popular 1930’s TV program The Little Rascals. Pete was one of the first American Kennel Club registered Amstaffs. The Amstaff was also used as a USA poster dog during World War I with the caption “I’m Neutral BUT Not Afraid of any of them”. Certainly the Amstaff is a very courageous dog, and was well chosen to represent and motivate the American soldiers.
While the ancestry of the American Staffordshire Terrier dates back to the beginning of the 19th century, they were not officially recognised until the mid 1930s. During their long and sometimes confusing evolution, this breed has been known by many names including American Bull Terrier, Yankee Terrier, Staffordshire Terrier, Half & Half, Bull & Terrier and others.
The Bull & Terrier is one of the earliest descendants, bred in Britain from a combination of the Bulldog of the time and either the Black & Tan Terrier or the larger English Terrier. It has even been suggested that the Fox Terrier may have been introduced. This combination produced a powerful and extremely game dog, who because of these traits, was unfortunately exploited as a fighting dog for much of his early history. These dogs became very popular with coal miners in the Staffordshire area of England, which eventually led to them being known as Staffordshire Bull Terriers, but this was much later.
After the Civil War ended in 1865, many British workers immigrated to America due to financial difficulties. They took their Bull & Terrier dogs with them, and in a very short period of time, were firmly established as a popular breed for postcolonial American citizens. The Bull & Terrier continued to be bred in America, though over time the style of the dog changed, as did his name.
In 1936 The Staffordshire Terrier Club of America was founded and the American Kennel Club officially recognised the Staffordshire Terrier. As years went by the differences between the American version of the Staffordshire Terrier and the British version became very distinct, so in 1972, the American Kennel Club renamed the Staffordshire Terrier to American Staffordshire Terrier and the Staffordshire Bull Terrier with a standard of its own was admitted to the AKC Stud Book. Although the ancestors of the American Staffordshire Terrier were fighting dogs, the selective breeding done since the 1930's has always been away from their fighting heritage. Such were the efforts of Amstaff fanciers to move away from dog fighting that by the 1950’s the Staffordshire Terrier Club of America expelled any member that was breeding fighting dogs. Unfortunately, this now illegal activity is more often cited as the early purpose of the dogs rather than the general family and farm dog they were bred to be.
Early on, they were used for general farm work, hunting wild pigs, bears, and other large game as well as guarding the homestead. They have also always been bred as a companion and family dog. Although more rarely used on the farm now, the talents that made them a good all purpose dog are still to be found in the breed today.
The modern American Staffordshire Terrier is a companion and show dog, rather than a gladiator. They are highly desired for their love, devotion and reliability, especially with children.
The Akita Inu originated in the snowy and rural lands of Odate, Akita Prefecture, a wild and mountainous region of Japan. They were trained to hunt animals such as elk, wild boar, and Ussuri brown bears. This breed in the 1600s was involved in dog fighting, which at the time was popular in Japan. From the 1500s into the 1800s, the Akita served as companions for samurai. In 1931, the Akita was officially declared a Japanese natural monument. The mayor of Odate City in Akita Prefecture organized the Akita Inu Hozonkai to preserve the original Akita as a Japanese natural treasure through careful breeding. In 1933, Heishiro Takaku (Takahisa), one of the early members of Nippo in Tokyo and later of the Nipponinu Kyokai (Nikkyo) in Osaka and Katsuichi (Shoichi) each published articles on a proposed Japanese dog standard, which Included the Akita dog. Akita dogs revealed the most non-uniformity at that time, when compared to medium and small Japanese dogs, due to being outcrossed to the Tosa fighting dog, and other Imported foreign dogs. Then in 1934, the first Japanese breed standard for the Akita Inu was listed, following the breed's declaration as a natural monument of Japan. The Akita breed was used during the Russo-Japanese War to track prisoners of war and lost sailors. During World War II, the Akita was considered a non-military breed and was crossed with German Shepherds in an attempt to save them from the wartime government order for all non-military dogs to