[Ka-nai's mommy]

Hello everyone! I am so excited to have found this forum! We picked up our new addition two weeks ago and have absolutely fallen in love with him! My husband and I were looking for a companion for our 19 month old son, and decided on a basset hound after considering all of our options! When we went to look at the puppies Ka-Nai was the first one to run up to my little man and it was love at first sight! After we got home with him though i began looking up blue bassets since i had never actually seen or heard of one! All of the information online actually states that blue is a bad color and can have many health problems! My Breeder assured me that blue is a recognized color of the breed and has never heard of any of these problems! So far so good! Does anyone on this site have any experience with a blue basset being any different from any other basset, or are these all myths? Anyways we love him more than anything and im so excited that he joined our growing family!

 

[Esther]

Must... Have... Pictures...

Hiya and WELCOME! I don't claim to know a lot, but I seem to remember someone saying that the standard doesn't specify a color.

 

[Mikey T]

My Breeder assured me that blue is a recognized color of the breed and has never heard of any of these problems! So far so good! Does anyone on this site have any experience with a blue basset being any different from any other basset, or are these all myths

First up until 1964 blue was not an aceptacle color. That is when AKC eliminated reference to other breeds in the standard. Up until that time the standard ready any aceptacle fox hound color of which blue was not. Rather than name aceptable color the BHCA went with all colors being aceptable the wisdom of that decession is still being debated but changes in breed stands don't come easilu, so it has stay that way.

Many of the so called health risks of the blue color in basset are over blown or simply not true ie blindness etc which is a result of an entirely different gene than the dilution gene that casue the blue color. There are some well know and document problems however and they mostly relate to coat. The most common being Alopecia that is losd of hair. Most noteabley the ears and top of the muzzle can have abnormal lack of hair or hair loss but it can occur any where on the body. While not a basset I had a rescue beagle that had that problem virtual no hair on the ears or muzzle near the nose.

blue dilution
for an genetic of dilution and some of the problems associated with it.

Some blue dogs appear to be more prone to skin problems and hair loss, and perhaps skin allergies than dogs that are black. Some breeds have more problems in "born blue" dogs than others. The current phase of our study is to try to understand this difference.
The hair loss and skin problems which occurs in blue dogs is called "Black Hair Follicular Dysplasia" in some breeds and "Color Dilution Alopeicia" in other breeds. In the past it may sometimes have been called "Blue Dog Syndrome" also.

 

[Ka-nai's mommy]

Ok not quite sure of how to add pictures into my post so i put a few of him in an album! Thanks a lot Mikey T its nice to finally know something! I could not find much information on my own. I am not going to breed him he is just going to be a family pet, and i forgot to mention that i did not pick him because of his color I picked him because he was the first to run up to us while all of his brothers were eating.

 

[Wworm]

Welcome and what cute pics!

what does Ka-Nai mean?
also, is she blue because of her eye color or coat color or...?

curious dog,
Worm

 

[Ka-nai's mommy]

Well i'm from south louisiana so we use the word Ka-Nai all the time, it means mischievous, actually spelt canaille. He is blue because of his coat color! Do you see how it is not black it is actually like a muted gray, that is considered blue.

 

[Boomer's Mom]

What a beautiful puppy! Welcome to the forums, you'll find a wealth of information and make lots of new friends here.

 

[Mikey T]

is she blue because of her eye color or coat color or...?

coat color, it is the result of a dilution gene, the color varries some whate between breeds my beagle for instance was a slate grey if stand by herself as the vet said "has a bit of mouse in her" it really is not that noticable until next to a tri and the dilution becomes very obvious. of corse there are individual differences in the amount of dilution that occurs as well some moch more than others.

the Blue eye color is the result of a vary different gene and is a serious fault in the breed.

 

[Cassidy]

Welcome! Ka-Nai is such a pretty boy. I can't wait to see what he'll look like when he gets bigger.

 

[Esther]

ka-nai's momma,

i was born in louisiana... west monroe to be exact.
I'm in the land of Elvis now. I still like gumbo. but this pulled pork stuff is pretty cool too! btw, you gots purdy eyes

 

[mhvonalmen8908]

He's so beautiful! I've always wanted a blue dog. I love the muted color of their coats. I hope he retains his blue coloring. Congratulations on your new addition! Look forward to seeing him as he grows. Aroos of congratulations from Doppler and Virga!

 

[klm42005]

Welcome aboard Ka-nai and family,

This is a terrific, caring and informative bunch. You will always get the answers and info you are looking for.

He is a beautiful puppy, can't wait to see him grow.....congratulations

Woody Hayes and his mom

 

[Kirska]

Welcome Ka-Nai.

I met a pit bull/weimereiner mix (I'm sure I spelled that wrong) the other day. He had the nice blue color too.

 

[MJJean]

I do not know about Bassets, but I am into the "bully breeds" and in the Pit Bulls blue is associated with allergies and skin/fur problems.

I would be careful to feed your pup a high quality food and keep an eye on the fur to catch any problems early. Check out dogfoodanalysis.com and look for 5 and 6 star foods, preferably grain free since a lot of blues have grain allergies. I'd also skip the puppy food and feed adult food to prevent growth problems from the extra protein in pup foods.

Some signs of allergies are chronic ear infection, hair loss, scratching a LOT, chewing/gnawing/licking paw pads frequently and sometimes vomiting.

I mean no offense, but the breeder you purchased your pup from sounds like she or he isn't very knowledgeable about the breed and probably didn't health test the sire and dam for genetic conditions, so make sure you keep an eye out for problems and have your vet thoroughly examine your pup at least once a year and more if you notice anything off or out of the ordinary.

 

[Sophie.12]

Bluedelicious

He is GEORGEOUS. Wishing you many blissful years together!

 

[SophieB]

Hi and welcome from me

I can't see your pic of your new Basset... please show me him!

 

[Mikey T]

I met a pit bull/weimereiner mix FWIW the weimaraner coat color ...he liter dilutes and all the other carrier.

 

[Windy Ridge Bassets]

Hello Everyone, I signed up for this web-site solely because my female had two blue and white puppies on October 25th. She unfortunately layed on one and we lost it, but we still have the other. I really did not want to keep another male for my breeding program, but with all the negative reviews on google we decided to keep the little guy and see for ourselves how he does. I understand its a recesive gene and all that is associated with it. I do know that AKC does recognized the color in the Basset Hound Class. I hope to keep up on this and give thees lovely colored Bassets a better name in the canine world.

 

[Barney'spal]

Quite awhile ago, I helped raise a blue basset. I remember that the breeder said to make sure that he didn't get too much sun. As far as health...he seemed just fine. I was only around him for his first 6 months but the feedback was all good. Enjoy him....he looks like a darling. More pictures please.

 

[Mikey T]

I hope to keep up on this and give thees lovely colored Bassets a better name in the canine world.

the biggest rap against them is less than ethical breeders claming that they are rare and breed specifical for this trait without out regard to the breed betterment etc because they think they can market them for extra bucks. That said the vlue dilution gene has been associate with sumstantial health issue in other breed but in bassets beagle and other scent hound the biggest issue seem to be alopecia is some blue dogs. I had a blue beagle in the past with this problem but the hair loss whas limtited to top of the muzzle near the nose and the ears. A high quality dog food with extra omega threes help conmsiderably but still the was hair loss compare to breed average.