The Blue Paul Terrier: Fact, Folklore and Scotland’s Mysterious Extinct Dog
The Blue Paul Terrier, sometimes called the Blue Poll, is remembered as an extinct blue-coated bull-and-terrier associated with Scotland.
Its story is fascinating—but it is also filled with claims that cannot be proved.
No complete studbook, recognised breed standard, verified pedigree or preserved DNA is known to survive. Most detailed descriptions appeared after the dogs had reportedly become scarce or disappeared.
The Blue Paul should therefore be described as a historical Scottish dog type or strain, rather than confidently presented as a standardised breed like those recognised today.
Quick facts about the Blue Paul Terrier
Country associated with it: Scotland
Other reported name: Blue Poll
Type: Bull-and-terrier
Coat: Reportedly short and smooth
Best-known colour: Dark blue, slate-grey or blue brindle
Historical purpose: Associated with dog fighting
Current status: Extinct—or absorbed into other bull-and-terrier populations
Important warning: Much of its origin story remains unverified
Did the Blue Paul Terrier really exist?
The safest answer is probably—but not necessarily as a formally established breed.
Later dog writers described blue bull-and-terriers in Scotland and used the names Blue Paul, Blue Poll and, occasionally, Scottish Bull Terrier. This supports the existence of a recognisable population or local strain.
However, it does not prove that every dog called a Blue Paul belonged to one closed and consistently bred bloodline.
During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, many dogs were identified by their work, location, owner or appearance. Breeding records were often incomplete or nonexistent. Different local dogs could consequently share a name without meeting a single written standard.
The Blue Paul may have been a distinctive Scottish strain, a general name for blue bull-and-terriers, or something between the two.
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Where did the Blue Paul come from?
Its true origin is unknown.
The most famous story connects the dogs to John Paul Jones, the Scottish-born naval commander. According to the tale, he brought blue fighting dogs to the Kirkcudbright area from overseas during the eighteenth century.
No dependable contemporary record has been found confirming that Jones imported, owned or bred these dogs. The story may explain how the name “Paul” became attached to them, but it must be treated as folklore—not established history.
Other proposed origins involve crosses between old bulldog and terrier types in Scotland, possibly with dogs arriving from England or Ireland. This is plausible because bull-and-terrier breeding was not confined to one region, but the Blue Paul’s exact foundation cannot now be reconstructed.
What did the Blue Paul Terrier look like?
There are no confirmed photographs and no surviving official breed standard.
Later descriptions generally portray a smooth-coated, muscular bull-and-terrier with:
A broad, powerful head
A comparatively short, square-looking muzzle
Strong jaws and cheek muscles
Dark eyes
A deep, broad chest
Straight, substantial forelegs
A short, muscular body
Powerful hindquarters
A low-set tail
A short, close coat
Its best-known colour was a dark slate blue or blue-grey. Blue brindle and other variations are also mentioned in later accounts.
Some sources provide precise measurements, but these figures cannot be verified against an official standard. The size probably varied because the dogs existed before modern pedigree breeding imposed consistent measurements.
Historical illustrations should also be treated cautiously. An artist’s picture may reflect a general bull-and-terrier appearance rather than document one identifiable Blue Paul.
Why was the Blue Paul blue?
In dogs, “blue” normally describes diluted black pigment. The coat appears charcoal, slate-grey or steel-blue rather than bright blue.
This colouring is caused by inherited changes affecting the distribution of pigment through the hair. It can occur in several unrelated dog populations.
A blue coat alone does not prove that a modern dog descends from the Blue Paul.
Was the Blue Paul a fighting dog?
Historical accounts consistently associate the Blue Paul with dog fighting.
Bull-and-terrier dogs were developed by crossing old bulldog types with terriers, combining physical strength with speed and determination. Some were used in organised fights during a period when animal cruelty was treated very differently.
That history should be recorded, but never romanticised.
Descriptions of the Blue Paul as exceptionally courageous or willing to fight often came from people interested in its performance in the pit. They do not provide a balanced account of how the dogs behaved in ordinary life.
Dog fighting is now illegal and causes severe suffering. The dogs were victims of the people who bred, trained and placed them in those situations.
What was the Blue Paul’s temperament?
Its everyday temperament is unknown.
Words such as courageous, determined and tenacious are repeatedly used in later descriptions, but these largely relate to fighting ability.
