They Often Have Two Different-Colored Eyes The Australian Shepherd is one of a few dog breeds that commonly have two different colored eyes, called heterochromia. Aussies might have any combination of brown, blue, hazel, amber, or green eyes.
Dogs with blue eyes are found in many breeds, including old English sheepdogs, border collies, dachshunds, Dalmatians and corgis. For these breeds, the blue-eyed trait is a recessive trait. That means two gene variants (known before as gene mutations) need to be present for blue eyes to occur.
Grey eyes are amongst the rarest eye colours and while many associate grey eyes with being blue, they are not quite the same despite them both having low levels of melanin. Pink and pale red eyes are also incredibly unusual eye colours and occur in people who have albinism.
It all comes down to genetics. Those two different eye colors, which is also known as wall eye, is one trait of many in dogs that their mother and father canine can pass down. With two parents, a puppy's gene copies double. Sometimes, these genes conflict with one another.
This term refers to a puppy bred by two merle colored Aussie parents. Many people are unaware, but when two merles (of any breed) are bred together, each puppy has a 25% chance of being born as a double merle.
A blue iris does not absolutely indicate the presence of the Merle gene; it may also be expressed in dogs carrying the piebald gene, such as the Dalmatian. There is no adverse consequence of the presence of the blue iris alone. Conversely, the other effects of the Merle gene may result in devastating blindness.
The Australian Shepherd is one of a few dog breeds that commonly have two different colored eyes, called heterochromia. Aussies might have any combination of brown, blue, hazel, amber, or green eyes. Some Aussies even display more than one color within the same eye.
Pups that are destined to have eyes that are very dark, almost black, will have dark irises of a midnight blue color from the beginning. In a puppy with split or marbled eyes part of the iris is dark like this pup's eyes, and the blue area is pale. This female from the same litter has eyes that stayed blue.
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.
In merles blue eyes are an extension of the merle pattering. Just as the coat has variegated pigment, so can the eyes. Blue eyes in non-merle Aussies can vary in appearance. Sometimes one eye is blue, sometimes both.
We found that green is the most popular lens colour, with brown coming in a close second, despite it being one of the most common eye colours. Although blue and hazel are seen as the most attractive eye colours for men and women they are surprisingly the least popular.
Even though Bluey is blue, Bluey is a girl. That's because Bluey and Bandit are Blue Heeler dogs, so she looks like her dad. Bingo and Chilli, meanwhile, are the Red Heeler breed, so their fur is cream, orange and reddish-brown.
The second-rarest eye color is hazel, a mixture of brown and green with golden flecks. About 18% of Americans have hazel eyes, compared with about 5% of the world's population.
Blue eyes during puppyhood
All puppies have blue (or bluish) eyes when they first open them. But by the time they're about 16 weeks old, their eyes change to their true color—typically brown. So, if you've got a young, blue-eyed pup at home now, keep in mind their eye color may change.
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. Dog eye color changes as they age. It often takes nine to 12 weeks for a puppy's eye color to settle.
Lenticular sclerosis or nuclear sclerosis is the medical term for a bluish transparent haze that develops in the lens of the eye in middle-aged to senior dogs. This is considered a normal change in the lens associated with aging, and is observed as a cloudiness or bluish discoloration on the pupil.
Pigmentary keratitis refers to brownish-black discoloration of the eye's surface caused by the deposition of pigmented melanin granules. This condition is most common in brachycephalic (flat-faced) dogs, such as Pugs, Boxers, Bulldogs, and French Bulldogs.
So, what did we find? In short, we discovered a genetic mutation, specifically a duplication of DNA sequence near ALX4 (a gene on dog chromosome 18 involved in craniofacial, skin, and hair follicle development) that explains why some dogs have blue eyes.
Australian Shepherd
Also known as the Aussie, the Australian Shepherd naturally carries the gene for blue eyes. A high-energy working breed, the Aussie is beloved for its unique coloring—and not just its eyes! Aussies come in merle, red merle, blue merle, black, black tricolor, red tricolor, and more.
An Australian Shepherd puppy price can range anywhere from $700-$3,000. There are many factors that can affect the price, ranging from the breeder's reputation to even the dog's coat color.
"In Australians of European ancestry, the percentage of eye colours are 45 percent blue-grey, 30 percent green-hazel and 25 percent brown. If you're considering non-European ancestry it is the almost completely brown eye colour."
Australian shepherd colors and patterns can vary greatly, but the United States Australian Shepherd Association recognizes these four major categories: black, red, red merle, and blue merle (merle being the genetic pattern that occurs in a dog's coat, often appearing as speckled patches of color).
Red merle Aussies may have solid colored eyes, but frequently the eyes will be “marbled” or flecked with other colors. So a red merle Aussie could have blue eyes marbled with brown, or vice versa. It could also have a blue eye and a brown eye.
The two coat patterns of the Australian Shepherd are merle & solid. Black is the Dominant color gene; Red is the Recessive color gene. This means that if both the recessive gene and the dominant gene is present, the color Black will dominate - the red will be hidden.