jenhuedepohl
Posted : 7/31/2006 3:55:06 PM
The blue eyes can occur in Huskies & Malmutes or in about any breed that has the gene for the merle coat pattern. merle can be blue or red and is when the coat color is "diluted" with white hairs. Danes, mastiffs, Catahoula Leopard dogs, & dachsunds are about the only shorthaired breeds that carry the Merle gene that I can think of. (Doxies are usually called "dapple" though). There are many other long-haired breeds like shelties, collies and aussies that are merled too.
edited to add: pits can be merle (fairly rare) and are about the size of your dog.
Your guy looks like a brindle merle. My sister's dane is that pattern with just a bit of blue in her eyes.. It's not an "accepted" color for the breed, but it happens.
I have a Catahoula (mix?) who is a blue merle, but she has only a tiny bit of blue in one eye. The merle gene can show up in a wide variety of ways!