[quote=troy] tell me this, why did the colouring and temperament changed.[/quote] Well,The coloring and temperment changes come from linebreeding/inbreeding and selection of the desired traits/or goals of the breeder. Since amstaffs were selected more for there confrimation and less on there ability and drives you'll get a mellower dog alot of the time,not always of course,Many actually seem to consider ruffian a line of functional or working type staff as compared to some of the abominations out there registered as amstaff,I love ruffian dogs.. And as a matter of fact,the ruffian amstaff is alot closer to the real apbt than many of the duel registered strains of u.k.c apbt out there today. Many of the strains of staff from the past,that have been extinct in a pure form were added into the ruffian strain over the years such as tacoma and x-pert. [quote=troy]todays rufian are very cool around other dogs and animals. [/quote]Again the mellow nature comes from selection for other drives and temperment,although im not to sure how mellow they are around other dogs,i figure that there pretty aggresive,they just lack the gameness of the ancestors since it wasnt a factor in there selection.. I know my dog [amstaff]wont look for a fight or isnt fight crazy,but if left to his own devices around another dog there very well could/would be issue's..... [quote=troy] BY THE WAY, WELCOME TO THE FORUM.[/quote] Thank you!!