JERRY-LEE (Red Pistol de Chris Kennels)
30.4.2006

 

 

Click here to see his pedigree

 

When we lost Oliver we decided that 2 Staffords would be enough for us ... a lot easier to manage than 3, so life went on, but I had fancied a Dogo Argentino for quite a while now after seeing them at shows over here. I also liked the Amstaffs ... American Staffordshire Terriers (note not American Staffordshire Bull Terriers) and while rooting around on the internet, came across the website of an Amstaff breeder in Denia which is only 30km from us. He had just had a litter from a dog and bitch he owned, so we enquired about having a look ... not with the intention of buying a puppy, but to have a closer look at the breed and find out about temperament etc. A visit was arranged for the next Sunday afternoon.

 

We went over to see the dogs ... our friends here were taking bets to the fact we would come back with one ... although I said "no way ... we are only just going to check out the breed" We were made very welcome by Adrian and his wife Pilar with drinks etc. and saw the most adorable litter of puppies who were about four and a half weeks old. We found out that Adrian is in fact the secretary of the American Staffordshire Terrier club of Spain and has done plenty of showing and winning with his dogs and is currently campaigning Jerry Lee's father Lukas (Carballidostaffs Inferno de Ibero) who is a very striking pied dog. Oh, and of course we bought a puppy !!

 

Amstaffs are of course a banned breed in the UK, but here in Spain there are many shown although you don't see many kept as pets. We thought that they would be very much the same as an English Stafford, but a bit bigger ... this isn't really so, as the movement and conformation is more like a hound than a terrier they move much more gracefully than a Stafford. Unlike Staffords they are not a very good house dog, I think a lot of people keep them outside over here. Jerry Lee however stays inside the house with the others. I think that Amstaffs are very much like Staffords in the fact that when they have done something bad and you give them a whack ... they just look at you as if to say "whatever!" but if you shout at them ... they know ... ears down ... sorry expression ... want to give you a kiss. Then they go and do the same thing again 3 minutes later !! Also Amstaffs are really good jumpers, even if you hold something over your head that they are trying to get, they will jump and get it.

 

As we wanted to show Jerry Lee we were advised by his breeder to have his ears cropped for show ... yes, I do know that you can show an amstaff with non-cropped ears, but you won't win anything. Adrian recommended a vet in Alicante who was an expert at this ... people bring amstaffs here to get their ears done from as far as Barcelona and Cadiz. We made the appointment and got there at 9.00 am. We were told we could pick him up at 1.00 pm. so we strolled around Alicante, hoping he would be OK. The time came to pick him up and when they brought him out to us he looked terrible, one ear was OK and sticking up like it should be but the other was sticking out sideways. They told us that it should be right in a couple of days, but if it didn't go up naturally we would have to tape it up. Anyway we took him home and he was fine in himself but looked a bit comical. We were in for a shock because after a few days the ear didn't come up ... in fact both ears had come down folded over flat over the top of his head. We phoned Adrian, who came and had a look and told us that it was definitely not right and we had to tape them up. What a performance trying to tape up the ears on a 12 week old puppy ... still we managed it and now they are perfect, so it was worth it in the end.

 

Jerry Lee was growing very quickly and turning into a handsome dog. The time came for his first show just after he was 5 months old ... here in Spain you can enter a dog in puppy class at 5 mths. not 6 months like the UK. We had been doing some training with him ... how to stand and walk properly on the lead and were looking foreward to his first show. We drove to Murcia, which was about a 2 hour drive from our home in Oliva and arrived there nice and early. Adrian, Jerry Lee's breeder was there and took charge of things straight away. Wearing his white grooming coat he plonked Jerry Lee on his table, trimmed his whiskers off, powdered all his white bits and generally groomed him. He looked very smart when he was finished ... and I think Jerry Lee loved all the attention.

 

He was entered in the puppy class which of course was the first class in the ring. He behaved very well and we were delighted when the judge placed him second in a class of 11 ... he was also the youngest one there. We had a good time afterwards looking round the stands and sampling the food and wine of the region, which is always a popular feature of this show.

 

The next show was in Valencia where he didn't do quite as well but we still experienced the friendliness of Adrian and his helpers who once again made sure Jerry Lee was right for exhibition.

 

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