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Can Bernese Mountain Dogs Have Blue or Red Eyes? (Answered)

There is nothing better in the world than staring into your pet’s soulful eyes. With a dog with red or blue eyes, it occurs to you whether it is normal for a dog to have such eyes.

If you have a Bernese Mountain Dog with blue or red eyes, you might be willing to know if the dog is normal after all.

Can Bernese Mountain Dogs have blue eyes?

Although extremely rare, Bernese Mountain Dogs can have blue eyes. It is not possible for a purebred Bernese Mountain Dog to have blue eyes genetically, but only due to a lack of pigment or other eye problems. AKC has disqualified this breed to have blue eyes.

In dogs to inherit blue color in eyes from the parent dogs, the dog must either have the ALX4 gene or the Merle gene, either of which Bernese dogs do not possess. Fortunately, this breed can have blue eyes quite randomly without showing any signs of health problems.

Why do some Bernese Mountain Dogs have blue eyes?

Although extremely rare, and not fancied, you may have a Bernese Mountain dog with blue eyes. In that case, you may want to know the primary reasons that may cause blue eyes in the breed.

Here are a few possible explanations:

Health issues:

Firstly, let’s get this out of the way. Although blue eyes are often associated with health issues for many dog breeds, it is not the same when it comes to Bernese Mountain Dogs.

If a dog has genetically blue eyes, they might have issues with sight and in some cases hearing impairments as well. According to AKC, Bernese Mountain dogs are purebred, and if they are, blue eyes are out of the question.

However, if your supposed purebred Bernese Mountain Dog has blue eyes, and it is associated with underlying health issues, it could be due to temporary eye infections or clouding making the dog’s eyes appear blue.

Lack of pigment:

When any dog, including a Bernese Mountain Dog, has blue eyes, it does not translate to blue eyes.

In fact, due to Albinism, or lack of pigment production in the dog’s body, their eyes appear to be blue in shade.

Although Albinism only occurs in dogs very rarely, dogs have been tested in studies to prove that lack of pigment can cause dogs to have the bluing tint in the eyes.

Puppy blue eyes:

You would notice that a lot of dog owners say that their puppies, whatever breed they may be, used to have blue eyes when they were young. And that is a fact as well.

When Bernese Mountain Dogs are young, and just about to open their eyes, they can have naturally blue eyes.

 However, this only lasts for 12 to 16 weeks before the blue color disappears permanently and the real eye colors appear.

Different breed Genetics:

If you own a Bernese Mountain Dog with blue eyes, and the above reasons don’t click for you, we have bad news.

That is because a pure-bred Bernese Mountain Dogs is not going to have blue eyes due to genetics from its parents. In that case, your BMD may just have a mixed parent breed causing its eyes to be blue, during its adult days.

For the same reasons, Bernese Mountain dogs do not inherit the ALX4 gene or the merle gene, so they cannot genetically have blue eyes, much unlike the Siberian Husky.

Why is it bad for dogs to have blue eyes?

It is not bad for dogs to have blue eyes if the color is a genetic trait that they have inherited. Certain breeds are born with either the blue eye gene or merle gene, passed down from the parent dogs.

The blue eye gene can either be dominant or recessive. For dominant ones, any one of the parents will produce offspring with the blue eye while for ones having recessive genes, both the parents need to have the blue eye genes.

Unless it is genetic, the blue eyes in dogs are not always fancied and, in many dogs, AKC has disqualified the blue eye trait in many. Usually, puppies can have blue eyes, which is only temporary.

Lack of pigment is what causes the blue eyes in few dogs and that eventually leads to other health issues like hearing or seeing impairment.

If AKC has put your dog on the list of disqualified blue-eyed dogs, then the breeding is illegal.

Are blue eyed Bernese Mountain Dogs more likely to go blind?

The blue eye color in Bernese Mountain Dogs does not relate to serious health issues, which can include going blind.

