After the banning of blood sports and pit fighting in 1835, attitudes changed which, over the course of centuries, resulted in generations of responsible breeding and further breed refinement of the Stafford as a family pet and companion dog. The Stafford's association in early 19th century as a fighting dog made it difficult for the breed to gain recognition by the Kennel Club in the United Kingdom but was eventually added to their purebred registry in 1935. Staffords first arrived in North America in the mid to late 1880s but it was not until 1974 that the American Kennel Club accepted the Staffordshire Bull Terrier into their purebred registry.