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Edited November 22, 2010 by .......

[ellz]

Hate to tell you this but you will be hard pressed to find a blue that conforms to the standard for one major reason. The standard clearly states NOSE BLACK and genetically this is impossible for a dilute. And blue is a dilute.

Nobody can force anybody to charge a specific amount for their puppies, no matter what colour or quality they are. Just as nobody can force a person to register puppies of any breed, colour, shape or kind on Limited Registration UNLESS they are of a colour that is specifically disqualified in a breed. And even then, because Big Brother doesn't hang over your shoulder when identifying and registering a litter, it is still largely an issue of ethics and morals.

As a word of advice, very few responsible, reputable Stafford breeders will deliberately breed for blue colouration. If one happens to appear in a litter, most reputable breeders will put it on LR and most won't charge an inflated price for it.

It isn't hard to recognise the breeders who intend to try and "trade on" the colour. They are usually the ones whose prefix mention Blu, Blue, Bloo or a million other derivatives of the word blue. Personally, I would suggest avoiding these like the plague. Not only are they quite obviously "specialising" in the colour but realistically, blues are not of the same quality as other colours USUALLY so they are highly unlikely to be able to produce quality puppies themselves, no matter what colour those offspring may be.

[WreckitWhippet]

or you just look for the " champion lines " , you'll be lucky to come across one in the immediate pedigree.

Whilst a "champion" is no gaurantee of quality, they are at least prepared to get out in the ring and give it a go and maybe learn something about the breed along the way. There might be the odd one in amongst the plethora of blue breeders, but to be honest if you want to show a pup, you're best off avoiding blue altogether.

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Edited November 22, 2010 by .......

[ellz]

Thanks Ellz and ReadySetGo, that's interesting information.

I knew that blue was a dilute but didn't realise that meant no black noses (seems a bit of a contradiction to have blue as an acceptable colour if they can't have black noses!)

I was interested in adding the blue colour into my breeding lines but I am thinking twice about it now!

The thing about the breed standard is that it was written a VERY long time ago and has had minimal changes as the breed and knowledge has evolved.

For example, the black/tan being highly undesirable came about back when it was feared that if it were allowed, it would take over and bring with it the type which came from the Manchester Terrier (one of the terriers used to introduce the "terrier" part of the original "bull and terrier" that was the breed). Now of course, it is understood that black/tan is not a colour, it is a pattern and it is a recessive so both parents must carry the gene to express it to their offspring. Therefore it could only have "taken over" if it was bred with a lot.

The blue was introduced into the breed many, many years ago as well and it wasn't then understood that being a dilute, it would never carry the black pigmentation. The best a blue can ever have is dark slate eye rims, noses, lip and mouth pigmentation and nails. But the standard has never been adjusted accordingly. Why? Well lots of assumptions....either the powers-that-be don't want to accept lighter pigmentation or they don't want to accept the blue colouration.

My own personal feeling is that any colouration that runs the risk of bring health issues with it, has no place. Dilute gene alopecia is common in blues, livers and other dilute colours in most breeds (including Staffords) so I think that to encourage it in the breed could see it spilling over into the other colours as well if the pedigrees are mixed too much.

And from a breeder/exhibitor point of view....to be honest....I personally would have trouble working with somebody who was seriously dabbling in the colour for now. If the standard were changed and slate noses were to become acceptable, I'd still have reservations but would be more open to consideration of the colour IF the quality were apparent in other areas of the dog.

And I have absolutely ZILCH respect for people who will deliberately breed blue to blue and sell ALL of the resulting offspring for more than pet price on MR.