Anita , my friend and next door neighbour has fallen in love with and intends buying a BLUE German Shepherd dog puppy.

Now a few of my friends have GSDs (including Anita who has a long haired black rescue one) but I know very little about them

She is being charged quite a bit for this one...and I have been told that blue is a recessive colour.

Can anyone one of you tell me more about the colouration?

She wants him for a pet by the way and has no interest in showing or breeding (her other dog has already been neutered)

Thanks all
Melody :)

Hi.
Blue Shepherds have been around a long time and I can see the attraction them. As far as I understand they do not have any problems associated with the colour, so providing the breeder is not asking any more for the blue one than any of the others, and as you say will not be used for breeding I personally can't see a problem with it. Perhaps a bit like white or long coats still perfectly healthy animals just an unaccepted coat colour or length.
Dawn.

Found an excellent analysis of how colors are achieved genetically in the German Shepherd. The author reiterated that no known genetic disorders associated purely with color have been found in the GSD and is asking for information if any are known.

The blue is a recessive gene and therefore your friend is paying for the 'unusual' (or as some of these people state 'rare') color. Even found one site that was offering steel blues, snowclouds (would assume white), reds and other RARE colors with the ability to charge them on Visa or Mastercard. In other words, the more unusual the color the more they are going to charge.

Thanks Sierra , I have printed that page off and will pass it to my friend. She seems to be quite happy to pay the price asked and I suppose when all is said and done , THAT is the most important thing , as long as the pup is healthy (which it does seem to be).

Since she is paying a good deal of money, she should make sure that all the normal genetic testing was done on the parents prior to the breeding to help insure the puppy's future health. Hip Dysplasia, Osteochondrosis Dissecans (OCD), Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA), Bilateral Cataracts, Sub-Aortic Stenosis (SAS), von Willebrand's Disease (vWD), Degenerative Myelopathy (suspected to be genetic, occuring most often in familial lines). I would suggest that she ask questions about whether there are any problems in German Shepherds first (a good breeder will know what the problem areas are and will often at that time offer up the results of testing on their dogs or whether it has occurred in the lines). She should then follow it up with asking for specific testing results (again, a reputable person will not just say 'oh everything's okay' but will instead show the eye, hip/elbow, blood testing results).

Not everyone can test for heart abnormalities as I understand that facilities here in England are not common. However, one should know what is behind the dogs in the pedigrees that they are breeding.

Even though your friend wants a 'pet', she deserves a healthy pet, especially when she is paying high prices.

Thansk again Sierra , I have already warned her about HD and PRA , they were the only ones that I knew about ..it does sound as though the breeder is a very responsible one though...has invited them to see both parents (they were in the kennels when they visited the place - late in the evening).

Will keep you informed if I hear anything else (I am quite looking forward to seeing this blue GSD , have never seen one before)

Oh yes ..and I am getting the blame for them having a puppy as I have been telling her about my Mal which I get in just over a week *BOUNCE

Oh grief ...here I go again :D

Congratulations on your Mal.... they were my very first breed and introduction into sledding and the show world. You might do a search on 'blue german shepherds' on any search engine. There are quite a few pictures of blues.

Exactly how much are they asking for the puppy?

£500 ...£350 for the black and sable bother

Melody

someone needs to tell bear, i think he was looking for a blue one too

This whole site is devoted to one person's blues. It's www.bluedogs.8m.com and shows loads of pics of them. There's loads of other sites too if you search.
Sas

My Grandparents had a Silver/Black Gsd, called Wolf . He was a beautiful dog,When I was a Baby, some 30ish years or so ago. Never heard of a blue one. The liver one looks nice on that site.

