The American Blue Bay Shepherd is an extraordinary new wolfdog breed. It is a mix of the very rare old-world Blue German Shepherd dog and the equally rare blue wolfdog. It retains a distinctive wolfish appearance but thrives as an active companion animal.
Unlike other wolfdogs, the American Blue Bay Shepherd seems neither overly timid nor aggressive. Although they are a breed-in-progress, and there is some variation in their temperaments.
The current most famous Blue Bay Shepherd, Kurgan, has his own youtube channel with over 200 000 subscribers. Kurgan has served as an ambassador for his breed, showing an even-tempered, bold, and active dog.
Kurgan also reveals strong social skills and is likely an excellent example of what foundation breeder, Vicki Spencer, hopes to achieve with her dogs.
History of the American Blue Bay Shepherd: Where Do They Come From?
The American Blue Bay Shepherd is not a recognized breed. However, it is about two decades in the making.
The only legitimate breeder of the American Blue Bay Shepherd is Vicki Spencer of Southern Breeze Ranch.
Like the breeders of the Saarloos and Czechoslovakian Wolfdogs, Vicki set out to breed dogs with the health and good looks of a wolf and the loyalty and biddable nature of the German Shepherd.
She also specifically wanted the distinctive blue coats and pale eyes, which are extremely rare in both German Shepherds and wolves.
She found her blue wolves in the Eastern Timber Wolf, the only type known to have a blue coat, and proceeded to breed blue wolf dogs.
After many years of searching, she eventually located a breeder in France who bred Old German Shepherd Dogs. There she found the scarce blue coloring she was looking for.
Old in this context does not refer to age, but rather the older type of German Shepherd. These are large, square dogs who do not have the sloping backs and over-angulated hind legs German Shepherd seen in show lines today.
She also chose friendly dogs and did not have the strong GSD guarding instinct to avoid aggression issues in her new breed.
Finally, the first official American Blue Bay Shepherd litter was born in 2011.
The name Blue Bay was chosen because of both the dogs’ coloring and her home in Palm Bay, Florida.
Since then, Vicki has continued to develop this breed, and they are still a breed-in-progress. She has bred them away from the stigma of being Wolfdogs, as only F6 generation wolf dogs are allowed in her breeding program, and no new wolf blood will be added.
There are some Blue Bay Shepherds who have as much as 12 -16 % wolf DNA. However, Vicki tries to keep the percentage down to 6%.
