Blues Weimaraners Under the AKC Standard

Blue Weimaraners in the United States are accepted as purebred Weimaraners.  All puppies from two AKC-registered Weimaraners can be registered as a Weimaraner with the American Kennel Club. They are eligible to compete for many titles.   Because the blue coat color was accepted in the standard prior to 1972, there have been Blue AKC Champions.  In 1971 the Weimaraner Club of America voted to make the longhaired and blue coat variations disqualifying faults.  (See History.)  AKC registered Blues are allowed to compete in any AKC event, and technically this means in the show ring as well.  However, if a Blue were entered in a show, it would be disqualified by the judge, just as the judge would disqualify a dog who was over or under the height standard. 

Since conformation is not evaluated in performance events, Blues can compete in any AKC performance event including field trials, hunt tests, agility, obedience, rally obedience, and tracking.  They are also permitted to participate in NAVHDA (North American Versatile Hunting Dog Association) tests, NSTRA (National Shoot to Retrieve Association) competitions, NADAC (North American Dog Agility Council) trials, etc.

Blues, and other Weimaraners with disqualifying faults, are permitted to participate in WCA Shooting or Retrieving Ratings Tests and obtain Versatile Ratings  if they are spayed or neutered.

Blues Weimaraners Under the FCI Standard

The The Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI) is to the rest of the world what the AKC is to the United States.  Each breed is the "property" of a specific country, which writes the breed standard with the FCI.  Germany, the country of origin of the Weimaraner, is a member of the FCI and writes the breed standard for it. 

The FCI does not recognize the Blue in their standard, but neither does it have a specific worded disqualification in the standard other that that any other color other than grey is a disqualifying fault. Registration of pure-bred dogs is different in most FCI countries from the U.S.  In America, any dog that has registered parents with the AKC is automatically eligible to be registered with the AKC.  In FCI countries, each dog is examined by a qualified judge at one year of age to determine if the dog is eligible for a pedigree and breeding status. It is more than probable that a dog presented for confirmation at one year of age that was very dark, with black nails and nose would be eliminated. However, there have been a few cases of Blue's confirmed in FCI countries that were judged to be an acceptable variation of "grey."  There is some evidence that Blue may have been the color described by “mouse-gray” allowed in the standard, but this is debated.  (See article on Cäsar von Gaiberg.)

One should note that even though the FCI standard does not specifically word a disqualification of Blues.  If Blues were to become prevalent in those countries, it’s probable it would spark heated debate just as it has in the United States.