What Kind of Dog Has Blue Eyes
A dog’s eye color is determined by the amount of melanin in the iris. The more melanin, the darker the color. Eyes that are blue or gray are caused by low levels of melanin, and dogs with these eyes are considered to be rare.
There is a strong correlation between eye color and coat color in dogs. Dogs with blue eyes often have coats that are predominantly white or cream-colored, while dogs with brown eyes often have coats that are predominantly black or brown.
What does a blue eye mean in a dog?
Heterochromia is caused by a lack of the pigment melanin in all or part of one eye. In dogs with heterochromia, the lack of melanin causes one of their eyes to appear blue or bluish-white. Heterochromia in dogs is often hereditary, meaning it is passed through their genetic makeup.[1]
Does any dog have blue eyes?
Blue eyes are found in a number of dog breeds, including Old English sheepdogs, border collies, and Welsh and Pembroke corgis, Irizarrypoints out. But for these breeds the blue-eyed trait is inherited as a recessive trait, meaning that two mutated copies of the gene are required for the blue eyes to occur.[2]
What is the rarest dog eye color?
Eye color in dogs is determined by the amount of melanin found in the iris. Brown eyes contain a high concentration of melanin, while green or blue have less. Most dogs have brown eyes, but there are breeds with pale blue, speckled, golden, or hazel colored eyes. The rarest color of all is green.[3]
Do blue eyed dogs have more health problems?
Blue eyes in dogs are completely normal and aren’t linked with any health problems. Certain breeds, such as Siberian husky, carry a gene for blue eyes and don’t experience any vision defects because of it. However, eye diseases such as cataracts and glaucoma can change a dog’s eye color to blue gradually.[4]
Do blue-eyed puppies stay blue?
A puppy’s eye color tends to change — if it is going to change — by the time they reach about 1 month of age. Their eyes can go from blue to grey to blue again, or they can change from blue to grey to brown over the course of a month or so.[5]
What is the GREY dog with blue eyes?
The Weimaraner These intelligent, energetic dogs are also called the “Gray Ghost.” They’re known for their blue (or sometimes amber) eyes and their distinctive silvery-gray coats.[6]
Do dogs with blue eyes see differently?
In some dog breeds, blue eyes can be an indicator of possible vision defects. However, they do not necessarily mean a blue-eyed dog will eventually go blind. While Siberian Huskies and other breeds normally have blue eyes, in other breeds this eye color occurs when two merle-colored dogs produce offspring.[7]
How common are blue eyes in dogs?
That said, the trait is still quite rare. In our DNA testing, we’ve found only about 5% of dogs to have the blue eye variant. Genetic variants may cause only one eye to be blue.[8]
What colors can dogs not see?
Human eyes have three types of cones that can identify combinations of red, blue, and green. Dogs possess only two types of cones and can only discern blue and yellow – this limited color perception is called dichromatic vision.[9]
What’s the rarest breed of dog?
Norwegian Lundehund. Dating back to the Ice Age, the Norwegian Lundehund is recognised as one of the rarest dog breeds on the planet due to its unique characteristics, which aren’t shared by any other breed. Lagotto Romagnolo. Azawakh. Otterhound. Mudi.[10]
Are blue eyed dogs deaf?
Blue eyes, resulting from an absence of pigment in the iris, is common with pigment-associated deafness but is not, in and of itself, an indication of deafness or the presence of a deafness gene; however, in several breeds (Dalmatian, English Setter, English Cocker Spaniel, Bull Terrier), dogs (and cats) with blue eyes …[11]
Can blue eyed dogs see in the dark?
The Structure of the Canine Eye Obviously, his stronger sense of smell is useful, but it’s also because dogs can see movement and light in the dark, and other low-light situations, better than humans.[12]
