Because of this study, a DNA test for merle is now available, and breeders are urged to use it to avoid producing double-merles. In early 2006, scientists found the genetic basis for merle. Because the merle pattern can be associated with major health problems like deafness and blindness, it is not recommended to breed two merles together. Merle manifests on a dog’s coat as a pattern made up of irregular blotches of fully pigmented fur, set against a lighter background area consisting of the same pigment, such as solid black on gray or solid brown on tan. For example, dogs with the merle coat pattern often have blue or partially blue eyes. Several coat patterns are often associated with dogs with blue eyes, but each of these coat patterns is a separate, unrelated case. When we talk about blue eyes in dogs, the color may range from light blue to almost white and may involve both eyes, one eye, or just parts of one or both eyes. But what dog breeds have blue eyes? Blue eyes can be found in a few breeds, most notably the Siberian Husky, Alaskan Klee Kai, Dalmatian, and Australian Shepherd. However, no evidence exists for such eye color-related damage in dogs. Because of the lack of protective pigment, people with blue eyes may be more susceptible to damage caused by ultraviolet sun rays. This causes light to be scattered through the same mechanism that causes the sky to be blue. They may not serve any real function, aside from their captivating beauty.īlue eyes are not a result of blue pigment, but rather, the lack of pigment in the iris of the eye. Nobody knows how the Siberian Husky acquired this mutated gene, how long blue eyes have been present in the breed, or if it gives them any advantage in the winter and snow. Some people attribute the ice-blue eyes so often found in Siberian Huskies to some mythical or supernatural force, but in reality, they’re just due to genetics. If the eyes are the windows to the soul, then blue-eyed dogs must have souls that sparkle.
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