What Dog Breeds Have Blue Eyes?
The breed most known for blue eyes are Siberian Huskies. This is a gene that is unique to only a few breeds. Another commonly known breed to have blue eyes is the Australian Shepherd. This gene is independent of color, meaning any color of dog belonging to the breed can have blue eyes.
However, some dog breeds carry the blue eye gene which depends on the color of the dog. Dogs that are white due to extreme white spotting or with white on most of the head, especially with a lack of color around the eyes, can have blue eyes, or if there is color over or near one eye, the dog may have a blue eye on the white side and a brown on the other.
Some breeds that can have blue eyes, though much less commonly than Siberians or Australian Shepherds are: Dalmatians, Collies, Shetland Sheepdogs, Great Danes (harlequin), and Australian Cattle Dogs.
Many dogs can have blue eyes because of a dominant merle coat color gene. If this is present, deafness can be a common issue as well. This is not true for Siberians, as deafness is very, very rare with the breed, especially when connected with eye color.
However, blue eye coloring is a recessive gene in most breeds. Even if the breed is not known for it, and the parents do not have it, a puppy can still be produces with one or both eyes blue. This means that ANY breed can throw a blue eyed pup in a very rare instance. Health concerns associated with blue eyed dogs are cateracts and deafness, so be sure you get your puppy from a reputable breeder.