The expert breeding of the American Staffordshire Terrier

The ancients said: "Like begets like"... was one of the oldest forms of selective breeding that created most of the dog breeds. The method was essential, it consisted in establishing the kind of dog that the breeder had decided to represent as his "ideal type" in few generations, mating it with others of similar type, eliminating all that closely don't resemble its parents. This technique is still one of the most important basic principles of the selection. To speak about the Am Staf selection it is of fundamental importance that I tell you something about the beginnings of Cliff Ormsby's breeding.

Clifford Ormsby X-Pert Knl. Ornell, NY - U.S.A.

"In the 1920s in the United States the Pit Bulls were very common and so it was easy for anyone to buy some specimens. In fact the price of a puppy was about five dollars; it was rather difficult to find a good quality dog; in fact, most dogs had bent legs, flat feet, tight chest, bent hocks and unstable temperament. The champions of the arenas were small, because big dogs were slow and usually unsuitable for the fight. Pit Bull breeders sold these "big dogs" as pets and very rarely used them for breeding. For this reason, only a little part of these Pit Bulls was employed in the fightings and there were few dog breeders who bred them for the good mental and physical condition. Briefly, their main targets were the ones of the pitmen motto: "First, gameness; second, a good bite, with good lung and wrestling power". It continued until the acceptance of our dogs in the American Kennel Club and this event (remarked Cliff) was an important act of humanity towards these wonderful dogs that certainly deserved it".

I have quoted the words of the legendary Ormsby

I have quoted the words of the legendary Ormsby because he started in 1930 with a good female dog and in five years, built what his admirers love to define the breed in the breed: the X-Pert line. This confirms the importance I give to the phenotype and the great importance of the female dog in the Am Staf breeding program. Surely, as we have seen in the previous chapters, Ormsby was a very important man for our dogs, both for his countless show successes, both because he was, in my opinion, a brilliant breeder, a deep expert of genetics and selection techniques and, moreover, a wise and sagacious linebreeding user. Therefore I invite you to investigate on the breeding program of Clifford Ormsby: you will discover how, more than anyone else, he has managed to keep his X-Pert in linebreeding for over sixty years, using outcrossing every three or four generations and the inbreeding only in few occasions, with expert success.