There is not enough reliable evidence to state how the dogs typically behaved:
Inside the home
Around children
With unfamiliar people
Around other animals
Away from a fighting environment
It would be equally misleading to describe every Blue Paul as naturally vicious or as a perfect family companion. Neither claim can be demonstrated.
Was the Blue Paul related to the Staffordshire Bull Terrier?
The Blue Paul is frequently claimed as an ancestor of the Staffordshire Bull Terrier, American Pit Bull Terrier and other bull breeds.
This remains possible but unproven.
Bull-and-terrier dogs were moved, traded and crossed between different parts of Britain. A Scottish strain could therefore have contributed to the wider population from which later breeds developed.
However, there are no complete pedigrees or genetic samples proving that the Blue Paul was a direct ancestor of any modern breed.
The Staffordshire Bull Terrier was developed from Britain’s wider bull-and-terrier population and was subsequently standardised as a distinct breed. It is more accurate to say that the Blue Paul may have belonged to—or contributed to—that broad historical population.
The appearance of blue Staffordshire Bull Terriers today is not evidence of direct Blue Paul ancestry. The same dilution genes can occur without such a connection.
Were cropped ears natural to the Blue Paul?
Later descriptions and illustrations sometimes show cropped ears. Cropping was a human alteration historically inflicted on many fighting dogs; it was not a natural characteristic of the animal.
We cannot be certain that every Blue Paul was cropped.
Modern reconstructions should distinguish between the dog’s likely natural appearance and practices imposed by its owners. Ear cropping is illegal in the UK except when performed for legitimate medical treatment.
When did the Blue Paul become extinct?
There is no confirmed date.
Some later accounts claim that Blue Pauls were still being exhibited or recognised during the late nineteenth century. By the early twentieth century, the name appears to have largely disappeared.
That does not necessarily mean the entire population suddenly died out. The strain may have:
Declined gradually
Been crossed with other bull-and-terriers
Lost its separate name
Been absorbed into developing breeds
Disappeared because nobody maintained a closed breeding population
“Absorbed” may therefore be as accurate as “extinct”. Without pedigrees or DNA, we cannot determine exactly what happened.
Can the Blue Paul Terrier be recreated
No—not authentically.
A breeder could select modern dogs for a blue coat, broad head and muscular body, but the result would be a newly created dog resembling later descriptions.
It would not restore the original Blue Paul’s complete genetics, temperament or ancestry.
Any person advertising genuine Blue Paul Terrier puppies today should be approached with extreme caution. A dog cannot be proven to belong to an extinct historical strain when no verified pedigrees or genetic reference samples survive.
What do we actually know?
Reasonably supported
Dogs called Blue Pauls or Blue Polls were associated with Scotland.
They were described as blue-coated bull-and-terrier dogs.
They were connected with nineteenth-century dog fighting.
The name disappeared and no verified modern population survives.
Repeated but not proven
John Paul Jones introduced the dogs to Scotland.
Every Blue Paul descended from one imported bloodline.
Exact height and weight figures applied to the whole population.
The Blue Paul directly founded particular modern bull breeds.
Modern blue Staffies inherited their colour specifically from it.
A precise final Blue Paul or extinction date can be identified.
The honest legacy of the Blue Paul Terrier
The Blue Paul occupies an unusual place between documented dog history and folklore.
It probably existed as a recognisable Scottish bull-and-terrier type, but the surviving evidence is too limited to reconstruct it as a modern breed. Its appearance comes mainly from later descriptions, its ancestry is disputed and its supposed connection to John Paul Jones has never been satisfactorily proved.
That uncertainty does not make the Blue Paul less interesting. It makes the story more revealing.
The Blue Paul reminds us that many early dogs existed before closed studbooks, formal standards and reliable photographic records. Some became recognised breeds. Others were crossed, renamed or absorbed until only fragments of their history remained.
Scotland’s mysterious blue terrier has disappeared—but the debate surrounding it continues.
Research note
Reliable contemporary evidence about the Blue Paul is extremely limited. Later references include Hutchinson’s Dog Encyclopaedia, edited by Walter Hutchinson in the 1930s, and Michael Homan’s A Complete History of Fighting Dogs from 2000. These are useful records of the stories attached to the dog, but they were written after the Blue Paul’s reported disappearance and cannot independently prove every claim.
For that reason, this article deliberately distinguishes established historical context from later tradition and speculation.
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