I know people up here who breed blues and only charge the standard GSD price, i.e about £300-350 for a K.C registered pup. In my opinion £500 is too much money to pay for any GSD pup, no matter what the colour. I would never buy a pup from someone charging high prices for 'rare' colours because this is also the kind of person who breeds dogs to make money, with little regard for health or temperament.
Blue is a recessive colour sure, but people should not use that to charge ridiculous prices, it is just greed, and I would never go near anyone like that.
WWW.Bluedogs.com I think is a website for blues, blue sables etc, the blue sable is quite nice, but I personally don't think there is anything special looking about the solid blue, it is a very dark colour in this country, and not that much different to black.
Tell your friend if she was willing to travel to Scotland, I could give her the number of a breeder who breeds blues for health and temperament, and who is not greedy, she just charges the normal price.
Do you know the name of the breeder your friend has gone to? You can e mail me privately if you like, just click on my name - Bear ( a she bear by the way, not he! )

glancing through the buy and sell today came across this .offered free to good home a hybrid female pup silver and white aged 12 weeks. must have walled garden .contact number as well from the dublin area in ireland wondering if it was put in the english buy and sell as it has been in awhile

That is terrible, some people should be banned for life from ever keeping a dog, or maybe even a pet... a hybrid of all things offered free, just imagine the kind of home this poor pup might end up in. So sad.
I agree with the person who was talking about whites etc being bred mostly from people who only want money and don't health test, this is sadly true, and although I have been lucky so far in that my cream longcoat is healthy dog and a lovely big boy, I am still getting him hip scored before I consider using him as a stud. I don't agree with the term 'serious fault' to describe blues etc, as it implies that they are unhealthy due to their colour alone, which is not true, but it is terrible to see these people who breed these colours, not caring about dodgy bloodlines, temperament etc, then charge ridiculous high prices for them. Of course, they wouldnt be getting away with what they do if it was not for all these silly people out there prepared to pay these prices just to be able to say they own a 'rare' colour!

It is silly really as the reason they are a rare colour is that they are considered undesireable, or faulty, as regards the GSD breed standard, so would not be bred for by people who want to preserve and improve the GSD breed based on the STANDARD!!!! It would be the same if I tried to breed red Elkhounds (some have turned up in the states over the years, but no-one knows of such an occurence in UK since at least 1950). It is a human trait to desire the unusual, and the breeders of untypical examples of any breed for their novelty value are cashing in on this. At least the white Shepherd breeders in Australia, and America are trying to have them recognised as a seperate breed, I think the FCI countries hqave or are considering recognising them as such. I beleive a number of breeds started off as offshoots of another parent breed.

Talking of white GSD's being a separate breed, I have read in one of my do books that westies were originally white cairn terriers. They would have been culled, as they were unsuitable for the prupose they were being bred for.
Can't see what all the fuss is over colour. If one of our best loved breeds started off in this way, what's the problem?? I always want to know who decides on breed standards, and if and why do they change??

>At least the white Shepherd breeders in Australia, and America are trying to have them recognised as a seperate >breed, I think the FCI countries hqave or are considering recognising them as such. I beleive a number of breeds >started off as offshoots of another parent breed.

Yes in Sweden white GSDs are now registered as Vit Herdehund which essentially means white herding dog. Sweden is hosting the 2008 world show and there are classes scheduled for them. According to the Swedish KC website it is a FCI recognised breed (breed number 347).

Marianne

As an aside ..and to maybe allay Bears possible fears , the breeder Anita is getting her pup from is having him hip scored and doesn't seem to try and breed so called rare colours as a deliberate thing. Also , Anita , like yourself , fell in love with the pup as well as its colour and so I have no worries on that score. She (breeder) asked if Anita was happy with the price (?) to which Anita said yes of course.

As an aside , I went to the website mentioned earlier to look at blue GSD's ...apart from the eye colour , they seem to be quite unblue (unless my eyes are getting worse) :)

I always smile when people make comments about preserving the breed standard. Breed standards can be changed and have done so when a number of people decide that a specific colour should be included and have bred stock for many years in order to get the colour accepted.
I always believe that a good dog cant be a bad colour. Colour should be the last thing to worry about.

Quote :- "the breeder Anita is getting her pup from is having him hip scored"

Having who hip scored, bearing in mind that the dog must be at least 12 months old before the BVA will score it?

Nix

Pedant ;)

I didn't speak to the breeder myself ...and Anita knows nothing about hip scoring (hadn't even heard of it until I mentioned it)

I have to assume the breeder will supply both parents hip scores ...Anita is off to see the puppy and both parents again this evening so I will make sure I let you know Nix

Melody

Nothing wrong with being pedantic when it comes to demanding a healthy puppy!

