"Blue Paul's Stafford Times" A Staffordshire Bull Terrier Community

        THE BLUE

PAUL TERRIER

Not much is actually known about the Blue Paul, except that it was a pit dog from Scotland. It is referred to as the Blue Paul, Blue Paul Terrier, Scottish Blue Paul, Blue Paul Bulldog, and the Blue Poll.

Similar to modern day fighting pitbulls, which are not to be confused with show type APBT or Amstaffs. They were thought to be about 45-50 pounds at pit weight and twenty to twenty-three inches at the withers. This young pitbull is very similar to what a Blue Paul may have looked like color-wise. The adult below is how a fighting dog would have probably looked at pit weight.  

 They had a powerful build, hard muscle, and no fat with tight skin. They had the trade mark broad bull and terrier head, brick-like with well muscled jaws and cropped ears. The muzzle was short and broad, with large teeth and a scissor bite. As with all bull and terrier breeds, the coat was smooth and the low set tail was carried like a pump handle.

The blue color of the Blue Paul was likely the blue dilute that is seen in Greyhounds and Whippets. The color of the Greyhound below is probably the same as most Blue Pauls. Additionally, the dog below is 27-30"inches and 60-75 pounds, which when you do the math is one third more than the Blue Paul's 45-50 pounds and 20-23" inches. So, to scale they are pretty much the same height and weight.

The Blue Paul also came in brindles of various colors and reds. These reds were called red smuts, which is still a dog term today. A smut is a red dog with a black mask and black hairs sparsely interspersed throughout the red, giving the dog an almost dirty, "smutty" appearance.

So, if there were red smuts then genetically that would mean there were reds, blue tinted fawns and fawn smuts. If a dog is not  sable, tan-pointed, saddled or agouti, it must be red to have a mask.

The theories that Paul Jones brought them from abroad, or that they were bred by the Roma (gypsies) for fighting and entertainment. Only supports the theory that the dilute blue genes are indeed from blue sight-hounds, which were everywhere from Africa to Europe by this time and were breeds most often kept by the low and working classes.

 Considering that Greyhounds and whippets come in all manner of Irish spotting and pied. It stands to reason, so, did the Blue Paul, but as was the custom of the day, culling for whatever reason was common place. So, unwanted colors like pieds and fawns and dogs with Irish spotting were killed. This generally happens because the breeder believes the color has negative aspect that come it that don't suit their needs. Even though such beliefs are no more than fairy tales is was and is reality.

Even today those who raise show pit-bulls do not like the red nosed livers, and fighting strains do not care for blues, as they feel they are bred to much for color and have lost some of their spark.Within our own breed blues are looked down upon for having bad coats, skin problems, light eyes, pale and dudley noses. I have owned or produced probably twenty blue Staffords, and have seen twice that. I never had a coat or skin problem, light eyes or noses etc...But I did have a black dog that had such bad skin infections it had to be put down.

I once had a well know Stafford judge tell me that blues when bred together tend to lighten up generation to generation, and develop pale and silvery coat with light amber and silver gray eyes. I said, "It sounds like a  Weimaraner , kind of a coloring." He said, "Exactly." Well, although Weimarainers coats are genetically blue bb dilute, they are also liver dd dilute. They are called Isabella, Drap, Lilac, double d's, but more correctly they are bbdd blue-livers, which are not uncommon in our breed I had one in a litter once and have seen others. Here is one, not a blue or a blue fawn but a blue liver.

The Blue Paul was renown for its gameness and desire to fight.

With his excellent fighting skills, the Blue Paul was introduced as part of Staffordshire Bull Terrier breeding in the early 19th century and the blue coloring has appeared in Staffords ever since, in particular, the Blue Staffordshire Bull Terrier.It has also appeared in Pitbulls and a bluetick coloration also appears due to inbreeding.

   THE LEGEND OF

JOHN PAUL JONES   

"I HAVE NOT YET

BEGUN TO FIGHT"

 Was this game American

Patriot the father of

"The Modern

Bull Terriers?"

 There are several theories behind where the Blue Paul came from and where it got it's name. While the legends abound it's doubtful there will ever be any real evidence to prove one story over another. The most famous and widespread is "the Legend of John Paul." This probably because whether you are from this side of the pond or the other, and believe him to be a Founding Father and Revolutionary War hero, or the other and view him as a infamous pirate and revolutionary... either way he's pretty cool. Everyone loves a hero and who doesn't like pirates?

The famous sea captain was born on the estate of Arbigland near Kirkbean in the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright, which was also known as Kirkcudbrightshire or the Stewardy, on the southern coast of Scotland, July 6th, 1747.

At age thirteen Paul looked to the seas and never looked back. In his illustrious career he served as a Captain in  the Colonial and American navies as well as a Rear Admiral in the I

mperial Russian Navy. As a young seaman his journeys took him around the world to ports of call in Europe, the Mediterranean, Africa, the America's and the Caribbean. So, it is highly probable that Paul did in fact bring the Blue Paul or its foundation stock from abroad, back to his home on the Scottish coast. This legend resonates because Paul is a romantic character, and although, he was not a large man in stature. He definitely had the reputation of being as mean in a fight as a Blue Paul.

Another theory is that the Roma (gypsies) developed the dog around the same area of Scotland that Paul was from. This in no way hurts the Paul legend, and many would say that it reinforces it that the Roma were simply cultivating

Paul's stock.

The third and most likely scenario is that Greyhound and Whippet blood or more likely Greyhound and Whippet Lurcher blood was infused in the fighting dogs around Kirkcudbright. Roma and Irish Travelers were known for always keeping Lurchers. So, it stands to reason this blood and that of their fighting dogs were mixed. It would also explain why Blue Pauls were so much larger than other bull and terriers of the day. Here is a greyhound-terrier Lurcher.

This explanation to me seems most plausible because terriers, pit and baiting dogs, sight hounds and lurchers were all known to be kept by both Roma and working class Irish, Scottish and English. It also does not refute the other t

wo ideas in any way.

 Christian Counterman

Create Your Badge

The American Patriot 

The British version  of the dread

pirate John Paul Jones