The American Staffordshire Terrier is no different from any other purebred dog, in that, they too share some health concerns which responsible breeders are or ought to be watching out and checking for. I have composed this page for these specific reasons in hope to help educate for the betterment and longevity of my beloved breed. I rely upon OFA for Certifications.

I cannot STRESS that if a breeder does not provide you with an "OFA Certification Certificate" or "PennHip Certificate" ONLY when you ask, that they probably have not checked or are hiding something. You can always check by going to OFA's website at (www.offa.org) to do a search for that breeder's kennel name to double check. If a breeder tells you that it is not in my line, my first inclination would be "how do you know if you don't check?" Also, certification from a University is okay but they cannot be as good as OFA's because OFA is the correct issuing body for health testings for all breeds of dogs. For instance, their database has hundreds and hundreds of submissions for Amstaffs, whereas a University may only have 10 if you are lucky. This means that the dog has not been rated against its breed as a whole, and there is no database to rely upon for correct evaluations, nor a clear picture of its ancestry. This is very important as the mode of inheritance for hip dysplasia is polygenetic. Most ethical breeders submit only to OFA, however some do with Penn Hip as well for hip certifications. OFA also has a vertical pedigree now that can help in your research.

I will list the 6 health concerns and if possible, add a link or links to sites where there has been specific research done.

1. Hereditary Ataxia - this is a neurological disorder which has become a major focus for the Amstaff Community. To date most dogs affected have to be euthanized once their condition gets worse. The onset varies from 2 years of age and up. Here are some links with more info:

STCA Health Committee - research headed by Natasha Olby

Amstaff-Ataxia. com - be sure to click in the top right hand corner for the English version.

Canine Hereditary Ataxia - research headed by the University of Missouri

2. Cardiac Disease - There are several forms of genetic heart disease that have been seen in AmStaffs. They include mitral valve prolaspse, pulmonic valvular stenosis, SAS and others. The mode of inheritance is unknown, but it is important to not breed any affected animals. Diagnosis by a cardiologist and echocardiogram is recommended. OFA will give a certification from a practitioner as well as a cardiologist. There is much controversy over this as many regular vets have been found to miss murmurs. Therefore, when looking at a dog's certification # with OFA, look for the letter "C" or "S" at the end which denotes that the dog has been certified by a cardiologist or specialist.
Here are some links with more info:

Orthopedic Foundation for Animals - OFA is the leader in making and helping breeders be aware of certain health issues. Their database is unsurpassed.

Heart Disease by Pamela Perdue - this was researched and written by a Amstaff breeder of more than 20 years who is also a good friend of mine.

Boxer Underground - this is the Boxer Underground which may or maynot shead some light for how to combat SAS in Amstaffs

SAS - What is it? and why Breeders should be concerned

3. Hip Dysplasia - this is a condition which lames a dog or puts them in great pain, some to a point of having to be euthanized for humane reasons. Hips inheritance is polygenetic - which means that if both sire and dam have good hips, they can still produce a litter of hip dysplastic pups, but your chances of that not happening comes from a long history of passes from generations previous, and the only way to research that is by OFA or Penn Hip Certifications and their databases which are keeping track of passes and fails. Relying on other certifications are very unreliable as OFA has over 1800 x-rays in their database for our breed which have been evaluated.

Othopedica Foundation for Animals - OFA is the leader in making and helping breeders be aware of certain health issues. Their database is unsurpassed.

4. Hypothyroidism - This is a disorder/disease which although it is a easy fix with a pill a day, it is still something which all breeders should be checking for. A full panel including TGAA (autoantibodies) should be run each year. Free T4 is not as accurate, because you may miss the presence of autoantibodies which is an inherited trait. The presence of autoantibodies will lead to hypothyroidism, but may take time to reflect in the T4 numbers. Also, a dog may be positive for autoantibodies and not show any clinical signs until the disease continues to progress.

Hypothyroidism on the Rise in our Dogs by Jacqueline Linke - this is an article which I researched and wrote for the Amstaff Annual since then however I have learnt more and will be adding new information....

Hypothyroidism

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