The thread asking what dog someone had seen, set me wondering how many breeds do have 2 blue eyes that are acceptable according to the breeds standard, not wall eyes or odd eyes but true blue. Have met Beardies with pale grey eyes, are they called blue by the breed and do most dogs who's eyes are covered by hair have pale eyes, I don't think they do, sure I have seen some black buttons peeping out from behind the hair on some of the small hairies.

Siberian Huskies are permitted to be blue eyes :)

I know it's not acceptable in the standard, but I used to live near a Bernese Mountain Dog with ice blue eyes - looked VERY weird.  Apparently it's a fault that does crop up in the breed, and I'm sure it appeals to some pet people, but I thought it looked horrible.

M.

I saw a liver spotted ( ? - did I get the colour terminology correct ? )dalmation whilst camping and it had really pale blue eyes ive never seen one with blue eyes before, looked different !!

Dalmatians occasionally have blue eyes, and it is emphatically not accepted in the UK (though it is in America :rolleyes: ). As it is linked to deafness in many breeds it is little wonder that the incidence of deafness is higher in US dalmatians than those in the UK, if they are happy to breed from dogs clearly demonstarting they have the faulty gene. Personally I think it gives a dal a nasty hard expression.

Jeangenie you must be a mind reader, you answered my post as I was typing it !!

*takes a bow*
:D

Also Weim's, blue through to amber.

H.

Australian Shepherds can also have blue eyes...... We tend to see it more in merles, but there is a beautiful black tri aussie in the USA that has blue eyes..... and he is stunning. My aussie bitch has a brown eye and half a blue, half brown eye, which is also classed as ''correct''......... :D
Gabrielle

Apart from Dalmatians are there any other breeds where the eye colour is a sign that the dog carries a gene that is also connected to a fault such as deafness. Have heard it said that some coat colour is connected to genetic faults and that may also be a case of the gene that may give a desired feature may also carry a health risk. Comments and cases please.

Is this any help, Jackie? It appears that in the vast majority of breeds, blue eyes are linked to deafness, Siberians being about the only exception.
:)

Weimaraners eyes are strictly speaking blue-grey through to amber; not really true blue. No problem with deafness in Weims.

The link that Jeangenie supplied said something about pale-eyed dogs' stares make humans nervous. This is 100% correct! I own two blue eyed Siberian Huskies and when they are playing and catch my eye with that stare, they send chills down my spine! But then following that stare is a playfull bark that says, "Hey, stop staring at me and play!"

My vet told me when my girl had her pups that the solid white pups could be deaf. Of course, none of them were, we tested them, but they were solid white with blue eyes. The vet didn't really say anything about the deafness being linked to their blue eyes but instead their solid white color. Is a pure white dog linked to deafness, too?

(I don't really think it is because solid white in Siberians is an accepted color.) =)

-Tara

Think the connection is to lack of pigment as in albino, white hair, pale eyes and deafness is all part of the genetic problem. Your vet just did not know about your breed.

>>>Is a pure white dog linked to deafness, too?

Yes it is but not all types of white.  Extreme white spotting as caused by the S locus (Dalmatians, Bull Terriers, ACDs etc) produces areas of white which lack melanocytes (pigment cells) in the hairs.  If these areas happen to cover the region of the inner ear, then deafness will result.  It is linked to blue eye only because lack of pigment also in the eye area causes blue or wall eye.

Whiteness as seen in Westies, Pulis, Jap Spitz, some Siberians and many other breeds is not the same type of white.  It does have melanocytes, they just have very pale pigment so no risk of colour associated deafness in these breeds.   Siberians also have extreme white so could be affected.

Merle can also cause ear and eye deformities by reducing pigment in these areas.  The type of blue eye that occurs in Bernese, most Siberians and other breeds is not coat colour linked or associated with deafness and is thought to be a simple recessive though there is some debate over this.

Julie

Boston's can have blue eye's but its a big fault, not show quality. I thought very pretty tho :)

I have a Border Collie (W/S) who has powder Blue eyes she is also 90% white, and yes she is deaf !! the only colour she has is blue merle. When we took her to the vets for a puppy check up he took one look at her eyes and said bet she is deaf!!
          Sheila