Hey SBT owners/breeders out there... ive just seen on the internet that Blue staffs like my Bentley are simply a diluted black and there nose and eyes are bad pigmentations or something is this true? i no blues are not accepted in the show ring but the Kennel Club never had issues when registering him as Blue and the breeder never mentioned anything hes healthy and so were his parents?? see my pics on profile ...

Blues are accepted in the showring, but don't do well because they carry faults associated with the colour..

A blue is a diluted black, and there are some health issues such as alopecia that is related to the coat colour.

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i think blues in every breed are diluted.

in collies they are tris (black) with the dilution factor involved and i believe the same is true in border collies too.

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ok thanks all i just had a gent with 2 red staffys try and tell me Bentley was a bad staff as it isnt an original colour and i cant show him etc and i shouldnt hav bought a blue cos they have problems? i was like oh thanks

Yes, blue is a dilution of black, and the grey of a Weimaraner and the lilac colouring of a border collie is a dilution of brown

The colour of the nose is a good indicator of what the diluted colour is.

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Blue is a recognised colour, but undesireable for showing because of the associated faults.

The blues have unfortunately fallen foul of the BYB, and those breeding a "rare" colour to make more £££, and as a result there are an awful lot of badly bred ones out there; although the same can be said about the SBT in general.

If you're happy with your boy, sod what other people think.

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I am just a worthless liar.
I am just an imbecile.
I will only complicate you.
Trust in me and fall as well.
I will find a center in you.
I will chew it up and leave,
I will work to elevate you
just enough to bring you down

He was rude to say it but the majority of the time blue staffs are badly bred. They were bred only for their colour above health, temperament and conformation.

The health issue that is DIRECTLY linked with the dilution gene is Colour Dilution Alopecia (CDA).

Yes the blue is dilute black. Nobody should be breeding for this colour, but the odd blue can pop up in a normal litter which isn't anything to be wary of.

with our last blue merle billy a woman said, lovely dog but they dont come in that colour, we told her they did but she insisted that no they do not!!!!!

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i am very happy with him he has no health problems and he and 2 bitchs in the litter were blue and 2dogs were black and the mother black and dad blue so dont think they were aiming for a litter of blue pups and i didnt pay over the odds for him just cos of his colour he was £500 which is the going rate for a well bred traditional staff.. thanks 4 the info peeps

A blue is a dilution of black. A 'good' blue, so one that has a bit more of a chance in the showring than another blue should have a black nose and dark claws, most blues have a blue nose and clear nails.

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.....and Bosley too!