature that was in past ones, and remains in the AKC's: when the coat surrounding the eye is white, they eyelids can be pink. Ears: Rose or half pricked, not large or heavy. Full, drop or pricked ears highly undesirable. The first picture shows the rose ear. In the third one, the dog's undivided attention gets them close to half prick. As a final comment, we have some lines in Latin America that pass along pricked ears. Such animals should not be used for breeding.

First Entry

We are a Venezuelan family that, since a few years ago, is dedicated to breeding Staffordshire Bull Terriers, known in their UK homeland as "the Nanny Dogs". We breed very few pups in any given year, in a family atmosphere, aiming to achieve a precious balance between perfect health, temperament, and looks. We don't breed in great numbers, and most of our pups lead uneventful lives as pampered pets. Nevertheless, we have achieved some success at the show ring, and in the World Dog Show Mexico 2007 we were lucky enough to land two World Champions and a second place.

Our first picture shows Turron, formally known as Dead Game de Cavecanem, as she soothes my daugther Isabela. Turron is owned and handled by my goood friends Luis and Mariahelena Borges, who have been so nice to her that now Turron is the most titled SBT in Latin America, having obtained the Libertador, Venezuelan, Argentinian, Mexican, Latin America, International, Americas and Caribean, and World Championships... for now! In the next week, we'll be uploading all kind of info about this breed.