- Staffy bloodlines are counted from 1935, when the Kennel Club recognised the breed.
- Of the six historic lines, mainly the M line of Brindle Mick and the R line of Ribchester Bob survive today.
- A line helps to read a pedigree, not to judge the dog: that is what tests, structure and temperament are for.
On this page
Staffordshire Bull Terrier bloodlines are counted from 1935, when the Kennel Club recognised the breed; before that, the Bull and Terriers of Staffordshire were working dogs without traceable pedigrees. In the 1940s the breed historian H. N. Beilby published the first thorough study of the breed's genetics, with data up to 1943, and identified six distinct male lines. Lines are traced through the male descent, as is standard practice in dog breeding, so a dog belongs to the line of the founder it descends from sire to sire, even when other lines appear through the females. Today the M-Line and the R-Line dominate the modern breed. Knowing a dog's line helps you read its pedigree; the dog itself is judged by its tests, structure and temperament. A guide by the Del Piccolo Diavolo kennel, which has bred Staffordshire Bull Terriers in Ostellato (Ferrara, Italy) since 2013.
This page tells the history of the lines and the dogs that founded them. If you are choosing a puppy and want to know how to find your way among today's lines, there is a practical guide: how to choose a bloodline.
What a bloodline actually is
A bloodline is not a sub-breed and it is not a brand. It is the accumulated result of decisions made by one breeder, or a small group of breeders, over many generations: which dogs were kept, which were mated together, and which traits were treated as non-negotiable. Two Staffordshire Bull Terriers from different lines are the same breed and must meet the same standard, but they can differ noticeably in bone, head proportion, temperament and working attitude.
Understanding lines matters for two very different reasons. If you are looking for a companion, it tells you what kind of dog you are likely to live with for the next 12 years. If you are considering breeding, it is the difference between a coherent programme and a series of hopeful accidents.
Where the lines come from
The recorded history of Staffordshire Bull Terrier bloodlines begins in 1935, when the Kennel Club recognised the breed. Before that the "Bull and Terriers" of Staffordshire were working dogs with no traceable pedigrees. In June of that year the breed club was founded at Cradley Heath, in Staffordshire, and systematic record-keeping started there.
In his study, with data up to 1943, the breed historian H. N. Beilby identified six distinct male lines:
- J-Line: founded by Fearless Joe, about 300 registrations by 1943
- M-Line: founded by Brindle Mick, about 300 registrations by 1943
- L-Line: founded by Game Lad, about 120 registrations
- B-Line: founded by Rum Bottle, associated with the Westall strain, about 100 registrations
- R-Line: founded by Ribchester Bob, recognised in 1946
- C-Line: founded through Cinderbank Beauty via Togo, recognised in 1946
Lines are traced through the male descent, which is standard practice in dog breeding. A dog belongs to the line of the founder it descends from sire to sire, even when other lines appear in the pedigree through the females.
The first champion: Gentleman Jim
One name stands above the rest. Gentleman Jim, born on 25 May 1936 and bred by Jack Dunn, was a son of Brindle Mick, the founder of the M-Line. He became the breed's first male champion in 1939, and practically every modern Staffordshire Bull Terrier carries him somewhere in its pedigree, often several times over.
That ubiquity has a cost. A single dog appearing repeatedly in almost every pedigree narrows the gene pool of the whole breed, which is one reason every breeding dog here is tested for L2-HGA and HC, or clear by parentage with its parents' reports. Our dogs are also clear of DM-SOD1.
M-Line, the widespread one
The M-Line, from Brindle Mick, is today by far the most widespread: in the The Stafford Knot database about 32,500 males descend from it in male line, against about 6,750 for the R-Line, while the other four lines count a hundred at most. Its best-known names include Gentleman Jim himself and Cross Guns Johnson, full brother of Brindle Mick and so Gentleman Jim's uncle, Best of Breed at the first Crufts the breed attended.
R-Line, the survivor
The R-Line was founded by Ribchester Bob, born around 1931. Today about one male in six descends from it in male line, and it is valued by European kennels looking to widen their base.
The lines that almost died out
The other four original lines have almost disappeared. About a hundred and twenty males of the J-Line (Fearless Joe) remain in the database; the L-Line (Game Lad), the B-Line (Rum Bottle, the "Westall strain") and the C-Line (Cinderbank Beauty, the most recent of the six) have twenty or fewer each.
