Shades of Gray

The idea of the coat color being an actual gray tone could be misleading. People write us all the time saying the Northwest Weims they see are brownish rather than what they would call gray. We write back that Weimaraner Gray is other than the gray you will find on your paint pallet. This yesterday Facebook post (the photo and comment) by Jan Magnuson is a much better description than most.

Where’s Willow?

 Smooth coated and the color of dirt, we love our Weimars! :)

Color is Subjective

We would label Willow as a Silver Gray Weimaraner. The traditional Gray Ghost dogs come in various hues, and shades of Weimar-Gray. In truth, this gray is more a taupe in the lighter colors, and could be called Mouse gray when there is more depth of color. Regardless, of the expression of color the Weimaraner never fails to be stunning, and elegant.

Many breeders label all their pups Silver Gray. Pups tend to be lighter. When they lose their puppy coat, the hair comes back a bit darker. It usually comes in with more slightly intensity along the backbone. With age, the top of the head can become distinctively lighter. Of course, as with humans, they can get quite a bit of light hair here and there–usually on the face. Keep in mind that the puppy color is lighter than the adult color.

Shades of Gray

Layna is a Blue Weimaraner

The popularity of shades of the gray topic has left us Weimlovers stunned. We have known about this phenomenon for a long time. It a topic of discussion. It is a mystery for those that do not understand how the DNA pool can create these types of variations.

Of course, we are discussing an entirely different topic–our beloved Weimaraner. Those that know and love the breed are well aware that there are these color variations in the breed; they are also aware of that some have the darker blue coat.

Seriously Overrated

We understand everyone has their preference; however, the Weimaraner coat color is often over emphasized. There are so many things which are more important–temperament, health, trainability, confidence, etc. Getting the perfect color is less important in our opinion than almost anything else. Regardless some folks dogged look to try to build the absolute perfect Weim. We often wonder if the effort put into this endeavor would not be best devoted to other things.

Charlie Blue (pictured here in the swimming pool) is slightly darker than Willow. She is an amazing Weimaraner on so many levels. Despite being brutally attacked (not all that long ago), she has continued to be an excellent family member. A lot of this is due to her caregiver’s attention to detail, and the fact that they didn’t ingrain fear when the worst of things happened. Beyond that, she is stunning.

Final Gray Thoughts

Every shade of gray has merit, and can be enjoyed. Without exception, the deeper colors rival the light shades. As a breeder weaving DNA, we see it as more important to get a good broad-based outcome. No one can avoid every issue. Nevertheless, the big picture is what we must focus upon. Let the Show Breeders micro-mange their program; they often will stick with the same lineages to enhance a feature. In our way of thinking (breeding back to the close family members with any type of frequency)  increases the risk of developing problems best avoided.