Crystal blue eyes in dogs are beautiful to look at.
Especially puppies with blue eyes tend to get adopted more easily than their dark-eyed littermates.
But is it even normal for puppies or adult dogs to have blue eyes?
You may have heard that blue-eyed Pitbulls are considered undesirable.
The APBT community is not amused by this trend for very valid reasons.
The controversy revolves around certain breeds that don’t usually carry a gene that would cause this kind of coloring.
Before we go deeper into this topic, I want to clarify what I mean when I say “Pitbull”.
As you may know, the Pitbull in itself is not a breed but rather a term that covers several dog breeds including the American Staffordshire Terrier, Staffordshire Bullterrier, “American Bully” (mixed breed), and yes, the American Pit Bull Terrier.
The real American Pit Bull Terrier is a separate breed but still not recognized by either the AKC or FCI.
However, I will use the short-term “Pitbull” to refer to this breed in today’s blog post.
Can Pitbulls Have Blue Eyes?
Yes, pitbull-type dogs can have blue eyes as puppies.
In fact, most breeds are born with bright blue eyes that slowly darken as they age.
For most breeds, the blue eyes disappear once they’re not puppies anymore.
Why do the blue eyes vanish?
Color, like everything, is determined by the genetic makeup and developed by the amount of melanin production in your dog.
Melanin is a natural skin pigment that determines how light or dark your skin, hair, and eyes are.
Less melanin production leads to lighter blue eyes, pale skin, or blonde hair.
A complete lack of pigmentation is called Albinism.
In dogs, this low production of melanin can cause a white coat, blue eyes, or a pink nose.
Melanin production only starts a few weeks after birth and slowly increases with age.
That’s why most puppies are born with bright blue eyes and a lighter coat.
The coat color oftentimes influences the eye, nail, and nose color.
My Rottweiler, for example, has so much melanin in her fur that blue eyes would be nearly impossible.
How Long Do Pitbull Puppy Eyes Stay Blue?
You may get a first glimpse at your Pitbull’s adult eye color around the age of 4 months.
Their puppy coat will be replaced by a much thicker and darker adult coat when they are 6 months old.
Are Blue-Eyed Pitbulls Rare?
Blue-eyed Pitbull puppies are not rare and their eye color will most likely change over time.
So don’t choose the one bright-eyed Pitbull in the litter just because of his appearance.
Even if a breeder sells them as a “rarity” for a premium, the color will almost certainly vanish (if it’s a purebred, more on that below).
That being said, while blue eyes are not particularly rare for Pitbull puppies, not every pup has blue eyes.
Check out my Cane Corso colors article for more information on how breeders try to falsely label colors.
Breeding for Appearance
Breeding for a specific color or coat type should always be a red flag when choosing a responsible breeder.
When specific looks are the primary breeding factor, other traits like temperament or health are disregarded.
You might find that the prettiest dog in a litter will have lots of health issues behind the facade.
Always make sure that the parents have health certificates and the right behavioral traits you are looking for.
Check out my article on questions to ask your breeder to avoid falling prey to these “breeders”.
Inbreeding in dogs is another huge issue and will be used to pass a certain appearance on to future generations.
As you might imagine, inbreeding comes with the worst health concerns and should never be encouraged.
The Merle Gene
Merle describes a beautiful coat color pattern that can create odd-colored eyes. It’s commonly seen in these breeds:
- Australian Shepherd
- Great Dane
- Dachshund
- Catahoula Leopard Dog
The merle gene sadly comes with many health issues like deafness and blindness.
Double merles (MM) are extremely prone to these genetic diseases and therefore merles should never be bred together.
Heterozygous merles (Mm) are way healthier and resemble the merle pattern best.
A Pitbull with a merle coat pattern is excluded from the APBT breed standard and might not be purebred because the gene must have somehow found its way into the bloodline.
Albinism
Tyrosinase is an enzyme that controls the production of melanin.
Albino dogs are “tyrosinase-negative” meaning that their body is incapable of producing melanin.
