Blue Weimaraners: Complete Guide

Last updated: February 28, 2023
7 min read

With a slightly tinted coat, a huge and solid build and a pair of beautiful blue eyes, Blue Weimaraner is a class-apart dog that has a loyal and huge fan club.

Blue Weimaraners are not really rare. They share the same traits and personality as their gray or silver counterparts.

Table of Contents show

Why Are They Called Blue?

It’s not that their coat is truly a blue color, it has to do with the metal, almost icy sheen to their coat that creates that blue hue.

The colors may vary on some dogs – some may be lighter while others are quite dark, but they all have that bluish-grey tint to their coat.

The bluest part of blue Weimaraners are their noses, which can sometimes really appear to be blue (though they’re really not).

Blue Weimaraners also often have blue or gray-blue eyes, though a lot of blue Weims also have light amber eyes, similar to the “regular” silver or gray Weimaraners.

Blue Coat Genetics

The blue color is set by a gene which causes diluted black coloration – that’s what blue coat is. Two dogs don’t have to be blue to have blue offspring, they just need to carry the diluted black gene.

Interestingly, the fawn and grayish color of Weimaraners are caused by a diluted brown coloration gene.

Blue Weimaraners are of course not the only breed that has a blue coat. Here are a few examples of dog breeds that can have (or only have) blue coats:

Blue Heeler (Australian cattle dog)
Great Dane
Irish Wolfhound
Italian Greyhound
Kerry Blue Terrier
Neapolitan Mastiff
American Staffordshire Terrier
Doberman Pinscher

History Of Blue Weimaraner

The history of blue Weimaraners in the US dates back to 1940s.

The first documented blue Weimaraner in the US was Cäsar von Gaiberg (call name “Tell”), who was born in 1947 in Germany. He came from a well-known champion family.

The German Weimaraner Club (GWC) registered him as a purebred Weimaraner, and the AKC followed suit. Tell was transported to the US in 1949 and sired hundreds of puppies.

Blue Weimaraner Controversy

After about 20 years of blue Weimaraners appearing in the AKC standards and producing blue Weimaraner champions, they became a topic of controversy.

The Weimaraner Club of America petitioned the AKC to change the breed standard and remove the blue Weimaraner from it. This was in the 1970.

In 1971 the AKC committee voted to disqualify “a distinctly blue or black coat” from the breed standard, which came into force in January 1972. This 1972 AKC standard is the one that is still used to this day.

As you can imagine, people were protesting the change. There have been some attempts to restore blue Weimaraner into the breed standard once more. However, any attempts so far have been futile.

Since then, blue Weimaraners can’t participate in conformation shows, but may participate in agility, field trials and other performance shows.

Blue Weimaraner in the Rest of the World

Germany is considered to be the “home” of the Weimaraner breed, and as such they set the standards of the breed with the FCI (The Fédération Cynologique Internationale, an international equivalent to AKC).

While Cäsar was at one point considered a purebred Weimaraner, the blue coat color is not accepted as an FCI standard.

Since FCI operates across different countries, they have different ways of registering purebred dogs than the AKC.

As a result of that, there are a few blue Weimaraners registered as purebred in some countries, since they were deemed as a “still acceptable gray hue”.

Blue Weimaraner Genetic Study

In 2010, scientist at the Ruhr University in Germany have conducted a study, which was quite a turning point in all the speculation about blue Weimaraner origins.

It’s been speculated whether blue Weimaraners were just a genetic mutation or a result of cross-breeding.

I’ve read the entire study, but I won’t bore you with scientific details you may not understand. However, I will link the study in the references at the bottom of this post if you’d like to read it.

I’ll just include a brief summary:

24 blue Weimaraners from Canada, USA, France and Germany + 1 gray Weimaraner from blue parents
all dogs were of the short-haired variant
they also tested 20 unrelated gray Weimaraners, both short-haired and long-haired
they either took a swab or blood samples from each dog
they also tested breeds with black and blue colored coats for genetic comparison

Results of the Study

The study has found the brown coat genes can’t really mutate into black coat genes. That would imply that the diluted brown color in gray and silver Weimaraners can’t have at some point mutated into the diluted black of the blue Weimaraner.

The results of the study suggest that at some point there was some cross-breeding, which introduced the diluted black into the gene pool.

The scientists state that they can’t be sure when this cross-breeding happened – after the Weimaraner breed was established or before.

What Does This Mean for the Blue Weimaraner?

While the results of the study may be surprising to some, it changes nothing for blue Weimaraners. After more than 70 years the blue gene is already interbred into the Weimaraner breed.

Difference Between Silver and Blue Weimaraner

Apart from the color of their coats, they both share the same personality and traits.

Weimaraners are considered medium to large breed. They can stand up to 27 inches (~69 cm) and weigh up to 90 pounds (~41 kg). They are very muscular, and sinewy.

Blue Weimaraner Personality

Weimaraners are giant goofballs, and in some individuals this can last for their whole lives. Some female Weims get calmer sooner than their male counterparts.

In their excitement, they are able to knock children or even adults over, so always supervise your children with any dog and teach your Weim good manners.

They are very affectionate, are wicked smart and love their families. They want to be close to their owners, so they often follow them everywhere, earning the nickname “velcro dogs”.

However, this can cause problems in the form of separation anxiety, which can lead to accidents in the house, barking, howling and destruction.

As they are very intelligent and thanks to their eager to please attitude, Weimaraners are quite easy to train.

Weimaraners were originally bred for hunting, and while you may not use them for this purpose, hunting is in their blood. As such, they can have a strong prey drive.

Do Blue Weimaraners Shed?

Yes, much like their gray counterparts, blue Weims shed just as much (or as little). I’ve written a post about Weimaraner shedding here and how to take care of their coat.

How Much Does A Blue Weimaraner Cost?

The average cost of a blue Weimaraner puppy is around $700 to $1,200 in the US.

The prices can vary a lot, some puppies may cost as much as $3,000. Always do a proper research first, it can take time to find the perfect reputable breeder. Don’t rush it!

Are There Any Blue Weimaraner Breeders?

Since their disqualification in 1972 from the AKC, a lot of breeders won’t breed blue Weimaraners. This has resulted in some poor breeding practices.

There are some bad breeders who will advertise blue Weimaraners as a “rare” dog breed and set very high prices. But don’t be fooled.

Blue Weimaraners are not rare.

Thankfully, there’s The Blue Weimaraner Club of America (BWCA), which approves breeders of blue Weimaraners. These breeders must follow the good breeding standards of the BWCA.

It goes without saying that you should always work with a reputable breeder if you really want to have a blue at your home. This is very important because poor breeding may result in bad behavior of the pup and can subject it to serious health issues.