Amstaffs

[]Amstaffy?
I know you have some...

A few? LOL! I have several. My house would NOT be a home without one or five!
 
 The breed is fabulous! I posted on your other thread about the Boston I am showing, to me he is like an Am Staff on crack. Don't get me wrong, he is a fun little dog and I enjoy showing him but he is not the dog/breed for me.
 
If your interested in An Am Staff there are some health issues you will need to know about. The responsible and knowledgable breeders will be testing and evaluating through the OFA-Hips, hearts, elbows and patellas some will even do thyroid. Temperament is first on the list of things to be concerned about then comes health.
 I'd be more then happy to help you locate a breeder or put you in touch with breeders close to you to meet their dogs.
 Both of my children have grown up with the breed and have done well showing them too
 
Let me know if I can help you in any way

How good are they with kids?  WONDERFUL!!! My Am Staff goes to the local school to help me with dog safety presentations.  She helped kick off the summer reading program at our library (I work there) and, just last week, she was the official face licker for my presentation on how to choose the right dog for you family.

crap.
Amstaffy, I just PMed you and it said that your PM box was full.
I don't think you'll get my PM.

So, the gist of my PM was: I am very appreciative of your offered help and would LOVE any assistance possible in finding a breeder since I've never purchased a dog from a breeder before.
What kind of things should I ask a breeder specific to this breed?
What's the difference between a "show" quality dog and a "pet" quality dog? Should there be a difference?
I am from Illinois so basically breeders from Illinois, Iowa, Ohio, Wisconsin, Michigan (maybe not the upper peninsula, though) would probably be best. If you know any in those areas, please PM me.

Thank you sooo much!

also, if you are open to it, adopt a staffie, there are soo many in shelters, and they are just begging to come home with you...
we have had kira for about a month, and she is already my fiancee's and i best friend/alarm clock/handwasher/guardian....
 
you might want to make sure there isn't any restrictions on this breed in your neighborhood/community, but my staffie is often misidentified as either a pitbull/boxer/bulldog.... when she is pretty much just a staffie....
 
 

[linkhttp://www.chicagolandbullybreedrescue.org/adoption.htm]http://www.chicagolandbullybreedrescue.org/adoption.htm[/link]
 
my brother in law adopted from them...

AmStaffy's are wonderful dogs!  I have one and she is very laid back and listens very well.  They are wonderful companions.  I have included a picture of my little 11 month old girl Abby.  They are so wonderful that I offered to take in another one for a while because a man was trying to get rid of his amstaffy puppy because she was getting picked on by his other dog.  I also have a doberman as well.  They make wonderful pets!  Good luck!

I think an Amstaff would be a good choice.  It is important, though, that you do your research.

I don't know that much about Amstaffs, perse, but I do own an American Pit Bull Terrier.

I have heard that Amstaffs are not as energetic as APBTs, which might just be great!

I know that these dogs are wonderful with children. 

I also know that there are a plethora of dogs in shelters and rescues that need people.  It is said that not every person needs an APBT, but every APBT needs a person (and this applies to amstaffs as well)!

Please, though, do your research, and decide if this is the dog for you.
They are wonderful!  But are a very special breed and have certain requirements.
You must be ready to be an advocate for the breed, do necessary training, and take certain precautions. 
 
**ETA: I can tell you a bit about my dog.  He is loyal, loving, and fun!  He loves us to death, and follows us around every where we go. He needs to be with his people. He loves to give kisses and cuddle.  He is very energetic, and has an insatiable play drive. 
He has a lot of character, and is the best dog I've ever owned.

I recently adopted this 1 1/2 -2 year old dog.  She's very sweet and will play sometimes, but I think she came from a bad situation.  She was found as a stray with rope burns on her neck and some scrapes (bites?) on her face and paws.  She's a fast learner, but seems to get confused when I ask her to do things.  If I say "sit," she'll sit slowly like she's expecting punishment or that being asked to sit IS a punishment.  I praise her and try to give her a treat, but she won't always accept one. 
Does anyone know this breed (if she is an Amstaff) well enough to give me a few tips?

my staffie has developed the technique of finding when i am kissing my fiancee and joining us... lil'brat, can't give us a second to kiss...
 
We traveled with her over the weekend, we discovered:

• Travel during the day, she normally sleeps then, and will sleep in the car. We left during the evening, and the entire trip she tried to join us in the front seat... On the way back, she slept the entire way.
  
• She really, really loves us. We have only had her a little over a month, and she loves us to death. My Fiancee and I left her with my future in-laws for a couple hours to do some shopping and planning for our wedding, and she sat by the door until we got back.
  
• She does/doesn't like hardwood floors. She liked to run on them, and she likes making alot of noise, but stopping was darn-right hillarious. She couldn't figure it out.
  
• She liked to join us in bed each morning around 630 am, we learned that if we initially ignore her, she'll go back to sleep. Problem was, she would jump in between us, and start snoring. And if we woke her up, she'd begin to lick us.

She really has adopted us, and we love her so much...
 
 

If you got her from a shelter, did they tell you anything about her?  Like, did they know of her history?  She's probably come from an abusive background, so she might be hesitant at first especially if she's still getting to know you.  I'm not an expert on her breed, but I don't know that her behavior is a breed thing.  I guess love, patience, and just consistently working with her is the best typical advice I could possibly give you.  But I am very far from being an expert of any kind.  I'm hoping to get my first adopted dog soon, so I'd be new at it too.

Good luck!  And I'm sure others with specific knowledge on shelter dogs and/or the amstaff breed will post to help you out.
 
*edit*
See?  hehe, and you guys both have beautiful dogs!

Luckily for my dog, her story is that her previous owners of 3 to 4 yrs didn't want her anymore. They were about to have kids and didn't want to worry about having a dog and kids... so they gave her up. Since then she'd been in almost 2 yrs of foster care before we adopted her. We are damn lucky!