4.2. “Historically, The Staffordshire Bull Terrier [“Staffie”]
Was Bred Centuries Ago In England As A Fighting Dog.”
The Staffie is a member of the Terrier Breed Group which consists of approximately thirty-five (35) breeds of Terriers that are recognized by the American Kennel Club. For the most part, they are dogs that were originally bred and used for hunting small game, killing vermin in farmers’ barns, herding other animals and generally for utilitarian purposes.
“Terrier” comes from the Latin word “Terra”, meaning earth. These dogs were selectively bred to be extremely brave and tough, and to pursue fox, badger, rat and otter (to name but a few) above and below ground.
Dogs of the terrier type have been known since ancient times.
In the 14th century, the plague referred to as the “Black Death” that was carried and spread by fleas from rats is estimated to have killed over 75 million people in Europe and reoccurred from time to time until the 19th century.
Not only were rats carriers of the Black Death, but they also ate the farmer’s grains: a harvest that was needed by the farmers and their families if they were to survive.
The need for an effective killer of rats on the farms and the farmers’ poverty led to the development of the Terriers: however, the dogs needed to be small and inexpensive to keep because it was difficult enough for a peasant to feed a family without having to feed and maintain a large animal.
The following is a YouTube video of a Jagdterrier, a breed recognized by the American Kennel Club, doing one of the things it was developed to do, i.e., hunt small animals in burrows.
In the following video, the dogs are trying to get a fox out of its burrow. Note that no weapons are used. These types of dogs, like so many of the Terrier breeds, were developed for use by poor peasants for many purposes, including hunting small animals without weapons: peasants could not afford weapons.
The first one and one-half minutes of the video show the dogs trying to get to the fox: thereafter, the video shows the dogs killing the fox. Consequently, you many not want to watch beyond the first one and one-half minutes: however, it will show a characteristic that many believe is a unique trait of “fighting Pit Bulls”, i.e., the biting and shaking the prey to kill it. This is another “Pit Bull” myth! This trait was prized by farmers because it made the Terrier efficient and effective killers of rats, i.e., the dogs would shake the rat one time, and the shake was so violent that it would instantly kill the rat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZOighclIQw
Videos of Rat Terriers will show them doing the same thing, i.e., shaking the rats to kill them, but Rat Terriers are much better at using this technique than other Terriers.
