Breed confusion - staffies

[lou3]

I saw on the other post that someone said that the Pit bull was the same as the american staffordshire terrier and the staffordshire bull terrier.
This is wrong. They are in fact THREE SEPARATE breeds.
The staffordshire bull terrier is a breed originating in the UK, it was used in the creation of the Pit bull, but not as extensively as people think. It is kennel club recognised. Staffordshire bull terriers are MUCH smaller than pit bulls. No bigger than your average springer spaniel and usually weighing in around 35-50lbs.
The american staffordshire terrier is the american derivative of the staffordshire bull terrier. They are slightly larger and, like the american cocker spaniel, have deviated from type so much over the years that they are now recognised by the kennel club as a whole separate breed.
The Pit Bull is not an AKC or GBKC recognised breed but i believe they are now recognised by the UKC. They are the largest of the three breeds often weighing in at over 70lbs. They have a significant amount of bull-dog blood in them, making them instantly distinguishable from the staffordshire breeds. They are only DISTANTLY related to Am staffs and Staff bulls.
Just thought i would clear that up.
Lou

[goombaya]

Its even more confusing than that Lou.

The APBT and the American Staffordshire Terrier "were" the same breed. Now i think the APBT has diverged so much as to make it impossible to call it the same... at the same time the APBT is so loosely bred, that Im not sure that any standard is followed.

The APBT is a mess- as far as being recognized as a real/ and unique breed is concerned. In reality the American Staffordshire is/was the pit bull. Just that some Pitbull people didnt like that thus we have the APBT... whatever that is.

[lou3]

ah ok - i knew one was a divergence of something, i thought it was the am staff being a divergence of the staff bull.
The pit bull being a divergence of the am staff makes a lot more sense thinking about it. Its so confusing even the info in my books doesnt make sense. All thats really clear from the text i have is that the staffordshire bull terrier is practically nothing to do with the pit bull.
Reading these american books is almost as bad as reading books in French - i feel like i need a translator half the time. lol.
Lou

[Elite]

This is a nice,e asy way of putting it...
(AKC)Amstaff=(UKC)pit bull
The staffie bull is the staffie bull, and is absoloutly adorable.

[lou3]

Would be - except the am staff is also registered separately to the Pit with the UKC, and is recognised by the british Kennel Club, while the Pit is considered to be separate and NOT recognised by the british kennel club.
Lou

[PitsRGood]

They were indeed all the same breed. If you research back, the only difference between a Staff and a APBT are that Staffs are bred to show where as APBTs are bred for game. Pits are registered by UKC and Staffs are registered AKC. I own 3 pits and 3 Staffs. Same breed but just an excuse to show and not be associated with pit bull terriers.