I don't know much of anything about blue Mals specifically, however blue genes are recessive and so as long as you don't plan on breeding the dog, just being a carrier shouldn't be a problem. Though blue is definitely related to problems in many (but not all) breeds.

However, I would take a very close look at the pedigree and breeders of this dog. Is this dog what you really want? Why? Some people breed freaks on purpose. To me there is a big difference between occasionally having a dog that isn't up to standard for a mostly cosmetic reason and breeding them on purpose.

In fact, if they are positive the pup has blue genes (assuming the pup is not blue itself or was genetically tested), that means the pup had a blue parent(not up to standard)and was bred knowingly. Having a grandparent? named "Deja Blue" isn't a good sign IMO.

Oh, blue and blue merle are completely different genes BTW.

Blue is a dilute gene which has the potential to cause hair loss. It doesn't always cause a problem, some dogs never have a problem while others can end up bald at 4 months old. There is a risk of the puppies from a blue/blue cross being severely affected and permanently loosing their hair. I have heard of some Chihuahuas with this problem. I don't know if the other breeds that have blues have problems. Weims, Danes, and PB come to mind but I haven't heard about any problems with them.
One of the things to watch for in a pup is very thin hair on the head. It can be an indication of a problem, but thin hair is no guarantee there is a problem either. Sorry if that sounds vague
This site gives symptoms and susceptible breeds, but they don't mention Chi's so I can't say how reliable their info is.
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1593&articleid=421
This site goes into the genetics of the color and makes no mention of health problems.
http://homepage.usask.ca/~schmutz/dilutions.html

Heh! In the time it took to reply I see most of my questions were answered!

If I were looking for a dog for something as serious as a PPD, anticipating breeding someday, and blue was being pushed as a good thing by the breeder I would probably go elsewhere unless I really didn't have any other options. IMO that demonstrates a lack of knowledge and/or caring on the breeders part.

Just want to say a big thanks to everyone that has commented. You guys have been a big help.

I guess I am still looking for a female mal in or around AR.

Thanks Amanda

Uhm...she's probably already sold, but it might be worth PM'ing Cindy...

http://www.leerburg.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/ubb/showflat/Number/164892/page/0/fpart/1

I don't know if she'd be appropriate for your needs, but I would trust Cindy's advice implicitly.

Good Luck. I bet there are plenty of people here who could help you with that

Nevermind, NO jinxing

LOL!! Thanks

Your puppy probably has the Dd genotype - she is heterozygous for blue. If you ever bred her you would have to know for a fact that the male was homozygous for fawn (DD) and not a blue carrier. Otherwise you would get roughly 1/4 of the litter as blues (dd) and 1/2 the litter would be carriers (Dd).

With a homozygous male your litter would have about half Dd and half DD.

In either case, you would also need to disclose to your puppy buyers that their puppy is a blue carrier. (Meaning you would have to DNA test the pups to know which was which).

My personal feeling is, buy Cindy's dog.

I'm a little late coming into this, but probably have more experience with blue Malinois then most.

Angela is right, the blue color is dd, it's a dilution like the Dobermans and some other breeds have. It's not a merle gene. In Malinois I have only seen one blue dog with a thin coat, and it has tan relatives who also have a thin coat so it might not be color related. But I suspect when people start breeding blues to blues to get more blues, eventually we'll start seeing some of the same hair/skin issues that are seen in Dobermans. Unfortunatley it used to be a pretty uncommon color, but now it's got the "hey it's rare" thing going and people are breeding for the color, and marketing it as something special.

Personally, I don't like the color, can't stand the eyes. However, I've seen a number of blues that have been excellent workers, so I wouldn't overlook a pup for working that was blue (assuming you like the color), as long as it wasn't many generations of blue to blue breeding. There is a kennel in France that has recently become popular here in the US, the Conte d'Hoffman, and many of their dogs carry blue or are blue. Rakker, who is behind the puppy the OP was looking at, was known to produce blues. So does Zodt, Bart Bellon's dog. And there are many others who carried/produced it. So the genes are out there, and have been for quite awhile in some popular dogs, many people just didn't realize it. I suspect some breeders use to bucket the blue pups also, which would prevent people from knowing the genes were there.

There are a couple of articles of interest online about the blues, you will need to translate them using something like Altavista.

La génétique des couleurs du BB
Une importante mise à jour/The genetics of the Colours of the BSD. An Important Update http://www.belgiandogs.org/Frgencouleurs.htm

Les "bleus" envahissent nos Malinois ! /Our Malinois are becoming Blue !
http://www.belgiandogs.org/FRgenbleu.htm

These are all pictures of various blue dogs
http://i109.photobucket.com/albums/n75/malndobe/Banning_09_09_07/villier_head.jpg
http://www.gizmothedog.com/images/2007-11-4-2.jpg
http://www.startspot.nl/paginas/policedogs/blue-malinois.jpg

Depending on the lighting they actually can look like a regular colored dog, but in person my experience is they all look like they need a bath LOL Like they are dusty and just need to be bathed to sharpen up the color.