A blue tick hound Beagle is a Tricolor Beagle where the white markings on the Beagle have freckles “blue” spots about it. Blue ticking can either be strong or light depending on the genes that they carry.
The stronger the roaning the less white you will see. The lighter the roaning the more white you will see.
Although they are called blue tick, their unique color has nothing to do with the ticking factor at all. Their blue spotted color pattern most likely comes from the roan gene. Thus it would be appropriate to refer to their blue spotted coat as a roan and not a tick.
More on the roan gene will be discussed below in the genetic section of this article.
If your interested in a blue tick beagle puppy, please check out my Blue Tick Beagle Puppy Litter page.
Please do not confuse a blue tick Beagle with a blue Beagle. They are two different types of Beagles.
Here is a picture of a blue tick beagle.
From the pictures you can see the roan pattern on the white patches of the Beagle. This blue spotted freckled pattern on the white markings of the Beagle is what gave them the name as blue tick.
Here is a picture of a blue Beagle also known as a silver Beagle.
They have no roan pattern but instead have a blue or silver color coat pattern.
From the above picture of the blue tick, you will notice that not every white area on a blue tick is roan blue. It is common for a blue tick to have heavy brown/red ticking on their legs.
Blue Tick Beagle their Genetic Breakdown.
Now genetic wise, what causes the blue tick factor in a Beagle? There are a few genes that you need to be aware of when it comes to a blue tick.
For the most part they are the: A-locus, B-locus, R-locus and E-locus.
Also another common question is why are some blue tick Beagle heavier roan then others?
There is a hypothesis as to why this is. I will make mention to it later on in this article.
Diving into the A-Locus Gene of a Beagle
The A-locus gene for a blue tick Beagle, will always be atat. This gene is responsible for giving a Beagle that classic tri color coat pattern that Beagles are know for.
There are other genes that can effect the A-locus gene. The big one that I am thinking of is the E-Locus.
The K-Locus can affect it as well, but the K-locus is usually not an issue in Beagles, so I will not be talking about it.
The E-locus can be an issue and you will be told why in the E-locus section.
Of course a blue tick is not the only Beagle that will be atat at the A-Locus level. Any if not all beagles will be atat .
Even if a Beagle is not a tri color, the A-locus gene will still be atat. It will just be masked under the more dominate genes.
The B-Locus Gene of a Blue Tick Beagle!
The B-Locus gene is where things can get interesting. This gene is primarily responsible for producing a brown Beagle.
If you are interested in more detail of the genetic makeup of a brown Beagle, check out my other article titled: Brown Beagle Puppy A Genetic Breakdown.
A Beagle can be one of three genetic makeups at the B-Locus level. They will be BB, Bb, or bb.
If a blue tick Beagle is BB, it means that they possess two dominate black genes at the B-locus level and will be black, white and tan.
They will pass on one of their dominate black B gene to their offspring. Which in return will make their offspring black, white and tan.
If a Beagle is Bb, it means they possess one dominate black B-locus gene and one recessive brown B-locis gene.
Even with this combo, the Beagle will still be black, white and tan. Why? Because the dominate gene trumps the recessive gene.
During reproduction they will pass on either the dominate B gene or the recessive b gene to their offspring.
A bb Beagle means that they possess two brown recessive B-locus gene. Since there is not a dominate black gene in this combination, the puppy will be brown, white and tan. This is shown in the picture below.
It also means that the puppy will have no chance at being a blue tick Beagle.
Why? Because like I said, Beagles that are bb at the B-locus level will be brown, white and tan not black, white and tan.
All blue tick Beagles are black, white and tan. They cannot be brown, white and tan. If you did have a brown, white and tan Beagle that was roan, it would most likely be considered a red tick Beagle.
Breeding a Red Tick to a Blue Tick!
Since I mentioned a red ticked Beagle. I will pause here for a second and discuss what would happen if you cross a blue tick with a red tick.
Since they are both roan Beagles, it would increase their chances of producing roan puppies. But would they be, blue or red ticked?
I could be wrong here, but I believe it would come down to the B-locus gene. The red tick Beagle would be bb while the blue tick beagle would be BB or Bb.
