Staffordshire Bull Terrier: inherited diseases and health

Updated 2026-09-30 · 3 sources

Based on: OMIA (University of Sydney), Science for Animal Welfare (UFAW), Wikidata

Breed health

The inherited conditions below have been documented in this breed in published research. That does not mean your dog has them or will get them – but it helps to know the names when you talk to a breeder or a vet.

Conditions this breed is prone to

Veterinary charities list this breed as more likely than others to get these conditions. Read the signs and what to do:

Staffordshire Bull Terrier and chocolate: how much is dangerous?

Typical adult weight: 11–17 kg. Grams of chocolate at which signs can start (20 mg/kg) and at which severe signs are reported (40 mg/kg):

Dog weight	Milk	Dark 70–85%	Baking / unsweetened
11 kg	110 g signs 220 g severe	28 g signs 55 g severe	16 g signs 31 g severe
17 kg	170 g signs 340 g severe	42 g signs 85 g severe	24 g signs 49 g severe

Based on published doses: signs from about 20 mg/kg, severe signs from 40 mg/kg (US FDA, Cortinovis & Caloni 2016, Swedish Poison Information Centre). An estimate, not a diagnosis.

Check the exact amount with the chocolate calculator →

Inherited conditions documented in the breed

Conditions documented: 12

A gene variant is known for 6 of the conditions below, so a DNA test may exist. Ask your vet or the breed club.

Condition	Body system	Inheritance	Gene variant known
Cataract, early onset, HSF4-related^[1]	Vision / eye	Autosomal recessive	Yes
Ciliary dyskinesia, primary, generic^[1]	Respiratory system	–	No
Cleft lip and palate^[1]	Craniofacial	–	No
Congenital muscular dystrophy, LAMA2-related^[1]	Muscle	Autosomal recessive	Yes
Degenerative myelopathy^[1]	Nervous system	Autosomal recessive	Yes
Distichiasis^[1]	Vision / eye	Multifactorial	No
L-2-hydroxyglutaricacidemia^[1]	Nervous system	Autosomal recessive	Yes
Mast Cell Tumour^[2]	–	–	–
Myelopathy, fibrocartilaginous embolic^[1]	Nervous system	–	–
Myotonia^[1]	Muscle	Autosomal recessive	Yes
Rupture of the cranial cruciate ligament, predisposition to^[1]	Skeleton (incl. short stature & teeth)	Multifactorial	No
Screw tail^[1]	Limbs / fins / digit / tail	Autosomal recessive	Yes

What this list means

“Documented in the breed” means at least one published case or study – it says nothing about how common the condition is.
Many of these conditions are rare. A responsible breeder can tell you which health tests the parents have had.
Where the gene variant is known, a DNA test may exist – ask your vet or the breed club.
If your pet shows signs of illness, contact your vet. This page cannot tell you whether your pet is ill.

About the breed

Origin: England
Height: 35.5–40.5 cm
Weight: 11–17 kg

^[3]

If your pet is struggling to breathe, has collapsed, is having a seizure or can't stand up: go to the nearest vet now.

Not sure how serious it is?

OkPaw asks a few quick questions about your pet and tells you in 30 seconds whether it can wait. Free on Google Play for Android.

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Sources

How this page was made: the list is taken directly from the sources below; nothing on it was written by AI. Names of conditions may be machine-translated. It is information, not a diagnosis. How we write our pages