Blue Born?
 

Hi everyone,

I brought home a new fur baby December 22nd. She is amazing. Smart (learned two commands in a day!...sweet little genius) playful...perhaps too much lol. All in all she is wonderful and I adore her. I do have a concern though and I am hoping that you may know if I should be concerned or if I am just being overly paranoid.

Her eye color is unusual, her back coat is fine and her ears aren't very fuzzy. I am not concerned about aesthetics as I would never breed a dog and am only looking for a pet to cherish. The vet did agree her coat was fine and her ears were peach fuzzy but that she was very healthy. I fell in love with Sophie straight away, she is an amazing little soul and has within two weeks charmed everyone she has met. Our entire family loves her.

The reason I am looking for info here is that I posted a picture of her on a Yorkie facebook page asking about her coat and a woman said that she looked blue born. If you ever try to google blue born there's not much helpful information out there and some very conflicting information. Some of the info is downright terrifying.

I am going to attach some photos and hopefully you can offer an opinion. The photos are phone pics so sorry about the quality. I have tried to find photos of different areas of her body. The first one she is almost 13 weeks and the last one was yesterday when I was working on crafts and she decided that my lap was where she absolutely needed to sleep lol. Hopefully you can see how her back fur is short in sharp contrast to her fluffy legs.

Thanks for any help you can provide. I lost my Chloe in Sept. She was deemed show quality as a puppy but had genetic health issues that took her from me when she was 8. I am so worried now as that loss almost broke me :(

Bumping

Looks like a normal Yorkie to me. Definitely NOT a blue born.

Definitely not a blue born. She looks like a regular Yorkie to me.

The person on this yorkie FB did she say why she thought this puppy was a blue born. Your vet would be the professional one to confirm if she was. She sure is a lil cutie.

Blue borns are a gray they don't look like standard yorkies at all in any of the their growing phases. There is a member who has one and eventually he turned all white. I wouldn't be surprised if most vets didn't know what a blue born is because its very rare and sadly they have compromised immune systems and don't live long.

I read a members post where her blue born died, why would anyone say this lil baby looked like a blue born, what a horrible thing for someone to post. That baby looked all yorkie to me, but I don't know what a blue born puppy looks like, that's why I bumped her thread. I would still like to know why that person would say such a thing.

KendraE has a thread BLUE BORN, I see the OP has seen it and hopefully read the entire thread, it's very educational for those that may have doubts.

I really have no idea maybe just not educated or something.

She has gotten very lucky with hers sadly it normally doesn’t happen that way.

Thank you all so much!!
 

I am so glad that you don't think she is a blue born. She has stolen my heart so quickly and I am over the moon in love with this little sassy girl. It was horrible to hear that someone thought her looks were the result of a genetic issue that would likely lead to my girl suffering. Broke my heart that it could be a possibility. I have so much confidence in the opinions of the members of yorkie talk and I appreciate you sharing those opinions with me. It doesn't take much to cause me to panic after everything that my "picture" perfect Chloe went through. So from the bottom of my heart thank you <3

I’m not sure why someone would say that maybe they just were not very educated or nice.

Not knowing for sure is so hard
 

So a different yorkie group that I joined with wonderful people on FB was full of comments about how normal she looked. Big relief until I shared a video of her. People then said that there may be some cause for concern. I am waiting for a genetic test kit to arrive but that was only mailed on Saturday from the US to me here in Canada. So it could be a few weeks before I know for sure. If she is sick I will feel so stupid. It seems almost impossible to know if the person you are buying from is good. Chloe was from a registered breeder with very bad results and no breeder support so looking for registered didn't seem to carry any benefit. Sophie was a gift well the money to buy her was. My family and friends were so excited to do this for me. My adult daughters went with me to get Sophie and we all really loved the couple we got her from. If I did make a mistake and choose poorly I am going to call it divine intervention in that Sophie no matter what will be adored, cherished and loved. I will however demand a refund and keep my baby. If she refuses then I will file a suit against her.

I know that I am rambling but I don't want to unload on my wonderful friends and family who wanted to do something wonderful for me. I want to believe that no person could have two dogs with serious health issues. Perhaps I am supposed to give sick babies a safe loving home. For Sophies sake more than anything else I hope the test is negative. Now it's just trying to figure out how to be calm and collected while waiting.

Hi. The gene responsible for the blue born syndrome is called the "D Locus." Actually, one of the main researchers on dog coat color, Sheila Schmutz, is from Saskatchewan. Here is her main web page on coat color genetics: Dog Coat Color Genetics

And here is her page on the D Locus: https://homepage.usask.ca/~schmutz/dilutions.html .

There is a Canadian company (based on Ontario) that tests coat colors in dogs. Here is the link to their page for Yorkshire Terrier tests: Canine Coat and Nose Color Test (Code: C128) | Genetic Tests For Canine - HealthGene, Toronto . You would have to specifically ask them to test for the D Locus, which is $55.

The good news is that being blue born is not necessarily a death sentence. Although they can have thinner hair and scalier skin, they can live long, full lives. That said, I do NOT think, from looking at your photographs, that your Yorkie is blue born. A blue born would have gray hair and nose. Yours looks to be a solid black, normal color hair and nose.

If you could give us a link to the Facebook video of your dog, we can take a closer look...

PS -- Taking a closer look at Sophie's pictures, there are small gray patches on the head. That is the adult hair color (silver) beginning to come in. That's completely normal. The black color I'm talking about is on the lower body, which retains the puppy colors the longest. That color is a good, solid black, not blue or gray. I still don't think she's a blue born.

