Have you ever heard about the famous myth of how dogs with one blue eye and one brown eye can see both heaven and earth at the same time?
Did it make you curious about whether the color of the dogs’ eyes plays a role in how they see the world even if it’s not necessarily heaven and earth? I have to admit, I had the same question, so I searched for the answers, and I found them.
Do Dogs with blue eyes see differently? No, dogs with blue eyes don’t see differently if it’s caused by natural reasons such as genetics, the body’s inability to create pigment or albinism. However, if their eyes’ blue color is caused by health problems such as Cataracts or Glaucoma, it may affect the dog’s vision quality.
So, no, dogs with blue eyes see the world in the exact same way all dogs see it assuming the color of their eyes is natural and is not caused by any health problems.
If a health problem caused their eyes’ color to change, then their vision may be affected but in this case, the eye color is a symptom and not the cause.
Read on to know more about the causes and effects of dogs having blue eyes, and when can it possibly be a sign of a health problem.
How Dogs with Blue eyes See the World
So, how do dogs with blue eyes see the world? Blue-eyed dogs see the world in the way other dogs see it. Blue eyes don’t affect their vision in any way. It may affect the quality of their vision only if it’s caused by health problems such as glaucoma, that’s when dogs’ eyes suffer from swelling and discoloration of the cornea.
The popular myth suggests that dogs see heaven with blue eyes, implying that dogs can possibly see differently with blue eyes. However, science proved that having blue eyes is not different from other eye colors.
Blue eyes are usually due to pigment dilution which is caused by the Merle gene.
The Merle gene is responsible for a wide variety of spectacular iris colors in the dog.
This dilution gene acts to lighten the coat color. But, all of these changes don’t directly impact dogs’ vision or alter the way they view the world in a way.
Even breeds that usually don’t have blue eyes can have them naturally. You can learn more about that in my post on how can golden retrievers have blue eyes here.
Does Your Dog’s Eye Color Affect Their Vision of the World?
That leads to an important question;
does your dog’s eye color affect their vision of the world? No, your dog’s eye color doesn’t affect their vision of the world directly. Variation in pigmentation in the iris can occur for varying reasons, these reasons can be due to genetics, pigmentation, Heterochromia, and health issues which can all play a role in altering the color of their eyes.
To understand the scientific reason behind this answer to be more sure that your dog’s vision is strong and healthy, it’s important to know more about the reasons why your dog’s eyes are blue in the first place, and whether this color affects them negatively.
Potential Risks
The probability of having the Merle gene is one of the indirect reasons why your dog may have eye defects, but it’s not definite.
Dogs with the merle gene are not doomed to have eye defects. Merle gene causes random pigment dilution on the nose, eyes, and fur.
Still, the Merle gene has this unpleasant probability of causing some health problems.
But if your dog is a Merle carrier, are they doomed to have these health problems? No, dogs with the Merle gene will not necessarily have health problems. however, When two Merle carriers are bred their litter then becomes known as “double merle” and these puppies then run a much greater risk of health issues and may go blind or deaf.
Luckily, litters from a Marle carrier bred with a non-carrier one do not possess any health threats.
Having blue eyes that the dog is not originally born with can also be a clear sign of cataracts or glaucoma.
These diseases are major ones and indeed affect your dog’s vision in a great way.
But if you seek out urgent help whenever you observe these signs, you double the chances of the treatment success. You can learn why some dogs’ eyes turn blue and what happens then here.
Natural Causes
Genetics can be a good example of why your dog has risk-free blue eyes. If your dog’s parents have blue eyes, the offspring’s eyes will turn out to be blue. The blue color caused by genetics is nothing to worry about. It’s inevitable.
Pigmentation is also one of the strongest reasons. Dogs are prone to body changes such as imbalances of the thyroid, adrenal, or sex hormones, which can alter pigmentation as can some bacterial and fungal infections. That means that sometimes pigmentation can be a sign of health problems, but vision defects are not one of them.
Heterochromia is when two different colored eyes combine in one dog. This condition is common among humans, horses, cats, and dogs. This can be caused by the Merle gene, loss of pigmentation, or just breed-specific genes.
Note that: many dog breeds have blue eyes by nature, like Huskies, Weimaraner, Dalmatian, and many others.
These breeds don’t have any health problems or whatsoever. This is a good enough clue that the color of the dog’s eyes itself has nothing to do with health conditions.
The Advantages and disadvantages of Blue Eyes in Dogs
The Advantages
We don’t need to point out the advantages of having blue eyes in dogs. However, it’s fun to break down into a list, found below:
- They’re captivating to look at.
- They originated from rare, intelligent breeds like Siberian Huskies and Border Collie.
- Blue eyes are a desirable trait to reproduce for some people, so they’ll seek your dog out for breeding. Make sure their spouse isn’t a merle-carrier not to help in breeding double-merle offsprings.
The disadvantages
While having blue eyes can also have some dark sides. Here are some disadvantages associated with blue eyes in dogs:
- Owning a merle-carrier requires excessive attention to breeding. If your dog is a merle-carrier and is bred with another merle-carrier, their offspring becomes “double-merle” and will have a much higher chance of having risky health problems, such as blindness or deafness. That’s why it’s forbidden and inhuman to let it happen.
- Blue eyes make it harder to detect eye defects such as cloudy eyes, or signs of cataracts or glaucoma. Not immediately seeking a Veterinarian may allow these conditions to grow more severe.
- Blue eyes can be an indirect way leading health problems, depending on the cause of them.
In the end, if your puppy has always had blue eyes, you don’t need to worry. They are probably totally fine and they don’t need special attention – although some dogs do, and you can learn why some dogs with blue eyes need sunglasses here.
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Related Questions
Can Your Puppy’s Blue Eyes Turn Green?
Yes, your puppy’s blue eyes can turn green if it’s their permanent color. Most puppies, if not all, are born with blue or blue-tinted eyes, that slowly turn to their permanent color after 9-to-12 weeks of the day they’re born.
Are Blue Eyes in Dogs becoming rarer?
Blue eyes in dogs are indeed becoming rarer every day. Any eye color rather than brown is rare among dogs, and blue is one of them. Scientific researches proved that blue eyes genes are becoming rarer over time.
Are Blue eyes in dogs a defect?
Blue eyes in dogs are not directly linked to defects. However, if your dog is a Merle Carrier, and is bred with another carrier, their offspring runs a much higher risk of having dangerous health problems, mainly eye defects such as blindness. Or in some cases, deafness.
Helpful Resources
Causes and Dangers – Dogs with Blue Eyes
When Do Puppies eyes change color from Blue?
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