Find What You Are Looking For Here
FYI: If you make a purchase via a link on this site, I may receive a commission from various affiliate programs, and as an Amazon Associate and Chewy affiliate I also earn commissions from qualifying purchases—at NO extra cost to you. See the Disclosure page for more information. Thank you!
Guide To Australian Shepherd Training & Care

Red Eyes

by Phantom
(Maine)

I took my Aussie to the vet because his eyes were red. The vet says he's fine but I have never seen a dog with such red eyes before... but this is my first Aussie. Any thoughts?

Comments for Red Eyes

Click here to add your own comments

Ours too
by: Anonymous

I am so not an expert. I have never had a pet before. When my Aussie was a few months old, I asked my vet if his eyes were ok because they seemed red. He said they were fine. I still find them red sometimes and wondered if I should worry. Sorry to not be helpful, but I'm relieved to hear he's not the only one.

Red Eyes
by: Anonymous

Our Aussie gets red eyes when he is really tired and/or not getting enough sleep.

Red eyes
by: Nonnie

We have two Aussies, one mini, Bailee, and one toy, Maggie, both 6 months old. Bailee's eyes get red when she is anxious and sometimes when she is excited. She has some separation anxiety and she gets red eyes, red inside her ears, and the center of her nose.

aussie eyes
by: Anastasia Collett

Your Aussie has either got an allergy or whether your dog was born with red eyes.

Red Eyes
by: Anonymous

Our 11 month old Aussie gets red eyes when he's tired.

Red Eyes
by: C.R.

Make a note of the time of day and whether they are at a point they are likely tired. We thought the same until the vet and our dog's cousin had the same even at 9 years old.

Blushing
by: JEME

My 4 month old Aussie pup gets red eyes when she's excited (read positive or negative)! I kept thinking that something was wrong until I put two and two together. The reason this is so remarkable is that both eyes are really red one minute, and clear white the next. Her eyes are not runny, nor are they dry. I have never seen just one eye go red.

My pup has a solid temperament, is very active but not nervous at all. She is hands-down the happiest, heartiest pup I've ever seen. She talks a lot and is very smart. She is a black bi with strong pigmentation and no white around her dark brown eyes. I am a former breeder/exhibitor with a critical eye. I've been to many kennels around the country and have seen several eye problems, but nothing that resembles this. My only other suspicion might be high blood pressure but she is anything but ill, and as I said, it comes and goes quickly.
This pup was CERF cleared at 7 weeks. My regular vet gave me some Neomycin drops to use if I was worried about it, but they didn't make any difference. I still think I'm going to call the opthalmologist to run it by him.
P.S. Some parrots blush!

red eyed aussie
by: Anonymous

I have a 7 yr old aussie (not my first aussie) I have had him since he was 8 weeks old. He has red eyes they don't change color, It doesn't have anything to do with his health, He just has red eyes, There's nothing wrong with him. I have seen other Aussie's with red eyes also. It just makes them look very different.

4-year-old Aussie
by: Anonymous

My four year old Aussie has had red eyes since we got her at 6 weeks. Her eyes never seem to bother her (she doesn't paw at them, they don't water excessively, etc.) The vet says nothing is wrong with her.

aussies
by: Anonymous

we have a aussie/border collie mix, and the white of her eyes are red. they do water some,and i have got some vetercyn an ophthalmic gel for them.
she is healthy ,but i wonder if all of these dogs have same thing! would love some feedback!

Aussie with Red Eyes
by: MJB

We just got an Aussie puppy. She also has red eyes. They look brown at first, but when the light hits them, they are a crazy red. The white around them is red sometimes, but the eye color itself is brown.. and red when the light hits it. There are many defects with Aussies who were bred to the wrong color... ex: two merles should not be bred as it causes major eye defects, blind puppies, and deaf puppies. I saw both parents of mine.. one was a blue merle and one was a brown/red bi.. red with a little white.

Here is what I found on one website:

EYESHINE

At the back of the eye there is a layer of reflective pigment called the choroid layer. This mirrorlike layer reflects available light and allows dogs to see well even in very dim light. In an eye with normal pigmentation the eye reflects a silvery greenish color in bright light. In eyes lacking pigment the eye reflection is red. Some dogs will have one of each. This layer is responsible for eyeshine in cats as well.

one red eye assie
by: Anonymous

my dog has one red eye he's always running in to things like car bumpers and sliding glass doors is the red eye the reason he runs in to thing and should I be concern .
sign
one red eye assie

Scratching
by: Aussie momd

My 7 month old Aussie is constantly scratching has no fleas and the whites of his eyes are usually red. Could he have allergies

lack of pigment
by: Jeremy

My Austrailian Sheppard mix was born with red eyes we thought she would be blind but the vet said it is due to lack of pigment behind the eyes....a woman i ran into with a pure breed said that they are bred for their crystal blue eyes but that the red is really rare.