Here are links to three articles on color dilution alopecia (the technical term for "blue born" dogs that are homozygous recessive (dd) at the D Locus:

https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-p...opecia-in-dogs

https://wagwalking.com/condition/col...ution-alopecia

https://www.vetinfo.com/color-diluti...a-in-dogs.html

None of these articles say that it is lethal. Afflicted dogs are more prone to skin infections, but the condition is manageable. I'm telling this so you don't worry. Again, I don't think your dog is blue born.

What kind of test did you do and what are you looking for? She is definitely not a blue born. What concerned them in the video? Is it something you should talk to your vet about? Did you get the test from a legit place because some are just rip offs. My Callie who is 10 now and I knew nothing about anything when I bought her and after learning stuff I found out she came from a broker who got their pups from a puppy mill. She has had some big health issues but I am glad I got her because one she is my little doggy soul mate and two I am taking care of her when someone else might not have. Penny I got at 8 months old from a women who didn't want her anymore and she had a terrible UTI and was not spayed so again I was glad I got her. My little Joey came from someone who didn't want him at 9 weeks and he has sores under his eyes because they never cleaned his eyes so it caked on and made sores. I think we all get our babies we have for a reason. I still would really like to know what concerned people in the video.

Just saw a number of pics of blue borns.
 

Hi guys,

So I was put in contact with a woman who has a blue born pup and a group for blue borns. I am now pretty convinced that she is indeed blue born. When I was looking at the photos I saw my girl in them. Same eye colour, same very short back hair, same peach fuzz almost bald back of ears same look overall. Honestly they are pretty damned cute :)

I admit I am scared. I have fallen completely in love with this little baby and knowing that she is starting life with so much uncertainty is heartbreaking. She is the smartest, cuddliest little pup I have ever had and has SO much personality. As you know google can be really scary and the information can turn your blood cold. I really appreciate the information provided here and gratefully I have medical insurance for her. All I care about is ensuring that she has the very best life possible. I am angry that a woman who has been breeding for 30+ years would take cash for a pup she knew was blue born. I wouldn't give her back EVER but I am sick at the thought of her having the money my family and friends put together so I could find a new fuzzy co-pilot. Seems I am lost without a furbaby to care for.

I have ordered the test kit from animal genetics from the states. Found numerous really good reviews. Once the results are in I will be dealing with the breeder. I would be shocked if they are negative after seeing blue borns at her age (only a few but so like her). I want that money back and I am keeping MY dog. It's not about the money, it's about allowing someone despicable to profit from deception.

No matter how she came into my life, she and I were meant to meet. I was meant to take her home and give her the best possible life. I am blessed to have her and it is going to be my honor to be her mom.

If this is the D Locus test you ordered, then it's a reputable test: D-Locus (Dilute Coat Color)

Please keep us posted on Sophie and her results.

OMG, I never thought I would read a post such as this, I PRAY the pics and resemblance to your baby are wrong. Member pstinard is exceptionally knowledgeable in researching medical issues, I do hope you took his advise and are getting the D Locus test. I am sooooo very sorry you have to go through this, but more sorry if this baby is in fact a blue born what she will have to go through. It's disgusting if ppl know they are breeding dogs with this defect that will cause an innocent animal to suffer. If this baby does have this thank GOD she came to you I pray the test shows she is a normal baby (((hugs))))

Test kit is on its way
 

I ordered the D-Locus test and they said it was mailed out on Saturday. When I spoke to the lab they said that it would take 3-5 days from the point it's received for them to get the results. I will be express mailing it back overnight delivery as I want to know as soon as possible. I can't believe this is happening :( My poor baby.

Yep that's the test I have ordered and thanks :)

I really don’t think she is but I think your going to have to hear it from a test or something. Blue borns don’t go through a phase where they look like traditional Yorkies. Can you link us to the group? Are these just self diagnosed blue borns or did they do some kinda of test?

My biggest question is when these dogs were puppies and born were they a gray/silver that is the biggest thing to say your pup is a blue born. They will always be born gray/silver. There are lots of people out there who will say their dog is something by self diagnosing and most of the time they are wrong.

Most breeders don’t know their dog would produce a blue born and generally It is not something tested for and I’m not sure it can be. Most breeders if they get a blue born will never breed the pair again. Some breeders will retire both dogs and some will just mate them with others. Blue borns are very rare.

:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup: I agree that self-diagnosing a dog is not a good thing to do. When Bella first started getting gray hairs on her head as her adult coat came in, I thought she was going bald, and I panicked, thinking that she might be blue born. It turns out that she *looked* like she was going bald because the new hairs were lighter in color and silkier. I didn't have her tested--I just did some reading and found out this was normal. Here is the link to her before and after first grooming photos: http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/gen...-grooming.html

Let's hope that Sophie's tests come back normal!

Being a carrier of a recessive D Locus allele is definitely something that can and is tested for, although most breeders probably don't do it because it's so rare. Genetic testing for canine hereditary defects has come a long way. Here is a link to the list of genetic diseases that can be tested for by Animal Genetics, a highly reputable company: Animal Genetics

Here is a link to their coat color tests (including D Locus): Canine Color Index

HealthGene in Canada is another reputable firm, and they also do DNA testing for hereditary diseases as well as coat color (including D Locus) although their list of tests is smaller than Animal Genetic's list: Canine DNA Testing | Canine Coat Color Testing ? HealthGene