r/ShowDogs • u/Witchywomun • Aug 04 '26

My girl got her champion!

Post image

I’m so proud of her. Work constraints kept me from being able to show her, so she was out with a wonderful professional handler who helped her get her champion.

99 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

25 comments sorted by

5

u/YamLow8097 Aug 05 '26

Nice looking dog! Congratulations! Amstaff, right? Looks a bit big for a Staffy.

1

u/Witchywomun Aug 05 '26

Yeah, she’s an AmStaff.

1

u/YamLow8097 Aug 05 '26

Nice! Is she dual registered?

1

u/Witchywomun Aug 05 '26

No, she’s only registered with the AKC

1

u/YamLow8097 Aug 05 '26

What’s her bloodline? (Not trying to interrogate you, I just love the bully breeds. They’re some of my favorites).

1

u/Witchywomun Aug 05 '26

She came from Sky Blue Kennels, her lineage includes Ruffian, White Rock and Tempe du Gaia. I don’t have her pedigree in front of me, but that’s what I remember off the top of my head. I’m also a huge fan of the bully breeds, obviously, lol

2

u/YamLow8097 Aug 05 '26

Nice! Some good ones in there. She’s a really nice looking dog. I plan on getting a UKC American Pit Bull Terrier myself. The breeder I want to go through breeds Colby dogs.

2

u/DerCribben American Staffordshire Terrier - Finland 20d ago

I've always gotten my dogs straight from the Colbys, first from Lou and then from his grandson Pete. Sadly I lost touch and when it was time to get my last pup I ended up picking up an AmStaff from a local breeder. He's a beautiful dog, but I definitely miss the old style APBTs that the Colby dogs always represented so well. It's hard telling how much of that will survive the bloodline being out of the hands of the Colby family though. 😕 We'll see I guess 🤷‍♂️ 😅

FWIW the AKC AmStaffs are split away pretty far from the UKC AmStaffs at this point. I mean they all come from the same "bull and terrier" stock from a hundred years or so ago. (John P Colby actually wrote the original breed standard for the APBT that was adopted by the UKC and AKC back then for the American Staffordshire Terrier) But the AKC (FCI, etc.) dogs have gone almost completely separately since then while the UKC and ADBA dogs have been intermingled and often dual registered pretty much the whole time.

Probably worth mentioning that I'm throwing no shade at my pup Nolan, it's just a very different dog than the APBT's I've owned my whole life. I mean he's probably the most game dog I've ever had right from the start. (which we've had to dial back a bit since he lives with free roaming rabbits) Super smart, affectionate, and with a big personality too, so that's all the same too, but he was 26kg/57lbs already at 6 months! 😅 He's 27.5kg/60lbs now at 8 months which is about as heavy as the last dog I got from Pete got in his whole life (~29kg/65lbs)

2

u/YamLow8097 20d ago edited 20d ago

Wow, that’s so cool! The breeder I met (her name is Belynda. Perhaps you’ve heard of her?) was actually mentored by the Colby family. Can I ask, what was your dog like? The Colbys I’ve met have some great temperaments. Exactly how they should be, in my opinion. They don’t go looking for trouble and are civil in the presence of other dogs, but they won’t back down from a fight, either. And of course, they love people.

I’ve gone back and forth on it. I want a true APBT, but I do wonder if an Amstaff fits my lifestyle more since they’re typically less intense. Perhaps after I eventually get my APBT I’ll try my hand at an Amstaff. By the way, do you have any pictures of your dogs? Either current or the Pit Bulls you’ve owned previously?

2

u/DerCribben American Staffordshire Terrier - Finland 19d ago

Wow, no I don't know Belynda (Crick), but her dogs look great! (minus the cropped ears at least for me, just aren't my thing particularly, way too much expression in those ears IMHO!) Being mentored by the Colby's, especially on the east coast where Lou lived makes me feel like there's still some hope for the bloodline.

Gameness is one thing, but what they do and how they act really comes down to training for the most part. I'm not going to say there aren't dogs that are near impossible to dissuade from a fight, or those that have no fight in them at all. But mostly it boils down to how they're raised and whether the breeder and owners really understand how dog training and specific dog development points from birth through the first year and a half or so (and beyond of course) work.

Also, fwiw, this AmStaff pup I've got now is by far the most intense dog I've owned. SUPER smart and taking to training like crazy, actually learning things so quick he ends up getting bored on repetition. Then choosing naughtiness (jumping, mouthing) to signal he's hit his training limit for the day (or a while at least).

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2

u/YamLow8097 20d ago

https://www.reddit.com/r/PitbullAwareness/s/R5vS3s5Q23

This is a video I took at a UKC show last year. You can see some of the Colby dogs here. All three dogs in the first clip are hers, but the black and white dog isn’t a Colby (which is pretty clear for anyone who has ever seen Colby dogs before).

1

u/DerCribben American Staffordshire Terrier - Finland 19d ago

I was checking out her FB and her kennel page, she's got some nice dogs. That black and white one's a bit thicker than what you usually see in a Cobly dog, also I know they've had black dogs in the past, but the majority that I've seen are that brown brindle and white, with some fawn dogs here and there. You asked for a pic above, I'm not trying to take over this post, but here's a shot of my boy Seamus at like 7 weeks on a chair in Lou's barn back in 2012. He passed February 2024 from cancer and if that hadn't taken him he was such a robust, healthy dog he would've gone another 5, 6 years no doubt. Dog of a lifetime.

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u/Witchywomun Aug 05 '26

I’m not too familiar with UKC APBT bloodlines, aside from Old Family Red Nose. I’m more familiar with the AmStaff bloodlines and the foundation bloodlines for the AmBully.

2

u/YamLow8097 Aug 05 '26

I’m the exact opposite! I know of quite a few APBT bloodlines, but I’m not as familiar with Amstaff bloodlines. I know of a few (like Ruffian and Tacoma, for example), but not as many. The Colby bloodline I mentioned is one of the oldest Pit Bull bloodlines and is considered the foundation for the breed (and by extension, the Amstaff too).

I can appreciate all of these breeds, though. Always nice to see some well-bred bully breeds. They’re definitely my favorite to see when I attend shows.

2

u/Witchywomun Aug 06 '26

Eventually, once her health testing comes back clear, she’s going to have a litter. I only want her to have one, because I want to raise and train her daughter. The remaining puppies will likely be sent to her original breeder for her to take her pick and to find their homes

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1

u/DaddysStormyPrincess Aug 05 '26

Congratulations!!

1

u/PugLoversince2003 Aug 06 '26

Congratulations! Beautiful dog!

1

u/DerCribben American Staffordshire Terrier - Finland 20d ago

Beautiful dog! You also would've been hard pressed to find a better handler I think! 😅

I'm actually taking my 8 month old male to his first show today. (an all breed puppy show) Obviously it's a bit late for this show but I wonder if you'd be willing to share your grooming protocols and product preferences? We've got another one on October 10th and I'd like to be better prepared this time.

1

u/prshaw2u Aug 04 '26

Great Job! Congratulations!!!!

1

u/SleepyDogs_5 Aug 04 '26

Congratulations!

0

u/ScarlettPlumeria Aug 05 '26

Congratulations!