We like to share what is acceptable in a breed by using its standard as a guide. Why? Because a breed standard is the only document that serves as a set of “blueprints” for a breed not only for people breeding, judging, and exhibiting the breed, but also for owners who want a sound companion. To that end, we also share what is not acceptable in a breed because a dog with unacceptable traits can’t be exhibited in a show ring, and sometimes, certain attributes are associated with issues of soundness and health.

Of late, we’ve come across listings for Beagle puppies marketed as “Norwegian blues” or “Russian blues,” but neither is a recognized color for a Beagle.  These listings might be an incorrect description of a dapple colored Beagle, but to our knowledge, there’s no such thing as merle Beagle. That said, there are people trying to promote “blues” as a very rare coloring in Beagles. In the view of most serious breeders, the “rare color” is most likely a mixed breed, and in addition to introducing non-Beagle colors, the breeding may introducd health concerns found in the other breed. i.e., alopecia.  One bit of on-line gossip from a Beagle forum reported that someone had crossed a merle Dachshund with a Beagle, inbred the offspring to be of standard height, then called the puppies “Norwegian Blue Beagles.”  We don’t have permission to share any of the photos we’ve come across, but linked to one in the previous sentence.

All this said, a “blue” color pattern does exist in Beagles, it’s a recessive gene expressed as a dilution of the black gene.

We always defer to breed experts and welcome any input on this topic. As for the image we’ve used, we went with another unacceptable color and pattern in the breed: Road map. This “Beagle Dimensional Handmade Collage” is offered by By Empire Art Direct and is available here.