Since the primary reason that Bernese Mountain Dog, if it’s a purebred, may have blue eyes is due to decreased melanin production. The problem with lack of pigment is that it also means that the dog is not completely healthy.

Certain forms of fungus, bacteria can also cause the iris to go blue or seem blue. Either way, Bernese Mountain Dogs are not approved by AKC because the breeding means it is not purebred. Hence it has nothing to do with the dog going blind.

Are blue eyed dogs aggressive?

The blue eyes in dogs are often associated with aggressive behavior. Still, you may want to note that this is only a myth. Whether it is genetics or a shortage of melanin in the dog’s body, blue eyes do not have a direct link with aggressive behavior in dogs.

This is a common belief because some dogs like a Pitbull can be aggressive and have blue eyes. More so, if your dog is hostile and aggressive towards other people or pets, it is because of inadequate training.

Green, brown, or blue eyed, training and socialization can shape a dog’s temperament.

Can Bernese Mountain Dogs have red eyes?

Bernese Mountain Dogs can only have red eyes if there is an underlying eye problem. Common issues making this breed’s eyes red and droopy is a condition called ectropion. Allergies, injuries, conjunctivitis, and other external conditions. In such a case, a vet should check your dog for diagnosis.

You may want to note that if your BMD’s eyes are red, you may have to visit the vet immediately. This is because red eyes in dogs are not a cause of genetics but due to either allergy, tumor, or other more serious conditions.

Is it normal for Bernese Mountain Dogs to have red eyes?

It is not normal for Bernese Mountain Dogs to develop red eyes but it can be the case only due to external or eye health reasons. This means that naturally, or genetically a Bernese Mountain Dog will never have red eyes.

If it does, there is certainly an eye problem that your dog is enduring. If your pet is showing signs of red eyes, take them to the vet immediately.

Why do Bernese Mountain Dogs have red eyes?

Bernese Mountain Dogs can be red-eyed due to several natural reasons. Here are a few explanations.


When your Bernese Mountain Dog has red droopy eyes, with their eyelids somewhat rolling out, you would know your pet might get diagnosed with ectropion.

This is a condition that makes the dog’s eyes red, droopy and can be treated as well.

Cherry eye:

This is sometimes referred to as everted nictitans as well and can cause the pet’s eyes to be quite red. This is caused by an inflamed gland inside the third eyelid.

Allergies and Dry eye:

Similar to us, allergies due to food, dust, or mold can also cause your pet to have red itchy eyes.


If a ball or fidget hit your BMD’s eye while they were playing, you can expect your pet to show red and swollen eyes due to pain.


If a tumor appears on your dog’s eyes or around it, it often causes the dog’s eyes to become red.

What color eyes do Bernese Mountain Dogs have?

Bernese Mountain Dogs, much like their coat contrast, have a lot of pigment production. Hence, they either have dark brown or blackish eyes.

Blue eyes in BMDs are disqualified but can occur due to pigment scarcity. Red eyes, however, are related to some kind of eye problem.

Do Bernese Mountain Dogs have eye problems?

Generally, Bernese Mountain Dogs do not have too many eye problems genetically. However, they can have issues with allergies, dry eye, pink eye, or even ectropion or entropion.

The latter is a more common eye problem that BMD can have.

Do Bernese Mountain Dogs have droopy eyes?

It is not normal for Bernese Mountain dogs to have droopy eyes. This breed has oval shaped eyes with close fitting lids which means that a normal eye would not droop downwards.

If, however, your Bernese Mountain dog has droopy eyes with redness, it might be due to the condition of ectropion. Allergies or more serious pink eye can also cause the dog’s eyes to droop down.

External injuries and foreign objects hitting the eye can cause problems that make the eyes of the dog look droopy.

Final thoughts:

Bernese Mountain Dogs most commonly have dark brown or black eyes. Purebred BMD dogs having blue eyes are disqualified by the AKC. If they do have blue eyes, lack of pigment is the most common cause. As for red eyes in Bernese Mountain dogs, it is caused by eye abnormalities or conditions.

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