Why We Don’t Breed for Blue Bulldogs
Why We Don’t Breed for Blue Bulldogs
Some Context From Mitch
A breeder’s perspective on color-blind breeding and the future of English Bulldogs
We’ve been dedicated English Bulldog breeders for over 15 years, focusing our program on improving the health, structure, and athleticism of this beloved breed. Throughout our years in the breeding community, we’ve witnessed firsthand the challenges facing English Bulldogs and have committed our efforts to producing healthier, more functional dogs with improved breathing, lighter facial wrinkles, and better overall conformation.
The title of this article might seem contradictory when you see the beautiful blue bulldogs in our program. But here’s the truth: we don’t breed for blue bulldogs—we breed healthy bulldogs, and sometimes they happen to be blue.
After years of dedicated breeding focused on improving the health and athleticism of English Bulldogs, we’ve learned that the most important conversations in our breed aren’t about color at all. They’re about breathing function, lighter facial wrinkles, improved structure, and the genetic diversity that our beloved breed desperately needs.
The Color Breeding Problem
When breeders specifically target color—whether it’s the trendy blues, chocolates, or merles—they’re missing the forest for the trees. Color breeding creates a dangerous tunnel vision that prioritizes aesthetics over the fundamental health issues plaguing our breed. When you breed blue to blue, you’re not just doubling down on a recessive color gene; you’re potentially increasing the risk of Color Dilution Alopecia (CDA), a condition that, while rare, represents an unnecessary risk when we have so many other critical health factors to address.
The same principle applies to merle breeding. When merle bulldogs are bred together, the resulting double merles face significant eye problems and other health complications. These aren’t abstract risks—they’re real consequences of putting color before comprehensive health considerations.
But here’s where it gets complicated: we also disagree with the American Kennel Club and Bulldog Club of America’s approach of designating “desirable” and “secondary” colors. Both sides of this debate are missing a crucial point.
The Genetic Diversity Crisis
The landmark study by Dr. Niels Pedersen at UC Davis revealed what many of us in the breeding community have long suspected: English Bulldogs suffer from severely limited genetic diversity. When we artificially narrow our breeding choices based on color preferences—whether favoring or avoiding certain colors—we’re further restricting an already dangerously small gene pool.
Recent research from Purdue University demonstrated that purebred breeds carry many more color variations than show breed clubs recognize or accept. When show breeders systematically breed away from non-standard colors, they’re creating what we call a “genetic funnel”—unnecessarily limiting the breed’s genetic potential and future health prospects.
These non-standard colors aren’t genetic anomalies or impurities. They’re legitimate variations within our breed’s genetics, representing valuable genetic diversity that we can’t afford to discard.
The problem runs deeper than just breeding practices—it’s rooted in outdated standards that refuse to evolve with scientific understanding. Show breeders are still operating under color rules developed decades ago, long before we properly understood canine genetics. These original standards were created in an era when coat color inheritance was poorly understood, yet they persist today despite mounting scientific evidence that challenges their validity.
Modern genetics has revealed that these “non-standard” colors have always been part of the English Bulldog’s genetic makeup. Science is now directly contradicting breed standards that were established without proper genetic foundation. It’s time for show clubs to acknowledge this reality and update their standards accordingly.
We believe that if kennel clubs simply “legalized” these non-standard colors, the obsessive breeding for them would actually diminish. When something is rare and forbidden, it becomes desirable and commands premium prices. But normalize these colors within breed standards, and suddenly they’re just another legitimate variation. The artificial scarcity that drives up prices would disappear, and the unhealthy fixation on color breeding might finally fade away.
The irony is that show clubs, in their attempt to preserve breed “purity,” may actually be fueling the very color breeding practices they oppose. By maintaining arbitrary restrictions on perfectly natural genetic variations, they’re inadvertently creating a black market for “exotic” colors that commands premium prices and encourages irresponsible breeding practices.
Our Color-Blind Approach
This is why we practice what we call “color-blind breeding.” We make every breeding decision based on three criteria: health, structure, and temperament. Color is simply not a factor in our breeding equations.
When evaluating potential breeding pairs, we focus on breathing function, joint health, cardiac clearances, genetic testing results, and structural improvements that will benefit the breed long-term. We’re working toward bulldogs with better athletic ability, improved airways, and the robust health that allows them to live full, active lives.
Our pricing reflects this philosophy. Every puppy in our program is priced the same, regardless of color. We don’t want to create market incentives that encourage color-focused breeding decisions. A healthy red brindle puppy represents the same value as a healthy blue puppy—because health, not color, determines true value.
The Blue Reality
So yes, we have blue bulldogs in our program. Not because we sought them out, but because blue is genuinely part of the English Bulldog’s genetic makeup. When we make breeding decisions based solely on health and structure, sometimes the resulting puppies are blue, sometimes they’re brindle, sometimes they’re fawn. Each color represents the natural genetic diversity we’re working to preserve.
Frankly, every breeder serious about sustaining this breed’s genetic diversity should have non-standard colors appearing in their programs. If you’re not seeing blues, chocolates, or other variations occasionally, you’re likely working with too narrow a genetic base. The key difference is that responsible breeders don’t fixate on these non-standard colors the way so many trendy breeders do today.
The irony isn’t lost on us. By not breeding for blue bulldogs, we occasionally produce some of the healthiest blue bulldogs you’ll find—because they come from parents selected for all the right reasons.
Moving Forward
The English Bulldog breed stands at a crossroads. We can continue down the path of color prejudice—whether favoring trendy colors or rigidly adhering to show standards—or we can embrace the genetic diversity that offers our breed its best chance for a healthy future.
Science should guide our decisions, not color preferences or show ring politics. Every legitimate color variation in our breed represents genetic potential that we may someday need. By practicing color-blind breeding, we honor both the breed’s genetic heritage and its future health prospects.
The bulldogs of tomorrow deserve breeders who prioritize function over fashion, health over hype, and genetic diversity over color conformity. That’s the foundation of truly responsible breeding—and it’s why we don’t breed for blue bulldogs, even when we’re blessed to have them in our program.
Our commitment remains unchanged: breeding healthier, more athletic English Bulldogs who can breathe freely, move confidently, and live the full, active lives this wonderful breed deserves. Color will always be secondary to that mission.