If the adult blue tick Beagle is BB, then the puppies would get one dominate black gene “B” from the blue tick Beagle. They would also inherit one recessive brown gene “b” from the red tick, making the puppies Bb at the B-locus level.
Since they possess at least one dominate black gene they would be black, white and tan themselves, which would make them blue tick.
If the adult blue tick was Bb at the B-locus level, then there is a 50/50 chance that the pups would be Bb, making them blue tick. However there is also a 50/50 chance they would be bb, making them a red tick puppy.
If you only want blue tick Beagles and no red tick, then find out what your Beagle is at the B-locus level. If they are dominate/dominate “BB” then you should be able to breed to a red tick without any worries of red tick puppies.
All the puppies would come out black, white and tan and the ones that possess the roan gene would be blue tick Beagles.
Now after that intermission lets continue on.
R-Locus “Roan” Gene of Blue Tick Beagle
The R Locus is the gene responsible for the roan/blue-tick pattern found on a blue tick Beagle.
This gene is relatively new and I have to admit, not a whole lot is known about this gene yet. It is not known if this is the only gene that affects a roan pattern or if other genes are involved. .
What is known though, is that the R-locus does play a major factor when it comes to getting a blue tick dog.
Just like the other genes that we have discussed in order to produce a blue tick, the Beagle must have at least one dominate R-locus gene.
If they inherit two recessive “rr” R-locus genes, they will not be a blue tick.
Now to get to the question of why some blue ticks are heavier roan then others.
Though the exact cause of the intensity of roaning is unknown, it is believed that dogs with two dominate genes “RR” will be more heavy roan than those with one dominate and one recessive”Rr”.
The explanation for this is called incomplete dominate.
What that means is that the roan dominate gene is not completely dominate over the recessive gene as with the other genes. The recessive genes still has a small say in the matter.
Therefore a dog with two dominate roan genes would be heavier roan because there is no recessive gene holding them back.
However, this line of thinking has not been proven and more testing will need to be done before anyone can say for sure.
E-Locus Gene of a Beagle
The E-locus gene also has three combination. A Beagle can have two dominate, EE. One dominate and one recessive, Ee. Or two recessive, ee.
A blue tick Beagle at the E-locus level will either be dominate/dominate EE or dominate/recessive Ee. They will never be recessive/recessive ee.
If they are recessive/recessive then they will not be a blue tick. This is because a Beagle that is ee, will be a lemon/yellow beagle. Like the Beagle you see below.
So even if your Beagle was AA at the A-locus level. BB at the B-Locus level and RR at the R-locus level. All of those genes would be masked and show no outward effect if the Beagle is “ee” at the E-Locus level.
Difficulty of getting a Blue Tick Beagle.
If you have been following along, you might see why it can be difficult to produce a blue tick Beagle. If you still do not understand why, then don’t worry. I’m am about to break it down for you in a hypothetical match-up.
Lets say that I have two blue ticks, one male and one female. Logic would tell me that if you breed the two together then I would get blue tick Beagle puppies.
However this is not always the case.
For instance, lets say that both blue ticks are carriers of all the recessive genes that hve been mentioned. In other words both Beagles looks like this: “Bb, “Ee” and “Rr”.
With those genetics, there would be a one in four chance that one of those puppies will be a brown Beagle “bb.
There is also a one in four chance that one of those puppies would be a lemon Beagle “ee”.
And to top it all off, there would be a one in four chance that a puppy might not carry the dominate roan gene at all.
Instead, it could carry to recessive”rr” at the R-locus level and therefore would not be a blue tick Beagle.
In order to guarantee blue tick puppies, then at least one of your blue tick Beagles must carry all dominate genes. They need to be “BB, EE, and RR.
That way the puppies could inherit a recessive gene from the other parent but still be guaranteed to inherit at least one dominate gene from the other parent.
The dominate genes would trump the recessive gene thus guaranteeing blue tick Beagle puppies.
Wrapping up the Genetics.
There are a few other genetics that can affect the look of a blue tick. However I do not have a good enough understanding of these remaining genetics to fill comfortable talking about them.
What you need to remember, is that the amount of white found on a Beagle will have a profound impact on the look of a blue tick.
The more white that is present, the more attention will be drawn to their roan pattern. If very little to no white is present, then the roan will not be seen no matter what genes they have.
