New Blue Puppy

Hi All,

I'm new here and just joined. Next Sunday I pick up my first ever dog and it's something I have been planning for a very long time. Everything is now bought and everything is prepared. I have wanted a Staffy ever since I was a kid as my nan's Staffy was the first dog I ever bonded with.

Now I have always loved the blue colour, I know some don't like it, but to me it's stunning. I finally found a litter after months of waiting and I met both mum and dad who were healthy and had heath checks for HC and L2-HGA and were both KC registered. The breeder showed me all paper work and showed me their 5 gen pedigrees which had 14 champions.

Now everything has been fine until yesterday when I stumbled upon colour dilution alopecia. Everywhere on this website the general consensus is to steer clear of blue - blue parents, and that is exactly what this pup has. Both parents are blue and now I'm panicking.

I don't consider this breeder your typical back yard breeder, he had all the paper work, spent a lot of time with me, answered every question and asked me questions, had the puppys on good food and I felt comfortbale and put down my deposit. The dogs aren't bought just for breeding, they are family pets alongside their pet rotweiler as well.

I just need advice on what to do, I really don't want to give this pup up when he might turn out to be absolutely fine. Is there a high risk of CDA in parents with a good solid pedigree?

Any thoughts would be great,

KentStaffy

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Hi ya, welcome to the forum from Flo and me

First off, well done on doing your homework. It doesn't always follow that they will have health problems if bred from 2 blues, it's just not a good idea as there could be issues with Diluted alopecia. I'm not an expert on pedigree and whether this will affect pups further down the blood line, maybe others can offer better advice than me.

You may well be right, this pup may be completely fine and I'm sure that there are more that are fine than not. In my opinion and it is only my opinion, blues sell well just now and have been intensively bred which is where I think this issue comes from.

I've moved your post to introductions as I think it will get more views and hopefully some answers.

I feel like I've found the real homework a little too late though. Looking on the Kennel Club website i've found the inbreeding coefficient is not where I'd like it to be either sitting at 15.7% (that's double the breed average!) although I expect this is occuring a lot with the blue staffys at the moment.

I'm in a real situation now. I've been waiting for this puppy for years and the last few weeks have gone painfully slow, and now I feel everything is falling apart at the final hurdle.

Welcome from Koda & I. I don't have much experience in this area as I own a blue & white pied, but as Ian says it's not necessarily all doom & gloom, just do your research, ask questions and get some expert advice. My advice is if you're wary and really bothered by it then just remember there are always plenty of beautiful pups for sale, it could be worth the wait. I'm sorry your experience has been tainted and put you in this position. I'm sure you'll make whatever choice you feel is best. Let us know how you get on.

So after a lot of thinking last night I’ve decided to go ahead and buy the puppy and this is how I reached my conclusion.

Firstly, I’m a pessimist at heart, so initially in my eyes the puppy was doomed, he was definitely going to get CDA and potentially more skin conditions. In reality this is not the case. The blue – blue parenting could lead to diseases; it is not definite that he will, there are plenty of dogs out there who have come from blue – blue parents who are perfectly healthy. The parents are both HC and L2-HGA clear as well so that is a bonus, I know that he will not develop these diseases, if he wasn’t clear of those then I wouldn’t have even considered the litter.
Secondly, he has already been born, he is 8 weeks old. If I don’t take him then there is a high chance that someone else might and this person could potentially use him purely for breeding purposes. This is not something I want, he will be my first and last blue and purely a family pet.

Now hypothetically if he was to develop a disease, with me he will get the best possible treatment. I will have the silver PetPlan for life insurance, which entitles me to £12,000 in vet bills per year to treat the condition. Now if I gave him up and someone else took him on and he developed CDA, chances are they might give him up and then he would become just another Staffy in a rehoming centre to add to the statistics, this is something I most definitely don’t want for him, it would break my heart. Plus, if he did develop a skin condition, he would look rather fetching in a football shirt. I plan to put omega oils into his food to try and help his coat as much as possible, he will also be on a good brand of dog food to help bolster his immune system and he will receive lots of exercise to keep that exceptional muscular tone that we have all come to love. If he did develop anything then I would become an expert on the matter and any information that I pick up would be posted on this message board so that others can absorb the knowledge.

Finally, I can’t just abandon him and leave him to go and live with someone else, I’ve named him and bought everything in preparation for him. Hopefully (touch wood) he won’t encounter any problems because of his genetics, but if he does, then I’m safe in the knowledge that with me, he will live the best life he can possibly lead.

I am glad you are taking the puppy, there is no guarantee but you have done your best and hope you get as much joy and love from your Pup as I from Blue, they are amazing dogs and great cuddle monsters and shower you regularly, pics please when you get him.

Awesome, great decision & reasoning!!

Your reasons for going ahead seem sound to me too. It doesn't always follow that a Blue from 2 Blues will have issues just that the chances are increased. Having had a look through some old threads on here it looks like the jury is still out on how bad the issue is or isn't.

Quiet clearly you want Gus as a firm family member and like the rest of us, would move heaven and earth to keep them safe and well. I think you need to relax, take a deep breathe and then enjoy Gus

PS... some pics please

actually, from what you've said, my main concern would be the COI at 15%.

no, blue to blue isn't advisable, but the pup's already here & you're already taken with him! he'll have a good home.

just think VERY carefully before breeding from him (I'm not saying you're going to!), as his inbreeding figure is very high.

I agree I was a little startled with his inbreeding figure. But after some research I think what's most likely is there is a grandparent in the pedigree somewhere that has been used multiple times to stud in the south east.

I didn't intend to breed him and with the COI sitting high at 15% it all but confirmed that he is purely a family pet.

One day I would like to get involved with the breeding side of things, but as this is my first dog I thought i'd learn from him and then breed my second Staffy in years to come. He or she will not be blue and will be extremely carefully selected.

It sounds like you have put a lot of thought into this, for that I am grateful and it sounds like he will have a home for life with you.

I work in rescue and often see the other side of the coin with blues in particular at the moment. I cannot wait for the day that this fad passes, the dogs are the ones suffering for it!

Hiya from me and Vinnie

It's a shame that so many of them end up in rescue. They are such a lovely breed of dog with a reputation thoroughly undeserved.

I pick him up on Sunday so once he is settled in a will post some pictures

Awesome, cant wait to see pics & hear how you're both getting on - only a few more days now!!

Hi and welcome to the forum from me and the zoo xx

Hi, I'm a New user as well just thought I would share about my Blue pup Molly.
She is bred from two blue parents, she does have some fawn brindle flashes but no problems.
If anything it adds something different about her! You made the right decision I was worried about similar things but once they are with you, you won't want to let them go.

Enjoy the puppy cuddles xxxx

Hi and welcome from us and Suki

hia from me and sasha

Welcome from me and Rio i bet your puppy will be adorable