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.
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.
The solid red coat of an Australian shepherd is the rarest color. This Australian shepherd coat color, which ranges from deep reddish to lighter shades of red, is the rarest color. To create a solid red coat, breeders must strategically pair dogs with the ee recessive form of the E gene.
What Color Eyes Can Black Aussies Have? Black Australian Shepherds usually have amber or brown eyes, although they can have blue eyes, two different-colored eyes (which is known as heterochromia iridum), or even marbled eyes.
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.
EYE COLOR : WINDOWS OF THE AUSSIE SOUL
Our breed standard allows eyes of any pigment color or combination of pigment colors. Aussie eyes have been seen that are golden, lemon yellow, amber, light brown, dark brown, green, orange, and blue. On very dark individuals they may even appear black.
The merle allele modifies the dark pigment in the eyes, resulting in lighter-colored eyes like blue, or part of the eye to be colored blue. Since merle causes random modifications, however, both dark-eyed, blue-eyed, and odd-colored eyes are possible. Pigmentation on paw pads and nose may be mottled by pink.
The merle gene is responsible for creating mottled patches of color in a dog's coat and blue or odd-colored eyes. However, merle is an incompletely dominant gene, so not every merle dog will have blue eyes. And while merle dogs often have blue eyes, they can also have one brown and one blue eye.
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.
Sometimes Australian Shepherds which are not merle will have blue eyes. Either or both eyes may be blue. Sometimes they are half blue/half pigmented. They are rarely flecked or marbled.
true blue. Very genuine, very loyal; expressing Australian values; Australian. This derives from a British English sense of true blue, recorded from the 17th century with the meaning 'faithful, staunch, unwavering in one's commitments or principles; extremely loyal'.
It should be noted that on newborn Aussies, their noses are usually pink, especially in merles. The black (or brown pigment on reds) comes in as they grow.
Aussies have a lush, medium-length coat that is straight or slightly wavy. They have feathering on the back of the legs and a generous mane around the neck. Coat colors vary and might be blue or red merle or red or black tricolor, all with white and/or tan markings.
Splooting is a great stretch for the animals' hips. Splooting also allows the animal to cool themselves by pressing their belly into the ground or against tile floors. Owners may notice that their pets sploot more often when they are younger.
The natural bobbed tail is a recessive gene within the Australian Shepherd dog breed genetic code. This genetic mutation curbs the tail, naturally creating a shortened tail that is only about one or two vertebrae in length.
What is a double merle? A dog that inherits two dominant versions of M is a double merle. In Australian Shepherds these dogs usually will have excessive amounts of white, be deaf in one or both ears, and have serious and generally blinding eye defects. In a few severe cases the eyes have been missing altogether.
What is the rarest eye color? Green is the rarest eye color in the world, with only 2% of the world's population (and fewer than one out of ten Americans) sporting green peepers, according to the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO).
Human eyes have three different types of cones, which allows us to identify combinations of red, blue, and green. Dogs, on the other hand, have only two types of cones, which means they can only discern blue and yellow. As a result, dogs are red-green colour blind.
While blue merle Australian Shepherds are undoubtedly beautiful, they're not particularly rare. The blue merle color pattern is surprisingly common in this breed, being more frequent than the red merle.
No. Mating two merle dogs together increases the risk of their puppies having health issues and could have a serious impact on their health and welfare. For this reason, we do not register dogs from merle-to-merle mating. Any mating that could produce affected puppies should never knowingly be carried out.
Blue-eyed puppies are striking to say the least, but how long will the blueish tinge last? Not long, as the eye usually changes to its permanent coloration several weeks down the line. It takes a while to uncover puppies' “true” eye colors, which can range from brown to amber to the rare permanent blue color.
An autosomal, incompletely dominant trait, merle coat coloring predisposes dogs to inherited deafness. When inherited in the homozygous state, the merle mutation causes dogs to be white and have an even greater incidence of deafness, blindness and sterility.
Also known as dapple, merle is characterized by irregular blotches of fur set on a lighter background of the same pigment, such as solid black on gray (called blue merle) or solid brown on tan (red merle). Blue and partially blue eyes are often seen with the merle pattern, as well.
While dogs with blue eyes may be more sensitive to light than dogs with green eyes or brown eyes, Dr. Robinson says that unless they are a “double-merle” carrier, these pups can almost always see just fine.