Staffweiler

The Staffweiler is a fairly new hybrid that was created in the United States, sometime during the early 2000's. Because of his limited amount of time in the world, this breed hasn't had a very detailed origin story figured out yet. Therefore, we must take a look at the parent breeds (the American Staffordshire Terrier and Rottweiler) in order to understand the purpose of the Staffweiler and what his ancestry is like. Starting with the American Staffordshire Terrier, also known as the Am staff, we discover an interesting fact; this breed and the American Pit Bull Terrier have very similar beginnings. Created through combining the Bulldog and Terrier breeds, the Am Staff was used primarily as entertainment during the 19th and 20th century when dog fighting was legal, and popular in the United States. This was a terrible tradition as it caused the dogs to become extremely aggressive and abuse further encouraged terrible behavioral traits. While the Am Staff was used in such entertainment circles, it seems as though the Pit Bull took the brunt of the problems as that breed is not even registered by the American Kennel Club, while the Am staff is (starting in 1936). These breeds were not all bad, despite what people tried to make them be. The Am Staff and Pit Bull alike were also used by families as farm dogs and guardians who were excellent ratters and defenders against animals such as bears and wild pigs. Their fearlessness and bravery made them perfect for this job.  Today, the Am Staff is still a working dog, but he is primarily seen in shows and as a family companion. The Rottweiler was originally created by the Romans many, many years ago. These people were working men and woman who needed strong and dependable dogs to work alongside them. Using dogs that they already had (these are relatively unknown) to help with herding cattle, the Romans combined the breeds with local dogs in the town of Rottweil in Europe. Obviously, this is where the Rottweiler gets his name and the result of such a combo was a strong and loyal dog breed that helped with driving the cattle to market as well as protecting their humans from robbers on the way back from collecting a day's profit. As can be imagined, the Rottweiler was much loved for his affectionate, loyal, and hardworking personality. But once the time of modern machinery made it's way into people's lives, the need for strong dog's to pull carts and offer protection along the roads was no longer necessary and the breed almost went extinct. Thankfully, there were quite a few dog enthusiasts in Germany who weren't ready to see the breed go. They worked hard to restore the Rottweiler and eventually, people all over the world fell in love with the work ethic and affectionate personality of the breed. Now, these dogs are almost in the top 10 of the American Kennel Club's most popular and are primarily used as companion animals.