What Is a Blue Pit Bull?

Blue pit bulls are pet dogs that are in high demand these days as they have a bluish colored outer coat and are quite impressive in their appearance. People often mistake them to be a separate breed of dogs. The fact is that these dogs are derived from the American Staffordshire by manipulating the black color of the outer coat.

  1. Cause for the Bluish Coat

    • For the dog to get the characteristic bluish coat, it must inherit two copies of the gene responsible for the color. When a pit bull has these genes, it results in a bluish coat instead of the usual black coat. This change occurs because the color pigments get concentrated towards the core of the hair shaft and the tips end up absent of color. This gives the coat a dusky-gray color, which is known as "bluish" to dog breeders. It's not very easy to produce such coat color variations in these pets. Expert breeders specialize in multiplying this pet variety by repeatedly working on a small number of dogs with such genetic variations and belonging to the same family. Due to continuous in-breeding, many health problems can arise in blue pit bulls.

    Common Health Issues

    • Mange, acute moist dermatitis and baldness are some of the skin diseases that are quite common among blue pit bulls. According to the website, "The Proper Pit Bull," "blue pit bulls are known to be more susceptible to bacterial, viral and fungal infections." Problems with temperament, vision and hearing capabilities also arise in blue pit bulls. It is believed that most of these health problems occur as the color pigments that produce variations in the coat color have some kind of interaction with the immune and neurological systems of the dog. Though some of these problems can be cured, the treatment can be rather expensive. Some of the health issues that are common to blue pit bulls include reduced vision acuity, problems with the temperament and deafness.

    Warning

    • While selecting a potential pet, carefully assess its health condition. The Internet contains valuable information about blue pit bulls, highlighting important facts and breeding techniques. Though there's no specific reason why you shouldn't choose a healthy blue pit bull, it's equally important to be aware of the warnings and drawbacks of owning a pet that has been genetically manipulated for commercial benefits.

    Other Color Variations

    • Another type of blue pit bull is the blue nose pit bull. In reality, the nose of this type of dog is grayish in color. This is quite different from the black nose prevalent in these dogs. Hence, even the blue nose pit bull is considered to be quite a novelty. A couple of years ago, every pit bull lover knew about the red nose pit bull. Since such genetic variants are considered unique, we may end up with pit bulls that have a wide variety of coat or nose color.