Minor disagreements still abound, but it is generally accepted that the modern Staffordshire Bull Terrier is a direct descendant of dogs of mixed origin, generally known during most of the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries, as the Bull and Terrier.
Writers on the breed have suggested that this original crossbreeding may have taken place about 1800, but the facts are uncertain, and it is possible that similar types of dog appeared before this date. It has been stated that the Bull and Terrier of the early nineteenth century derived from the Bulldog of that time and the Old English Terrier in an attempt to produce a fighting dog with the strength of the former and the agility of the latter. Some credence can be attached to this theory as it was about this period that the sports of bear baiting and bull baiting (finally made legal in 1835) began to decline, to be superseded by organized dog fighting.
It is possible, however, that our pragmatic forefathers used the most successful fighting dogs, whatever the pedigrees, as the sires and dams in their breeding programmes; success at fighting was the main criterion. It is fairly safe to assume that early breeders were not so influenced by the 'looks or books' theory as by the performance of their dogs in the dog pits. But the Bulldog of that era (not to be confused with the modern species of that name) and any game terrier type of dog showing agility and tenacity probably formed the basis of the present Staffordshire Bull Terrier.
The fighting dog, like his human counterpart the prize fighter, required strength, agility, skill and the capacity to both give and receive severe punishment. Today, strength and agility are the main physical characteristic of the breed, and many of our most temperamentally sound dogs seem completely impervious even to extremes of pain.
Nugget is a lover not a fighter (Litter #1)
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