M-Line and R-Line side by side
In The Stafford Knot database about 82% of males descend from the M-Line sire to sire, about 17% from the R-Line. You often read that the M-Line gives more massive heads and show dogs, and the R-Line more agile, trainable dogs. Take those descriptions with a pinch of salt: a line is followed only from sire to sire, and after ninety years of matings an M-Line dog also has a great many ancestors from other lines in its pedigree. A puppy's type is told by its parents and grandparents, not by the letter of its line.
Neither is better than the other. Knowing which one sits behind a litter is a fact of the pedigree, not a prediction about the puppy in front of you.
The English lines
The breed was made in England, and English breeding remains the reference point for type. The most influential kennels have prioritised correct proportion, a broad and well-filled head without exaggeration, sound movement and, above all, the reliable temperament written into the standard.
Lines such as Elitebull have been particularly influential in continental Europe, and they are the foundation of our own programme. What we look for there is substance without coarseness: a dog that is unmistakably a Staffordshire Bull Terrier at a glance, but that can still trot for a long time and breathe normally at the end of it.
The Irish lines
Irish breeding has a distinct flavour and an excellent reputation. Kennels such as Lackyle are known for compact, athletic, extremely typey dogs with strong bone and a notably outgoing character. Irish lines have historically placed heavy emphasis on soundness and on producing dogs that hold their type consistently across a litter rather than producing one exceptional puppy in an ordinary litter.
Combining English and Irish lines is a common and productive strategy, and it is the basis of our own selection. The two traditions complement each other: the English for balance and head quality, the Irish for compactness, bone and consistency.
Show lines, working lines and the exaggeration problem
Within the breed there is a real tension between dogs bred primarily for the ring and dogs bred for function and family life. In principle the standard describes one dog and there should be no divide. In practice, ring success has in some places rewarded ever heavier bone, ever shorter muzzles and ever wider fronts, and these traits have consequences that only appear away from the ring: heat intolerance, noisy breathing, and difficulty sustaining moderate exercise.
We regard this as the single most important issue facing the breed today, and it informs every mating we plan. A dog that cannot breathe comfortably in July has been failed by its breeder, regardless of how many titles sit in its pedigree.
Reading a pedigree properly
A pedigree is a document of ancestry, not a guarantee of quality: every registered dog has one. What makes it informative is what you do with it. Look at how often the same names appear on both sides, which tells you the degree of linebreeding. Look at whether the health results of those ancestors are documented and published. Look at whether the dogs behind the puppy were actually assessed by someone independent, whether in the ring or by a veterinary specialist, or whether they simply existed.
3 generations of titles with no health results is a weaker pedigree than 3 generations of untitled dogs with full testing and known temperaments. The second tells you far more about the puppy you are about to take home.
Linebreeding, inbreeding and coefficients
Linebreeding, the deliberate repetition of an admired ancestor within a pedigree, is a legitimate tool for fixing type. Pushed too far it becomes inbreeding, and the cost is paid in immune function, fertility and vigour rather than in appearance, which is precisely why it is easy to ignore.
The coefficient of inbreeding (COI) measures how closely related the parents are, and it is always read together with the number of generations it is calculated over: the same dog can have a COI of 9 per cent over eight generations and 21 over the full pedigree.
The range we work within is 6 to 9 per cent: below it you lose the ability to fix a temperament, above it you are tightening too much. And we will not repeat a close doubling simply because a particular ancestor was fashionable. Type gained at the expense of vitality is a bad trade, and it is one the family discovers years later.
What this means when you choose a puppy
Ask the breeder which lines are behind the litter, and why those two dogs were put together. The answer is revealing. A breeder with a programme will tell you what the sire brings, what the dam brings, what they are trying to improve and what they accept as a compromise. A breeder without one will say that both parents are beautiful.
Then ask what they would change about the litter if they could repeat it. Anyone honest has an answer.
Frequently asked
How many original bloodlines did the Staffordshire Bull Terrier have?
What is the M-Line and why does it matter so much?
Who was Gentleman Jim?
What is the difference between the Irish and the English lines?
How much does the coefficient of inbreeding matter?
How to read a pedigree
Where the lines really show: photos of the ancestors, descent and the inbreeding coefficient.