Border collies are an energetic breed of dogs. They are medium in size and athletic in nature. This breed of dog is rich in color. They are available in various color patterns. Today, we are going to discuss whether border collies can have blue eyes.
Can border collies have blue eyes?
Some breeds of border collies can have blue eyes. Generally, the merle breeds of border collies can have two blue eyes. Other breeds of border collies have one blue eye due to Heterochromia. Heterochromia is an eye condition that describes the lack of enough pigment in an eye.
Table of Contents
There are several breeds of border collies. They are red border collies, blue merle border collies, black and white border collies, lilac border collies, tri-colored border collies. All these border collies have different eye colors because of genetic.
Some of them have brown eyes. Some of them have yellow eyes. Others have blue eyes.
Even you can find some breeds of border collies possessing one blue eye. It is a natural phenomenon for some portion of every border collies breeds to have one blue eye. This generally happens due to a lack of enough pigment in that eye.
Let’s look at different types of border collies and discuss if they have blue eyes or not.
Red border collies:
The red border collie is one of the rarest breeds of border collies. They are very few in numbers. Red border collies are mostly found in Australia. Although, a few of them can be found in the USA as well.
The red merle border collie is another type of red border collie. Red border collies mostly have yellow and amber eyes. But some of the red border collies are seen to have one of their eyes blue due to lack of pigment.
Blue merle border collies:
Blue merle border collies are the rarest breeds of border collies. It is mainly because of their unique coat color. The blue merle coat color is genetic and extremely rare because of this.
Blue merle border collies come with a white chest and blue or grey fur.
Blue merle collie did not get its name because of its eye color. Rather it indicates a genetic pattern. The combination of eye color in blue merle border collie is quite interesting. Border collies have brown eyes and blue eyes.
They can also have one eye in brown color and another eye in blue color. Even though all blue merle border collies do not have blue eyes, some of them definitely have.
Black and white border collies:
Black and white border collies are the most common breed of border collies. Black and white border collies often possess a third color in them and are called tri-colored border collies.
Most of the black and white border collies have brown eyes. But because of genetic disorder and lack of pigment, some of the black and white border collies are seen to have one blue eye.
Lilac border collies:
Lilac border collies are one of the most beautiful breeds of border collies. Their color pattern is very unique and hard to find. It is even harder to breed Lilac border collies. Most of the Lilac border collies have brown eyes.
But some of them can have one blue eye because of pigment complications.
Grey border collies:
Grey border collies are another rare breed of border collies. Slate merle is a grey breed of border collies. They come in a light grey shade.
Most slate merle border collies contain two colors in each of their eyes. One of those colors is blue. So it can be said that Grey border collies can have blue eyes.
Do all border collie puppies have blue eyes?
All border collie puppies do not have blue eyes. Just like fully grown border collies, only the merle breeds of border collie puppies have two blue eyes. Other breeds of border collie puppies can have one blue eye. The eye color of the border collie puppies takes about three months to settle down.
The border collie puppies get their eye color genetically. The eye color of the puppies is mainly determined by the eye color of their parents. Mixed breed border collie puppies can have two different eye colors.
But eye color of the puppies takes time to settle down. So a puppy can end up having two different eye colors in a single eye. It is important to remember that the puppies can have brown, yellow, or blue eyes just like a fully grown border collie.
Do border collie puppies’ eyes change color?
Border collie puppies who are born with the eye color are going to inherit permanently later in their lives. For example, a border collie puppy born with brown eyes will only have darker brown eyes in the future.
It takes about three months for border collies to have their permanent eye color.
However, it is a common trait among border collie puppies to develop secondary eye color later. So you might see a border collie puppy possessing two colors in a single eye. The combination could be brown and blue, brown and yellow, blue and yellow, and so on.
So border collie puppy born with brown eyes will only have darker brown eyes in the future. The color will not change. However, another color might become visible.
What causes blue eyes in border collies?
Mainly breeding is the reason why some border collies have blue eyes and others do not. The merle breed of border collies is known to have blue eyes. They have blue eyes due to the genes of their parents.
But sometimes other breeds of border collies are seen to have one blue eye. It happens due to a lack of pigmentation in that particular eye. So border collies have blue eyes naturally. But some of them have to be due to pigment complications.
What type of border collie has blue eyes?
Border collies are an extremely variety of dogs. They are unique in character and look as well. Blue eyes, brown eyes, yellow eyes, and amber eyes are common in border collies. But only some certain breeds of border collies have blue eyes.
Mainly the merle breed of border collies is seen to have two blue eyes.
Blue merle border collie, Red merle border collie , and Slate merle border collie are among them. Some portion of these merle breeds has two blue eyes. But other breeds of border collies are seen to have one blue eye.
They have one blue eye because of a lack of pigmentation. So every type of border collies has one blue and the merle breeds possess two blue eyes.
How common are blue eyes in border collies?
It is natural for border collies to possess blue eyes. But not all breeds of border collies have blue eyes. Mostly the merle breeds of border collies have two blue eyes. Other breeds of border collies sometimes can end up having one blue eye.
It is fair to say that blue eyes are common in border collies but not all breeds of border collies have the fortune of having two blue eyes.
Why do some border collies have one blue eye?
Some border collies have one blue eye because of heterochromia. This is a special eye condition that happens due to the absence of enough pigment in the eye. Almost all breeds of border collies have one blue eye because of this eye condition.
But the good thing about heterochromia is that it does not the dog’s health at risk. It is perfectly normal for some border collies to have one blue eye.
What color eyes do border collies have?
Border collies mainly have three eye colors, they are brown, yellow, and blue.
Some breeds of the border collies possess brown eyes. Brown is the most common eye color for border collies. There are other breeds that have yellow eyes. The rarest eye color for border collies is blue. Only the merle breeds of border collies have blue eyes.
But you can also notice mixed eye colors in border collies. It is natural for them to have two eyes with different colors. Another interesting fact about the eye color of border collies is that they can sometimes have two different colors in one eye.
Final thoughts
Both fully grown border collie dogs and border collie puppies can have blue eyes. But the merle breed of a border collie is most famous for having two blue eyes. The other breeds of border collies sometimes can have one blue eye because of Heterochromia.