General appearance
The Stafford is a smooth coated dog. He should be of great strength for his size and although
well muscled should be active and agile.
Head and Skull
Short, deep through, broad skull, very pronounced cheek muscles,
short foreface and a black nose.
Eyes
Dark eyes are preferable although they may have some relation to coat colour.
They should be round, of medium size and set to look straight ahead.
Ears
Rose or half pricked ears which are not
too large. A judge is instructed to penalise dogs with full or pricked ears.
Mouth
The dog should have a level mouth
meaning that the incisors on the lower jaw should fit closely inside the incisors of the top jaw. Lips should be tight and
clean.
Neck
Muscular, rather short, clean in outline and gradually widening toward the shoulders.
Forequarters
Legs straight and well-boned, set quite wide apart, no looseness at the shoulders and showing no weakness at the pasterns,
from which point the feet turn out a little.
Body
The body of a Stafford should be close coupled, with a level top
line, wide front, deep brisket and well-sprung ribs and light in the loin.
Hindquarters
well muscled, hocks let down
with stifles bent. Legs should be parallel when viewed from behind.
Feet
Of medium size well padded and strong
Tail
Of medium length, set low, tapering to a point. The tail is often likened to an old-fashioned pump handle.
Coat
Smooth,
short and close to skin.
Colour
Red, Fawn, White, Black or blue, or any of these with white. Any shade of brindle
or any shade of brindle with white. Black and tan or liver are not acceptable
Weight and height
Weight
dog: 28-30lb
Bitches: 24-34lb
Height (at shoulder)
14-16in
