Darkening Eyes..

[Joe Walsh]

Can anyone tell me if there are any natural products that can be used to darken the pigment in the eyes? My boy Jake does very well for me in the show ring but I know, and am constantly told by judges that his eyes are too light. I'd like to be able to do something about it if I could. I know his eyes have darkened since he was a puppy, he's 2.5yr now. I give him sea-weed powder to darken his marking, does this have any effect on eye colour??
Any help with this would be greatly appreciated...

[chuss]

contact lenses.

Poor dog.

[Joe Walsh]

I was kinda hoping for some constructive help Chuss but contacts had crossed my mind (lol)

[samanthac]

It is my uderstanding that light eyes are a genetic fault that is passed down through certain lines or simply maybe a recessive gene that pops up here and there in a line.

To my knowledge there is nothing that will fix light eyes. I asked a breeder friend of mine and that said that if you decide to breed him, try to find a bitch with very dark (A1 if possible) eyes that does not throw light eyes in their lines.

I have a friend who has a beautiful male that V's at every show, but also has light eyes. It has not held him back any. It is a fault, but not a DQ, so I would not worry about it. All dogs are going to have a fault or two, and if eyes are his only fault, then you are not in bad shape.

[Joe Walsh]

Yeah Thanks Samantha.. Thats kinda the case with my boy. Here in Ireland dogs are given EX (excellent) VG (verg good) etc and an EX grade means that the dog is of Champion quality and considered an excellent speciman of the breed. Jake more often than not gets an excelllent grade and does very well for me. Only this Sunday he won the Novice Cup at the All Ireland Rottweiler Club Championship Show so we were delighted with that win...

[Rottlva]

Do a search, I remember hearing that it was thought carrots may help..... May......

NOPE>>> That was coat color!

[spidey]

Eye colour is genetic, to my knowledge there is no way to change it (coat colour can to some minor extent be affected by diet because the hair is constantly growing and being replaced, this is not true of eye pigment). And I apologise for my bluntness, but altering a dog's eye colour for the show ring is unethical. His eyes are the way they are, changing them cosmetically for showing purposes is against the rules of just about every kennel club you care to name. The point of conformation showing is to determine good breeding stock, if you make cosmetic changes in order to win, you're going against the very principle of conformation showing.

[Joe Walsh]

Ah come on now Spidey...
Dont people trim breeching, whiskers etc to alter appearance. OK its not cosmetic surgery but neither is what I am talking about
I was simply wondering if perhaps there is some natural product that can help. I am not talking about cheating, you are right that IS very blunt... Isn't coat colour genetic and many, many people will use sea-weed powder and carrot to darken the mahogony marking on dogs.
Lets not get carried away here..

[spidey]

I'm sorry if I sound harsh, clearly I have pretty strong views on this subject - I feel that the way you get correct eye colour is to breed dogs with correct eye colour. I certainly mean no offense, but I don't see that darkening markings is all that ethical either - at least there may be the excuse that coat colour can be affected by sunlight and diet, which is not true of eyes to my knowledge. I guess I just don't see the point of trying to change something to this extent in order to win, it seems dishonest to me, especially when you're talking about incorrect eye colour and not just a few long hairs here and there. IMO a dog should win or lose on its true merit, it may seem like no big deal to you (I assume you're not a breeder), but if enough people do things like this then I really do see a danger of undermining the entire point of conformation showing - if you cannot trust that a dog that does well and meets the standard is that way naturally, then what's the point of either conformation classes or the standard? Dogs with minor faults can do well, and at least then people can see the faults. Trimming the odd hair here and there is not the same as trying to change eye colour as far as I'm concerned, but good luck in your search, I'd be interested in knowing if there's anything that will do it.

[Joe Walsh]

OK Spidey, I get your point.
My dog is bred from two very successful parents.
His father was made up recently as an Irish Champion and he too has slightly light colour eyes. When I take about light eyes I dont mean and I dont really like this expresssion but "bird of prey eyes", they just need to be a little darker. I dont make any point of trying to hide this and when people see and ask about him I'll always remark that his eyes are a little light. Luckily the rest of him is excellent and he is graded as such at conformation shows. I dont particularely care too much about the eyes not being perfect, I am yet to see a perfect Rottie but I was just looking for advice about whether there was something that could help to naturally darken them. Thats all...

[spidey]

I understand where you're coming from now, Joe. If they're only a bit light I wouldn't worry about it myself. I doubt there's anything you can do to darken them (perhaps offer the judge sunglasses?), but good luck to you and please let us know if you find anything. :)