We welcome you to our web site.

I came down to sunny Devon  9 years ago just by accident as it goes just  to pick up some money from a friend that was already living in Devon. And i drove down with two of my friends from London. And that’s when it all started !. And that’s when i met Tracy ( who is now my wife ). I just couldn’t make my mind up whether or not to move to Devon ,well as you can see i made the right choice. I absolutely love it down here in Devon, the air the country side the people. I work as a bus driver coach driver and have been for three years now. Every one knows me as i do the same route every day. I used to be a bus driver in London what a nightmare that was. Tracy is carer and works with the elderly for 4 years now and loves her job.

Me and Tracy decided To start up our own web site three years ago mainly because of the response on our Blue Irish Staffords, Keetch’s Flint Blue Boy & Keetch’s Blue Girl Bella Bella. Keetch’s Flint Blue boy was our first Blue Slate Irish Stafford, and me and my brother went half’s on buying him which cost us £2000.00. Back then no one known what a Blue Staffie was. Blue came form Liverpool off a friend of my brothers. Keetch’s Blue Girl she cost us a £1000.00 and my brother got her from South Wales and then brought Bella back to London. Then me and Tracy brought back both dogs form London down to sunny Devon.

All in all we have been breeding for 6 years now down in sunny Devon. The web site was named after our Mother who passed over a few years back. And we thought it would be appropriate to name the site Keetch’s as our mother was of Irish blood.

As you go though our web site you will see just how my self & Tracy have built up a very good relationship with the people that have had a pup from us. We must say it’s very hard to find good responsible loving homes for our dogs to go to. But we think that we’ve done pretty good job so far. There’s only 4 pups that we cant account for.

What with all the dangerous dog act and the new responsible owner laws, we have to think about who we are going to rehome these pups to. It just doesn’t bear to think that we are rehoming a pup and sending it to its doom. What with all the amount of dog fighting that’s been going on all over the UK

JUST A LITTLE HISTORY ON THE BLUES

The blue colour in Staffords Is very much misunderstood. The gene carrying the blue colour is a simple recessive gene that affects the coat colour and nothing more. The actual quality of a litter is dependent on the quality of the parents but both must carry blue to produce blue puppies.

In the past, Staffordshire were generally red, white pied or Brindle in colour although an occasional blue one turned up. These are believed to have originated with the Blue Paul. The Blue Paul’s were of an all blue colour but they sometimes produced Brindle or reds which were known as red smuts in Scotland. No one seemed to have full knowledge as to how the Blue Paul’s were bred or from where they originally came. There was a story that Paul Jones, the pirate, brought them from aboard and landed some when he visited his native town of Kirkcudbright about 1770. The gypsies around the Kin Tilloch district kept a lot of Blue Pauls which they fought for their own amusement. They maintained that the breed originally came from the Galloway coast which lends colour to the Paul Jones legend.

From all writings on this now extinct variety of bull terrier, all seemed to be agreed that they were a highly intelligent breed of dog in spite of the somewhat cruel sport they were used in. They were affectionate and tractable, obedient to a fault when engaged in their work, mute even under the most trying circumstances. They were game to the death and could suffer much punishment. They were expert and tricky in their fighting tactics which made them great favorites with those who indulged in this sport.

The general appearance of the Blue Paul is that of a smooth coated, powerfully built dog weighing about 20kg and measuring up to 50cm at the shoulder. Head-large, forehead flat, muscle short and square, large and broad but not receding like that of the bulldog. Jaws and teeth even with no over changing flews, slight dip between the eyes which should be dark hazel and neither sunk nor prominent or showing haw. Ears-small, thin, set on high, invariably cropped. The face not wrinkled.

The eyebrows contracted or knit and when the dog lowered one side of his face when at attention, this gave the dog a peculiarly intelligent look. In fact there was an expression in the face of the Blue Paul that has never been seen in any other breed and one can frequently recognize his blood in cross breeds from this peculiarity. Body-round and well ribbed up, back short broad and muscular but not roached; chest very deep and wide; tail set low and devoid of fringe, rather drooping and never rising above the back. The dog stands straight and firmly on its legs, forelegs stout and muscular, showing no curve. Hind legs very thick, strong and well furnished with muscle. Colour was the dark blue we see in greyhounds. With his excellent fighting skills, the Blue Paul was introduced as part of Stafford breeding in the early 19th century and the blue coloring has appeared in

Staffords ever since. The genetics of the blue Stafford are the same as for the Great Dane and Greyhound. The colour appears as solid blue, blue Brindle or blue fawn which is the same as a black masked fawn except the mask is blue instead of black. If you want blue, there are some very important aspects to consider in a breeding program. The selection of the dogs for mating has to be correct. As well as quality of conformation, the colouring also needs to be considered. As in any breeding, including Brindle to Brindle, an incorrect selection of parents may result in pups with weak pigment and light eyes. As the eye colour of blues is affected by the dilution gene, the parents eyes should be as dark as possible. Always include a well pigmented black dog in your breeding program to keep dilution to a minimum. This will also assist in the colour of the nose. In a blue Stafford the nose is a diluted black giving a slate appearance which can vary in colour from grey to black. With the correct breeding program and careful selection, it is possible to produce quality blue Staffords with black noses, medium to dark brown eyes and black toenails. Some of the current blues have darker pigment than some of the Brindle and fawns seen in the show ring.

The quality of the blue Stafford has improved in the past few years and by using careful selection of quality parents, it will keep on improving. Blue is a colour in the Staffordshire standard but it is the conformation of the dog that matters the most. No one should ever breed for colour alone. Quality always comes first and it should not matter if the animal is red, black, brindle, white, pied or blue. All colors are equal in the standard.

Ive Managed to find a write up on the Coloring of the Blues, From a Couple that live in Australia.

Barry & June. www.aceblue-staffords.com