I would also suggest your friend also ask for Haemophilia 'A' results for the males in the puppy's pedigree as well (only males can be tested with either a clear or affected result - females can be carriers as well as clear or affected so are not tested).

Nix

If I ever get a badly mismarked puppy (large amounts of white) in my litters I must remember to put a premium price on this rare pied Elkhound!!! Even more if the ears don't go up!

Only joking of course.

The friend should not be paying any more than for a standard fitting example, to my mind the price of a dog that has faulty coat or colour for its breed lacks breed type, and should carry a slightly lesser price tag!!

I have a Blue German Shepherd called Neela and my friend has one also. They gene colour is recessive as others have told you and although mine was a rescue I understand that my friend payed somewhere int he order of £700 for hers!!! They are very unusual and utterly beautiful. Where is your friend getting hers from? Mine came from Ayrshire in Scotland. Make sure the pedigree line is ok _ i know some people will line breed blues inthe hope of blue pups - don't know what your opinion is but I think line breeding is to close for comfort and can result in genetic problems. If your friend would like to see a blue or speak to another blue owner I'd be more than happy to help out.

K

Thanks Kirsty , I will pass your email address over to her if I may? She is getting hers from near where we live , in Lincolnshire

Not trying to sound cheeky Kirsty, but are the blue Shepherds that unusual looking? The ones I have seen over here look almost like blacks, and they seem to be quite small in build, height and with poor head shape. Maybe I have only seen bad examples, I would love to see a picture of your girl, I am the first to admit to a penchance for unusual coloured German Sheps, especially longcoats.
P.S - Good news everyone - I have at last managed to find a black and silver longcoat pup, she is 7 weeks old, I am taking her home next week, she is gorgeous! She looks like a male pup as she is really big with a massive head! I am going to call her Morganna as she will hopefully be a girlfriend for my cream boy Merlin in a few years!! I can't wait to bring her home!!!!

That's great news Bear.

Fiona

I agree with Bear they just look black to me and seem to lack breed type and substance, I have yet to see one that was a good example of the breed. I also think it is very wrong that this colour for some reason seem to command much higher prices and after all this colour is a serious fault. I know in my local ad paper there are dozens of litters advertised as rare whites etc and they are asking very silly prices and it is very rare to find any that have had the necessary health checks done on the parents. I know that there are some breeders out there who breed primarily for coat colour and also do health checks but sadly these are few and far between. The vast majority of them seem to be bred by Joe Public wanting to earn a quick buck with no thought or planning. I have also lost count of the number of buyers who have contacted me re german shepherd pups only to tell me that my dogs are in fact alsations as thay do not have long hair! Dont get me wrong I have nothing against long coats/whites/blues etc but we should never lose sight of the fact that these are highly undesirable according to our breed standard and breeding for coat length and colour alone can often mean that other desirable traits in the breed are lost. However saying that I have noticed that in longcoats in particular quality has improved over the last few years.

Hello to all, I have a blue and he is no where near black, he is a blue, It is really hard to explain his color. He is like a blue grey or what people think he is grey. He parents were both black mostly. With just a little tan on the legs.  I do agree how ever that some people do say these blues are 'rare" so they can get more money. That to me is just a greedy person. I do have a question I know there are people out there that bred just for white gsd are there people that  bred just for the blues? I know my dog could never show in the comformation ring but we have done herding and agilty and done very well. I think the german shepherd is a great breed of dog no matter what color.

DELIGHTED FOR YOU BEAR WORTH WAITING FOR MARI

My very good friend has been in GSD's for many years, although her main breed is Bloodhounds.

She had a litter of Blue's about 10 years ago, she kept 3 of them and the other 2 were sold at a reduced price because of the recessive gene (both parents were health tested so pups were from healthy parents) Her dogs although look very dark, also look "dusty" to me. I wasn't attracted to them, but it's easy to see how many people would be.

She breeds to her own high standards and of course KC, but has also had the odd long coat along the way, (which I love) and again, has reduced the price if she hasn't kept them :rolleyes: My friend has a habit of keeping "ones that aren't good enough to go to other homes"

Good job she now lives 500 mile away from me, because she has just had her first litter in 5 years and I would definitely end up with one of the gorgeous scrumpots if I lived closer as I would be there everyday and just get too close ;)