# Black Poodle Brown Eyes?



## nifty (Aug 2, 2013)

Can a black poodle have medium / light brown eyes? I met a man at the dog park with a lovely young black standard. She is very tall with very long legs and has nice black coat and also lots of curl already (though she is a tad younger than Dulcie, who still is in coat change and does not have a lot of curl on her back). This poodle also has distinctive brown eyes. Not quite amber, but light enough that you can definitely tell they are brown and not black like Dulcie's or most black poodles I have seen. I didn't think that was possible. Is it?


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## Oreo's Mommy (Dec 18, 2012)

I think Oreo's eyes are on the lighter side. He is slowly turning grey (blue?).


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## LEUllman (Feb 1, 2010)

The Breed Standard says black poodles have "very dark eyes." I've seen pictures of black poodles with dark brown eyes, which I find striking. However, I have no idea if lighter eyes are a negative in the show ring.

Beau's eyes "very dark," indeed. They look black in most lighting, but are actually a brown so dark as to be almost black.


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## lily cd re (Jul 23, 2012)

Hopefully someone who shows will weigh in here about whether it is a major fault to have lighter eye color, but I will comment about it as a possibility. 

Genetically eye color is polygenically influenced, meaning that there are a number of gene loci that influence it. Human skin color is also polygenically inherited. As we all easily recognize skim color isn't an either/or trait, but instead shows a range of phenotypes ranging from very dark to very light depending on the combination of specific alleles (versions of the genes) at each of the loci. One of the major gene loci for eye color is dark vs. light and then the others influence shading. For example light eye color (which is recessive) can give people blue, grey or green eyes depending on the other alleles that are at the other loci. I would think that eye color in dogs has a similar inheritance pattern and that a range of eye colors is possible.

Here's the rub though. Since the breed standard calls for poodles to have very dark eye color, there is therefore a history of breeders selecting for dogs that have the darkest color eyes. This practice would tend to weed out those individuals carrying the recessive light eye color alleles. I would think that most poodles only carry dark eye color alleles. Therefore I have a hard time imagining that the light eye color in Dulcie's friend come from poodle background, but instead from some other breed. The only other explanation is a spontaneous mutation.


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## CharismaticMillie (Jun 16, 2010)

Yes, it is possible. All poodles have brown eyes, but a very dark brown eye as to almost appear black is desired. Some do have a lighter eye than is ideal and that is what you are noticing with the dog at the park. . This is a fault in the show ring but not an issue for a companion. It is not an uncommon fault. While not ideal, a little bit of a light eye in a nice dog can actually still finish their championship or even grand championship easily. Too light of an eye could be more of an issue and this could be a reason for placing a puppy as a companion rather than show dog. While some whites and blacks can have a little bit of a light eye, browns often have much lighter eyes than blacks and whites - sometimes even amber colored. The light eye in the poodle you saw does not imply he is mixed with another breed. Again, a light eye is not an uncommon fault in a poodle.


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## PoodleRick (Mar 18, 2013)

It is a fault but I don't know how much of a fault it is. Here is Penny with her Mom, Ch Luminary Merry Christmas. I also don't know if Merry's eyes are light enough to be considered a fault anyway.










Rick

Edit:
I found a picture of her Dad, CH Luminary Black Velvet Son'lo il Re Del Mondo. Again his eyes aren't really dark so I don't know if his eyes are light enough to qualify as a fault.


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## nifty (Aug 2, 2013)

Thanks for the replies everyone! Interesting about genetics, lily cd re!

Rick, your photo of the poodle on the left (Penny's mother?) shows exactly the eye color I mean. It's a nice color - and certainly photographs more easily than our darker SPOO's eyes usually are! I just had never seen it in a black SPOO before. I've seen it in some pretty browns, though.


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## PoodleRick (Mar 18, 2013)

nifty said:


> Thanks for the replies everyone! Interesting about genetics, lily cd re!
> 
> Rick, your photo of the poodle on the left (Penny's mother?) shows exactly the eye color I mean. It's a nice color - and certainly photographs more easily than our darker SPOO's eyes usually are! I just had never seen it in a black SPOO before. I've seen it in some pretty browns, though.


Yup, that's Penny's Momma. I've actually seen that color quite a bit but most of my Spoo experience has been with either Connie Rodgers of Denevillette Standards who passed shortly after we got Roxy and Victoria of Luminary Standard Poodles who passed shortly after we got Penny. So I guess the lesson here is don't sell me a Spoo. :s:
Rick


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## spindledreams (Aug 7, 2012)

yes it is possible for black dogs to have yellow wolf or hawk colored eyes. Most breeds call it a fault but they can be very striking. Our first Shar Pei had yellow eyes against his black coat.


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