The two genes that you might have to look at when trying to get a Beagle that is mostly white is the saddle tan (Rally) gene and the S-locus gene.
S-locus gene can help with white spotting while the saddle tan gene is what causes Beagles to have that black or brown saddle on their back.
If you want a more white Beagle, in my opinion you have to make it so the saddle tan gene is not dominate.
But like I said, I do not know enough about these two genes to say for sure.
Does not take Two Blue Ticks to have Blue Ticks Puppies!
You do not have to breed a blue tick to another blue tick to get blue tick Beagles.
The dog that you should breed too, depends greatly upon the genetics of the blue tick
My blue tick is dominate/dominate in every gene expect one. the roan “R-locus” gene. Meaning that I could breed her with a non blue tick stud and still have a 50/50 chance of blue tick puppies.
If I breed her with a blue tick stud with genetics like hers, my chances of blue ticks puppies would go up from 50% to 75%.
The only way to guarantee all blue ticks puppies is finding another blue tick that is dominate/dominate at the R-locus level.
That will wrap of the genetic of a blue tick. In the next section of this article I will answer a few common questions about a blue tick Beagle.
A Beagle vs a Hound Beagle – Is There a Difference?
There is a very simple answer to this question and the answer is no. All Beagles are hounds but not all hounds are Beagles.
So what classifies as a hound dog?
To answer this I am going to quote an article from green field puppies titled: What is a Hound Dog?
In the article they say that “A hound dog is a term typically used to describe a type of hunting dog that was bred specifically to chase or track prey…. Hounds usually have an excellent sense of smell, they are determined and focused while on a trail, and they usually have a lot of stamina and endurance for tracking and chasing prey for a long time.”
When it comes to a Beagle they are in the category as a scent hound, meaning that they have the ability to identify specific scents and follow it for days.
Here is a fun fact for you. When it comes to the ability to smell, Beagles are usually considered to have the third most powerful nose of all dogs. The Bloodhound, is of course number one, followed by a Basset hound.
Difference Between Roan and Ticking in Beagles.
This can often be confusing to those that are new to the Beagle world. I know that it was for me.
When I heard that these Beagle puppies would be tick. I thought it meant that they would be tick like a blue tick Beagle.
I did not understand that a blue tick Beagle is roan as well as tick.
Hopefully these two side by side compression of a roan and a tick Beagle will help.
Both Beagles in the above photos are ticked. Meaning they both have ticking marks ‘freckles” on their legs. Although, a blue tick will have heavier ticking then a non blue tick.
This is what someone means when they say “these Beagles should have ticking.” Meaning they should have spots on their legs.
When a Beagle is roan. It gives them that blue tick pattern on their white markings.
So keep that in mind the next time you hear the word “ticking” when used to describe a dog.
If you want to read more on roan vs ticking and how the two differ, checking out: http://www.doggenetics.co.uk/ticking.html, where they break down the ticking and roan gene in greater detail
Some Basic Questions and Answers for Blue Tick Beagles.
- How big do blue tick Beagles get?
- There are two different standards for Beagles. The smaller standard Beagle can range between 12 to 13 inches. The bigger standard Beagle can be as tall as 15 inches.
- How much do they weigh?
- A good weight for a smaller standard Beagle can range between 20 to 30 pounds. They bigger standard Beagle can weigh up to 45 pounds and still look fairly lean. Males typically have more mass then the females.
- Are blue tick Beagles good around Kids?
- Beagles love and are great around kids and other dogs. They can even learn to like cats if they are trained properly.
- Are blue tick Beagles a loud dog?
- A Beagle will howl and bray if a stranger or an unknown animal approaches their territory. However, for daily routine activities Beagles are no louder then any other dog.
Conclusion on Blue Tick Beagles!
What makes a blue tick Beagle so unique is not only their looks but their genetic makeup as well.
Out of all of the genetic match ups that could have happened, everything has to match up just right to get a roan Beagle.
If you already have, or plan on getting a blue tick remember this: It takes a lot more then color or genetics to get a wonderful Beagle.
Time and patience plays an important factor as well. You need to be out with your dog daily, training and spending time with them to get the blue tick Beagle that you always dreamed of.