be culled. Some were used as scouts and guards during the war. A native Japanese breed known as Matagi (hunting dog) was used along with the Hokkaido Inu breed to mix back into the remaining Akita dogs to restore the breed. There were many lines of Akita, but the most influential were the Dewa and Ichinoseki. Both lines contributed to the foundation stock for both Akita types, and many exported dogs were a combination of these lines. According to one Japanese judge, the greatest difference between Japanese- and American-bred Akitas is that the latter still show much evidence of the Dewa strain. In the early 1900's, Dewa-line akitas were heavily favored and did well in show. Kongo-go (from the Heirakudo Kennel of Eikichi Hiraizumi) is considered to be the most influential dog of that line. For a time, it was said: “Kongokei ni arazunba Akitainu ni arazu" (If not from the Kongo line, ‘tis not an Akita dog.) However, the Dewa-line later went into a decline because Japanese breeders felt that the akita did not give the impression of a Japanese dog, so began to breed towards an ideal type reminiscent of other Nihon-ken. The Dewa line was stereotyped as the “German Shepherd” type, while the Ichinoseki line was referred to as the “Mastiff” type. Thus, the Ichinoseki-line rose in popularity. Goromaru-Go was regarded as the most influential akita of that line who, although didn't perform well in show, produced outstanding akita dogs when bred to Taihei and Nikkei lines from Southern Akita. Goromaru-Go then became foundation to further the Japanese type. During the occupation years following the war, the breed began to thrive again through the efforts of Sawataishi and others. Morie Sawataishi and his efforts to breed the Akita is a major reason this breed exists today. For the first time, Akitas were bred for a standardized appearance. Akita fanciers in Japan began gathering and exhibiting the remaining Akitas and producing litters to restore the breed to sustainable numbers and to accentuate the ideal characteristics of the breed muddied by crosses to other breeds. It wasn't until the 1960-70's where the foxier Japanese type started to diverge from the typical American type. The story of Hachikō, the most revered Akita of all time, helped push the Akita into the international dog world. Hachikō was born in 1923 and owned by Professor Hidesaburō Ueno of Tokyo. Professor Ueno lived near the Shibuya Train Station in a suburb of the city, and commuted to work every day on the train. Hachikō accompanied his master to and from the station each day. On May 25, 1925, when the dog was 18 months old, he waited for his master's arrival on the four o'clock train, but Professor Ueno had suffered a fatal brain haemorrhage at work. Hachikō continued to wait for his master's return. He travelled to and from the station each day for the next nine years. He allowed the professor's relatives to care for him, but he never gave up the vigil at the station for his master. His vigil became world-renowned when, in 1934, shortly before his death, a bronze statue was erected at the Shibuya train station in his honor. This statue was melted down for munitions during the war, but a new one was commissioned after the war. Each year on March 8 since 1936, Hachikō's devotion has been honoured with a solemn ceremony of remembrance at Tokyo's Shibuya railroad station. Eventually, Hachikō's legendary faithfulness became a national symbol of loyalty, particularly to the person and institution of the Emperor. In 1967, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Akita Dog Preservation Society, the Akita Dog Museum was built to house information, documents and photos. There is a tradition in Japan, that when a child is born they receive a statue of an Akita. This statue symbolizes health, happiness, and a long life. The Akita "Tachibana",one of the few Akitas to survive the war, is pictured here on a Japanese 1953-issue postage stamp. In 1937, Helen Keller travelled to Japan. She expressed a keen interest in the breed and was presented with the first two Akitas to enter the US. The first dog, presented to her by Mr. Ogasawara and named Kamikaze-go, died at 7+1⁄2 months of age from distemper, one month after her return to the States. A second Akita was arranged to be sent to Miss Keller: Kamikaze's litter brother, Kenzan-go. Keller nicknamed the dog Go-Go and they were great companions from day one. Go-Go even spent his first night at Keller’s home sleeping at the foot of her bed. Kenzan-go died in the mid-1940s. By 1939, a breed standard had been established and dog shows had been held, but such activities stopped after World War II began. Keller wrote in the Akita Journal: