There are many breeds of dog that come with a blue coat.
Perhaps most obviously are Weimaraners and Great Danes.
However, there are far fewer breeds of dogs with “blue” in the name and even fewer breeds that start with blue.
I have created a list of eight breeds
Three dog breeds that start with “blue” and five other dog breeds that have “blue” somewhere in their name.
Within this list are three different types of “blue” coats.
The first type of coat colour is a solid “blue” colour seen in Blue Lacys or in Kerry Blue Terriers. To look at, these coat colours are grey.
The colours on a dog’s coat are a result of a black or red pigment being controlled by the behaviour of genes.
To get a solid blue coat both parents need to have a gene that “dilutes” the black pigment.
The second coat colouring is a blue that is the result of black mottled dots on white hair, which is seen in such breeds as the Bluetick Hound.
It is also called “ticking”.
It is not fully understood how this is created, although scientists are sure that the base layer is black and the top layer is mottled white dots.
The third type of coat colour, which is seen on breeds such as Blue Heelers, is called roan.
The difference between ticking and roan is that the white areas are far more visible in ticking.
Any white areas are almost lost in a dog’s coat with the roan pattern.
White can be seen as the occasional white hair on a coat.
If your head is spinning with all of that science, I will now introduce you to the first dog breed that starts with blue.
[1] Bluetick Coonhound
Our first blue named breed is the Bluetick Coonhound.
Named after the spotted or mottled pattern that stretches across their coats, these are big all American dogs, which are popular dogs in the Southern states of America.
A male might stand up to 27 inches or 67 cm tall and weigh up to 80 lbs or 36 kgs.
Not only are they big but they are loud- they have a bark or a yowl which can only be described as mournful as they chase after a scent.
These dogs lead a double life.
Whilst they are happy to lounge around and sleep during the day, a night time hunt will see them morph into a raccoon chasing machine.
They are known as “cold noses” because of their ability to follow a very old scent.
Highly affectionate with their owners, on a hunt they can keep going for hours on end.
If you think that they sound like an ideal family pet, be warned.
These Coonhounds need vast amounts of exercise and an under stimulated dog could make you unpopular with your neighbours with their “choir” practice!
[2] Blue Lacy
The Blue Lacy is another American dog.
This dog tends to be concentrated in the state of Texas, where in 2005 it was officially adopted as the State’s dog breed.
Although it is called the Blue Lacy, there are three coat colours- solid blue, solid red or tricolour.
These dogs work on ranches performing a wide range of duties including herding livestock and hunting wild hogs.
They aren’t as big as Bluetick Coonhounds and an adult male might stand as tall as 53 cm or 21 inches and weigh up to 60 lbs or 23 kgs.
But like a Bluetick, these dogs are incredibly hardy because of the harsh terrain that they work in.
And they really are working dogs, who won’t do well as family pets.
Unless you like to spend your weekends hunting wild hogs or herding cattle.
[3] Blue Heelers
From the rugged terrain of Texas to the unforgiving prairies of Australia.
Blue Heeler is one of the nicknames of the Australian Cattle Dog.
Once again, the Blue comes from their coat, which is blue mottled or speckled.
Since these Cattle Dogs can also have red mottled coats, those dogs are named “Red Heelers”.
And they are called Heelers because they move reluctant cattle on by nipping at their heels!
Blue heelers are a similar size to a Blue Lacy as they can be as tall as 51cm or 20 inches and weigh up to 49 lbs or 22 kgs.
Blue Heelers are intelligent dogs, ranked in 10th place (out of 110 breeds) according to Stanley Coren.
With a lot of care and attention, these dogs can become great family dogs although they might try to herd noisy, young children in the same way that they do cattle…
By nipping at their heels!
And now that I have highlighted dog breeds that start with “Blue” the next section will contain 5 breeds of dogs that contain the name “blue” or “Bleu”.
5 breeds with blue in the name
[1] Kerry Blue Terrier
Kerry’s were originally bred in Ireland to hunt a variety of vermin- from rats to foxes before farmers started using it for other tasks such as herding sheep or guarding.
The breed comes in several shades of blue, from a very dark shade (close to black) to a much lighter shade of silver.
Puppies are all born black and their final shade of blue will not appear until they are around two years of age.
These dogs have a very unique look to them- from the colour of their coat, to the tight curl of their coat (which has the softness of wool) to their straight lines of their body and their beard.
It is a real shame that these dogs are so rare to find.
Of the 196 breeds on the AKC register, the Kerry Blue Terrier ranks at 129.
Standing about 47 cm or 19 inches tall and weighing around 18 kg or 40 lbs, Kerry’s are a muscular and athletic breed that need regular exercise.
Although they will make excellent sofa companions as you sit in front of the TV.
My next four breeds all originate in a very specific area of France.
Situated in the south West, Gascogne or Gascony is a mainly agricultural region.
It is the region that Lourdes is situated in and it was home to d’Artagnan, one of the three musketeers.
Let me introduce the first blue breed.
[2] Grand Bleu de Gascogne
The Grand Bleu is a very large dog.
Standing up to 72cm tall (28 inches) and weighing in excess of 90 lbs or 40 kgs, Grands are bred to hunt boar or deer.
But the Grand doesn’t refer to the size of the dog, but to the size of game that it hunts.
It has a large head, long legs and a big muzzle with drooping lips.
It’s blue coat comes from a mottled white and black mixture with areas containing large black patches. There can be tan colouring on the muzzle and also on the paws.
Like the Bluetick Coonhound, the Grand Bleau has a very deep howl, which George Washington compared to the bells of Moscow.
And this breed is more popular now in the US than it is in France.
[3] Basset Bleu de Gascogne
Look familiar? It’s a “blue” Basset hound.
Standing up to 42 cm tall (17 inches) and weighing at most 18 kgs or 40 lbs. )
These dogs have a long back and short legs and back in the Middle Ages this breed was descended from the Grand Bleu.
The coat and colouring are exactly the same. White hair, with small, mottled black spots with bigger patches of black appearing elsewhere on the dog’s body.
Unlike the Grand Bleu, these blue Bassets are rarely seen outside of France.
The Basset Bleus were bred to slow down the dog.
Yes, it seems contradictory, doesn’t it?
But after the French Revolution (late 18th century) ordinary people began hunting and because they couldn’t afford horses, they hunted on foot.
Which meant that there was no way in which they could keep up with a Grand Bleu but they could keep up with a short legged Basset Bleu.
[4] Petit Bleu de Gascogne
This dog is a slightly smaller version of the Grand Bleu which I highlighted earlier.
And remember that Petit or Grand in the name does not refer to the size of the dog but to the size of the prey that it hunts.
Standing at a maximum of 58 cm (23 inches) tall, the Petit Bleu is a good bit shorter than it’s taller brother.
And instead of chasing down boar, this breed was primarily used for catching rabbits or hare.
Apart from that, it has the same style and colouring of coat and the same droopy ears as the Grand Bleu.
And like the Basset Bleu, this breed still only exists in France.
[5] Griffon Bleu de Gascogne
From a short haired hunter to a long haired hunter.
My final French Blue breed is the Griffon Blue.
Its coat is a long haired version of both the Grand and Petit.
A long haired, white mottled coat with black patches on either side of the head and a white patch on top of the head.
It has a pair of droopy ears, which are a little smaller.
It is the same height as a Petit Bleu.
And it is used to hunt all kinds of game, big and small.
And there you have it, my five breeds that have Blue in their name.
Perfect for all you Francophiles out there.
