Pro and Con Arguments for Disqualification of the Blue Weimaraner

Quoted in part from poem by Vicki Becker in the Graymatter, February 1970
Blue or Gray is about what we fight,
But the following question could end our plight.
If it weren’t for color, wouldn’t they all be white?

Prior to the final vote which disqualified the Blues, the blue color was accepted in the original standard (1943/1944), and two attempts at disqualification had been unsuccessful. These events created many strong opinions and ill feelings surrounding the entire issue, some of which are excerpted below. (See History in Brief.)

Comments in their entirety as published in the February 1970 magazine – PDF and March 1970 magazine – PDF.

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M. Barnett, The Weimaraner Magazine, February 1970
“Because of his color, the American Kennel Club conducted a thorough investigation and concluded that he [Cäsar von Gaiberg] was purebred… He sired several Champions and is behind the pedigrees of many outstanding gray Weimaraners.”

L. Irwin, The Weimaraner Magazine, February 1970
“Disqualification of the blue color would remove emphasis on color and may have significant effects as the change in the height standard. Breeders could choose any stud dog without regard to the basic color in puppies he throws. Emphasis could be placed on the conformation required to make a top notch show and field dog, where it belongs.”

B. & T. Gwinner, The Weimaraner Magazine, February 1970
“Let’s not confuse our judges, and our novice exhibitors any further. Let’s not change the color of our distinguished breed.”

M. Barnett, The Weimaraner Magazine, February 1970
“We are not being fair to our judges by allowing this discrimination to go on. We have had judges ask us why can’t the Weimaraner people get their standard straightened out. Many of the old-time judges will put up a blue, not being afraid to buck the protests, but the young judges want judging assignments, so will steer clear of this controversy.”

H. Schulze, The Weimaraner Magazine, February 1970
“The German Club has accepted me as your voting representative to their board. I also attend Board and Membership Meetings. I have visited every kennel in Germany, and I know that there is no blue dog anywhere. Mouse gray is not blue. Everything darker than mouse gray is disqualified for breeding. Everything not gray is destroyed.”

M. Barnett, The Weimaraner Magazine, February 1970
“The blue Weimaraner have been accepted by the AKC as pure-bred Weimaraners and the AKC has refused more than once to disqualify the blues.”

D. Button, The Weimaraner Magazine, February 1970
“The purpose of the Standard is to protect the fancy from mutations or mongrels however attractive they may be.”

I. Lawyer, The Weimaraner Magazine, February 1970
“In my opinion the term gray dog and Weimaraner are synonymous. I wouldn’t try to change this true Weimaraner color any more than I would seek a white Irish Setter, a solid-colored Dalmatian, or a red Kerry Blue Terrier.”

M. Barnett, The Weimaraner Magazine, February 1970
“To those of you who fear you may be losing the gray ghost symbol of the Weimaraner — The Weimaraner, whether he is a silver gray, blue gray, or dark gray, is still the gray ghost. The blue Weimaraner is a true dark gray, no brown tones.”

S. Frenze, The Weimaraner Magazine, February 1970
“Who needs Blues? The Blues I have seen were good physical specimens. But what about the future? What’s the next step? How about long-haired Weimaraners because they have good Weimaraner conformation? Shall we be more lax in the white allowed because the specimen is good? What about the trouble found in white shepherds, blue merles, parti-colored poodles, etc. These genes have brought trouble.”

Warren Fulks, Director, Weimaraner Club of America, Dallas, Texas, The Weimaraner Magazine, March 1970
“Having read published statements by fellow directors of the Weimaraner Club of America, I now feel compelled to state my reaction to an emotionally charged issue of disqualification of the blue Weimaraner. My qualifications are not those of a breeder or historian. I write only as an observer who lives in an area of the country labeled by some as a “Blue Belt,” suggesting that we have hundreds of blue Weimaraners in Texas. We don’t. I am an owner of two silver-grays. It’s a matter of color preference, not of quality.

The blue Weimaraner is a fact of life. It is a pure-bred Weimaraner; it is not something else and most certainly it is not a mongrel. Some contend that breeders of blues are out to make a buck on a dog they describe as “rare.” Equally relevant, I have heard silver-gray sellers describe the breed to a prospective buyer as something so versatile and excellent that hardly any other can approach it. Aren’t they, too, out to make a buck? And the preponderance of breeders buy and sell silver-grays.

As an observer at the show ring and at the trials, I see the same faults and the same qualities regardless of color. I see the same temperament, the same beauty, and in each one, those personality quirks which make each dog an individual within the breed.

Memory recalls a pheasant hunt two years ago outside Oberlin, Kansas. Walking the draws behind the finest hunting Weimaraner I had ever seen, admiration for both the dog and its owner forced me to recall mediocre performances under similar conditions by so many others of the breed — noteworthy individuals notwithstanding. This hunter was a rough-coated blue, a thorny burr perched indifferently on his hunter’s nose. I remember another blue; his topline was perfect, his coat sleek as a circus horse, and he gaited like a spirited colt in the show ring. I never knew his won-loss record, but he looked magnificent, winning or losing.

Now the entire WCA membership is called upon to judge whether the blue Weimaraner (which I confess I regard as no different from my own pets) is to be disqualified from the show ring. The outcome will no doubt affect its participation in the field.

So don’t tell me about striped dogs, or long-coated dogs. Don’t tell me about the supposed hazards of someone’s crossing a Weimaraner with an Irish Setter. And don’t tell me about breeding for color alone-to make a buck. Tell me what is truly wrong with the blue Weimaraner.

And while we’re at it, consider breeding generally. Why is it that the Weimaraner, with all its admitted versatility, need so much upgrading both for ring and field? This is the real breeding problem. What has this to do with color?”