Therefore, these dogs will be born with a unique white coat, blue eyes, and a pink nose.
Albinism in dogs is an extremely rare mutation and both parents need to carry the recessive gene.
Be very cautious when a breeder is trying to sell you a rare white Pitbull.
Albinism comes with many health issues, including deafness or skin cancer.
Due to their pale coat, they must be protected from direct sunlight at all times using either bodysuits or sunscreen.
White Fur Patches
White patches around the eyes or nose can occur due to a lack of pigmentation.
Pitbulls or any other breed with dominant white coats can develop light eyes or a pinkish nose.
Recommended Reading: Traits of the Rottweiler-Husky mix
Do Blue-Eyed Dogs Go Blind?
Dogs with blue eyes are not necessarily doomed to develop any vision-related issues.
It largely depends on the specific reason your dog might have this eye color.
Pit Bulls are not among the breeds that carry this breed-specific gene, meaning that they probably will develop health problems later on.
You should stay away from the merle gene and albinism.
If you find a responsible breeder that has legitimate puppies with blue eyes, there is probably nothing you need to worry about as the color will start transforming at the age of 4 months.
What Dogs Can Have Blue Eyes?
Dog breeds with blue eyes include:
- Siberian Husky
- Border Collie
- Catahoula Leopard Dog
- Dalmatians (nearly 1/3 suffer from hearing impairment)
- Australian Shepherd (due to undesirable Merle gene)
They carry a breed-specific gene that allows them to have bright blue eyes without any related health issues.
Cocker Spaniels and Pembroke Welsh Corgi are available in a merle pattern which is not yet recognized by the AKC.
Bluish eyes can also occur in Weimaraners and Amstaffs.
Recommended Reading: Are Dogs Color Blind?
In Conclusion
Eye, coat, nose, and skin color of any mammal are determined by the production of melanin.
Lack of pigmentation can lead to blue eyes, a white coat, and a pink nose.
Adult Pitbull-type dogs with blue eyes are extremely uncommon and should only be considered with detailed health certificates of the parents stating that they don’t carry the merle gene.
Blue-eyed puppies are very common among many breeds and adorable to look at.
If you are in love with the appearance of blue eyes and can’t live without it then consider breeds without any health issues indicated by eye color like the Siberian Husky (make sure they fit your lifestyle, level of knowledge, and so on though).
A lot of good information. We are looking to buy a pit bull puppy merle color but it has one eye blue and one eye brown. I’m I going to have a lot of health problems ?
Hey Carmen,
not only is it possible that your pup may develop health problems due to his merle color but also due to the fact that a breeder that offers a mixed breed (which a merle Pitbull is 100%) probably does poor/none health testing apart from that.
I’d stay away from these breeders and instead buy from a reputable breeder that only uses healthy purebreds for his breeding program. If you follow the guidelines in my breeder question post, I’m sure this breeder would be eliminated with these questions anyway.
Feel free to check out this post if adoption is an option, many beautiful mixed breeds available there :).
Cheers,
Danielle
Why not encourage people to find a rescue dog instead of buying from a breeder? there are so many breed-specific rescues out there if someone is drawn to a particular breed. Adopting a dog that is no longer a puppy can really have it’s advantages like they are usually through the puppy stages (chewing, potty accidents etc). Not all rescues come from negative backgrounds either. Many people need to rehome dogs because of relocation, allergies, new babies etc. I have also heard/read that mixed breeds tend to be healthier than some purebreds. I am sure I’m not telling you anything new, I just have a heart for rescues and there are so many of them!
Hi Heather,
you’re absolutely right. I actually have an article on how to find the right rescue.
Since she was looking for a specific color & puppy, I’ve just assumed that a breeder is the first that comes to mind because chances are low that this specific color will come in as a puppy near you. However, breeders shouldn’t breed primarily for color anyway and that’s why I try to at least steer potential buyers into the direction of responsible breeders.
