American Staffordshire Terrier vs American Pitbull Terrier: What’s The Difference?

Suppose you're torn between the Amstaff Vs. Pitbull as your next family companion (or your first), then this brief introduction to the two dogs might give you some valuable insights into these often misunderstood dogs.

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Both these dog breeds have an unfortunate past, which still affects them both today, but does a similar history mean they have similar personalities?

Both dogs are grouped with several others, as a “bully breed” or pitbull-type dogs.

Similarities include their appearance; however, the Amstaff is slightly shorter but stockier than the Pitbull (American Pitbull Terrier), which has a more lithe build.

The Amstaff and Pitbull both look intimidating dogs, especially with their ears cropped. Thankfully many breeders are now going against cropping ears. But irrespective of their ears, both dogs are incredibly affectionate and loving towards their family.

Amstaff Vs. Pitbull Appearance

Both dogs are powerful, robustly built dogs when they reach adulthood, yet are still medium-sized dogs. Pitbulls are the taller of the two and can reach 21 inches in height. The Amstaff is typically a couple of inches shorter. The weight reverses with the Amstaff a little heavier and can weigh up to 70 pounds, whereas Pitbull weighs up to 65 pounds.

Amstaffs have more powerful front legs, while the Pitbull hind legs are more powerful, giving them more agility and power when pushing.

Coat colors are different between the two dogs because Amstaffs have a limited range. Their coats can be black, fawn, brindle, red, blue, or white, whereas the Pitbull has a multitude of acceptable colors except for merle. Amstaffs shouldn’t have more than 80% white coloring.

Pitbulls and Amstaffs have powerful necks and square, blocky heads. When their ears are not cropped and natural, they are either semi-pricked or slightly rose-shaped.

Both dogs have short and smooth coats, which tend to show off their muscular frames even more.

Amstaff Vs. Pitbull Temperaments

People make a great deal of noise about both dogs fighting histories. Unfortunately, humans train the dogs to fight and then accuse the dogs of being vicious. Any dog, no matter its size or weight, can be brought up to be aggressive. Yes, both the Pitbull and Amstaff can look like intimidating dogs, which is why certain types of people choose these dogs.

However, if you spoke to owners of these dogs, they'll tell you there isn't a more lovable family-friendly dog on the planet than either of these two.

There's a lot of inaccurate information available about both the Amstaff and the Pitbull. While I'm not trying to take sides in this debate, I do want to point out some unbiased information that maybe you should know.

The ATTS (American Temperament Test Society) regularly tests the temperaments of many dog breeds, and naturally, the society will test Pitbull breeds. The organization conducted a test in 2017, and this test included both dogs.

There were 931 Pitbulls tested, and 87.4% of those Pitbulls passed the temperament tests. In the same period, 743 Amstaffs were tested, and 85.5% of those passed the tests.

To help put these results into some sort of context, let me tell you the results of some other well-known breeds.

For example, the Chihuahua scored only 69.6%, standard smooth-haired Dachshund scored 69.4%, Lhasa Apso scored 70.4%, Scottish Terrier scored 65.7%, Shetland Sheepdog scored 68.9%, and Bearded Collie 56.9%. In total, almost 35,000 dogs from a range of breeds went through the temperament test.

Both the Amstaff and Pitbull are highly sociable dogs and make excellent family pets, they love children, and if they are socialized correctly when they are young pups, they will live in harmony with other pets.

However, neither dog is 100% happy with animals they don't know. Every dog is different, and no two dogs are brought up in the same way, so if you own an Amastaff or Pitbull and disagree, we are generalizing here and can't talk about each and every dog.

Final Thoughts

Hopefully, you can now decide between the Amstaff vs. Pitbull. If you’re still unsure, then in fairness, there’s not much to choose between them both. The AKC only recognizes the American Staffordshire Terrier, so if a breed standard and registration are important to you, then you’ll have to choose the Amstaff.

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