Red Eyes
by: Anita

Our red merle Aussie gets red eyes in times of excitement or exuberance, which for him is usually between 7 pm and 9 pm daily at its greatest level. We started tracking the correlation between the color of his eyes and what he is doing at the time and have determined that whether or not their is a scientific reason, there is definitely a correlation.

Red Eye Aussie Dog.. Who still eats my breakfast!
by: Rhys

My 12 year old has just developed a permanent red eye. The vet has said that he has gone blind in the red eye. They said that he could have a tumour behind his eye and recommends that we have it removed. Our 'aussie' PrinceDog is still very playful, runs, walks and comes mountain biking 3 or 4 times a week. PrinceDog doesn't seem to be in any pain and is still more than capable of stealing my breakfast most mornings! They have said he may only have a month to live!

I have a Aussie/boxer mix
by: Anonymous

My little girl is a Aussie/boxer mix. I think the red eye is caused from being tired, through out the day her eyes will turn red usually after being up for so long then she will go lay down for a few hrs.when she wakes up her eyes are fine again. So I believe it's just being tired, plus it's part of their genetics unfortunately. hope this helps some.

Red eyes
by: Anonymous

I have three Australian shepherds, one often has droopy eyes like that of a basset hound. It clears up if I put eyedrops in but I'm concerned

Red eyes here too
by: Karen

I first had our puppies eyes looked at due to redness when when she was spayed at 5 months. The vet thought they were fine. However a few weeks later, they looked really irritated so I took her back. She's a big digger and throws clods of moss around the yard. They checked for any abrasions (none), but put her on an antibiotic and steroid gel for 14 days. That did clear up things quite well. However on our follow up visit there was still a little redness, but no irritation on the lower area.

The vet said this is her third eyelid area and some dogs (like basset hounds) have more pronounced third lids that look red although everything is fine with them.

So we're in a wait and see mode now. We're in the mountain region of NC and the pollen is letting up finally but puppy still loves to dig play with moss, so just those games can irritate things.

I hadn't thought of the excitement part, but I'll try to notice if that's what's maybe happening with my girl. She's 7 months now and finally settling in a little though is still wild at times. Love her dearly though.

Our vet told us...
by: Anonymous

My 1 1/2 year old Aussie has gotten red eyes since we've had her. I thought it was just tiredness, but the vet said they get red eyes when they're excited or hunting or intimidating something to scare/intimidate prey or a threat. It makes sense b/c we always play hard right about an hour before bed. Her eyes get red while playing, and lighten up as she calms down and sleeps. They're the clearest when she gets up, and that is when she is the most calm.

Missouri
by: AussieLover

Aussie's get red eyes for lots of reasons. Allergies leaf mold is 1. Tired (exhausted), dust, and irritants in the air, cleaning products, they have a lot of the same allergies humans do.

Redness in lower eyes of young dog
by: Anonymous

Our female Aussie will be 9 months old on feb 11. Been concerned about the eye development since she was 8 or so months as her eyes seemed smaller and eyelids swollen. Took her to vet 3 weeks ago and did not seem concerned. Since then her eyes have definitely grown into beautiful normal size but still have lower redness on and off. Is there anything else anyone knows for me to be looking into?

Red sclera (white part of eye)
by: Janet

My Aussie is 9 years old, very healthy, and has very red scleras in both eyes. There is nothing wrong! That’s just the way his have always been. Although I have been unable to find out why, I am sure this is just hereditary.

I think it's common
by: Anonymous

My mini aussie has red eyes and they get worse when her allergies are really bad. I went to the vet one day and saw another regular sized aussie with the same red eyes so I asked the owner if she had allergies too and he said no she doesn't so at that point I figured it was just a breed thing.

Click here to add your own comments

Join in and write your own page! It's easy to do. How? Simply click here to return to Australian Shepherd Q & A.

Australian-Shepherd-Lovers.com icon

Guide To Australian Shepherd Training & Care

Have Dog Training Questions?

Check out these introductory dog training videos...

I want my dog to stop being aggressive.

I want some help training my new puppy.

I want my dog to stop barking at everything.

I want my dog to walk nicely and calmly on the leash.

I want my dog to listen and come every time I call!