Adopting and buying from good breeders both have their benefits, but adoption can definitely be recommend! Purebreds should always be the healthiest if the DNA screenings are done, heart checks done, etc, etc. but you’re right, in some cases a mixed dog from the streets will have great temperament and be healthier than the dogs that backyard breeders often produce.
Cheers,
Danielle
You see Heather at one time it was ok to do what you want as long as it was within the law… Nowadays this is no longer an option if you are one who cares what others may think of them… Buying from a breeder is a choice, and most who buy from breeders do so for their own personal reasons which is perfectly ok, i myself have two rescues, one i rescued from being put to sleep because his old owners were doing all his pills leaving him to seizer up to 5 times daily,since hes been with me, 8 months, hes had 1 seizure every 60 days or so… but i also have him on cbd isolate which made a massive improvement as well has allowed me to cut out most of his meds!
my other rescue is a feral cat that lived out back of my building at the time, he adopted my wife is more like it..
then i have 2 female purebred pitbull terriers as well as a purebred male and the oldest female was from a breeder.. she cost me 8900 by the time i got her home.. then when i bred her it was 5000 for the male i wanted… the reason i go with breeders is because i like to know exactly what im getting into.. my first pitbull, my females uncle a few generations back lived until he was 16 and has zero genetic health issues! plus he looked 2 years old at 15! and had as much energy.. anyways again its all about being an individual and to try to passive aggressively attempt to shame someone because they choose a breeder over a rescue is childish and whats wrong with social media…just because you have an opinion it doesnt mean you have the right to force it on others…you wouldnt do it to a stranger face to face so then why do it online?
There is a very sweet dog up for adoption at a nearby shelter. She looks very much like a pitbull, she is grey and has some white on her forehead. She has one brown eye and one bright blue eye, it is pretty, but I don’t know why it is like that. I wonder if there is a test for the merle gene?
Hi Trinity,
there are DNA tests that might provide clues as to which breeds were involved and from that, you know if the merle gene is even a possibility.
However, with rescues I’d view this more as a fun way of getting to know more about your dog. If you’re interested in adopting, go for it if the dog fits your lifestyle and personality. Somebody has to adopt this poor soul and most health issues will surface once the dog is an adult (not always though).
Cheers,
Danielle
Hey Danielle! I never thought about melanin as being the main factor in eye, coat, nose, and skin color. Very interesting! Do you think it would be possible to change/modify the level of melanin by some sort of therapy and therefore changing the colors?
Hi Jason, there are certainly experiments related to genetic engineering which could definitely influence the colors and there have been studies like this or this that touch on the melanin subject.
However, if you mean through dietary changes, supplements, etc. there’s no proof for that as of yet. If a dog carries a certain gene for a coat color, hereditary rules apply which can tip the scale in favour of a certain color through selective breeding. There’s no such thing that’ll 100% yield you a whole litter of pink noses through. 🙂
Hope this helps,
Danielle
Today I’m getting a Blue Fawn Pitbull from a friend. He and his wife normal breed them and sell them. However he has had, Blue, (that’s what they call him) now for 4 months, and asked if I wanted him, since he couldn’t him sold. Blue has been friendly to me and my 4 kids anytime I’ve gone to visit with my friend and his family. So, I am happy to take Blue. Blue has the blue-gray coat, with the blue nose, and crystal blue eyes. Again, he’s giving him to me and giving all his medical paperwork. I can’t wait to tell my kids Friday when they come to visit me for my weekend. He is so cute.
Good morning
I adopted a (10) week old pup (CASH) my neighbor found on the st. Of course he was very thin and had worms.
My vet says he’s going to be big. Now that covers a lot of realestate.
I wish I could send a photo.
He has blue eye, they are shaped like a pittys and after one wk are turning.
Coat is short and corse and looks blue/grey. Long legs and white tipped toes.
I will do a DNA as I don’t want any surprises. It doesn’t matter what the breed, I just don’t like surprises when it comes to behavior.