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Eye Colours of the Alaskan Malamute

This page is to explain the eye colours of the Alaskan Malamute. There is a lot of misinformation and downright hate over eye colours. I hope to use this information to help people understand what causes the different eye colours. Please also note, we do NOT breed for any specific eye colours here.

Eye Colours of the Alaskan Malamute

There is a lot of confusion about Alaskan Malamute eye colour, so I am going to break down how eye colour is determined. There are a couple terms you will see in red. Please keep these terms in mind as they will play an increasingly important role as the explanations progress.

The first thing to know is that eye colour is determined by the type and amount of PIGMENT in the iris.

Brown Eyes

Brown is considered the "default" eye colour for Alaskan Malamutes. On the colour pages, I have lightly gone into how genes can stack. There is another form of mutation called "modifiers". When you see two Black-Seal Malamutes, but one is darker than the other, or of two siblings, one has darker brown eyes, this is because of those little modifiers. Modifiers can contribute to coat length, coat colour, and eye colour

Below, you can see how the brown PIGMENT ranges in darkness. This is due to the modifiers.

Black/White

Some breeders use the term "True Black" to describe the "Closed Face" blacks. I find this to be fairly inaccurate as black is black. The only genetic variations to Black is Black Agouti and Black Seal (please see Agouti and Seal below for examples)

Regardless of their masking, you can tell a Black puppy apart from a Black Seal at an early age by looking at their sides. Black puppies will have very consistent colouring over their back and sides. Black Seal puppies have a darker stripe down their back and lighter sides.

Grey/White Malamutes have a Grey top coat with a light grey or off white undercoat. Some can appear quite dark, almost black, down to a very light grey

Grey/White

PHOTOS COMING SOON

Sable/White Malamutes have both Black and Red factors. In Black, Grey, and Blue Malamutes, this shows up as a red to cream colour in their coat, especially around their ears and on their sides

Sable/White

Red/White

Red/White Malamutes have a Red top coat with a red or white under coat. Pigment is "liver" with no black evident. The Red can range from light to dark. Dark Red is often called Mahogany, however, these are two different colours.

PHOTOS COMING SOON

Mahogany/White

Mahogany/White Malamutes have a "chocolate" look mixed into their top coat colour. Their under coat ranges from dark to light Mahogany to white. Mahogany can range from dark to light and should not be confused with Dark Red.

Blue/White (Dilute Black)

Blue/White Alaskan Malamutes are effected by a diluting gene, which stacks with the Black or Grey gene. Their colour is "washed" out, giving them a dull, slate blue appearance. Their pigment is also effected, taking on a slate appearance, instead of crisp Black. Their under coat ranges from "blue" to white.

Lilac/White (Dilute Red)

Lilac/White Malamutes are effected by the same gene as "Blue" Malamutes, except it stacks with the Red or Mahogany gene. The Red or Mahogany takes on a lighter, washed out look, their pigment is washed out or pale looking, and their eyes are a lighter, almost yellow. Given the wide range of light to dark with Reds and Mahogany, it can be difficult to tell a Non-Lilac from a Lilac. Because of this, they are actually considerably more common than people realise.

Silver/White

Silver/White Malamutes have a light Grey top coat with a White under coat

PHOTOS COMING SOON

Solid White

Solid White malamutes have a White top coat and under coat with no other colour present. In many cases, White Malamutes can appear to have a light cream colour to their coat. All Malamutes get this, it is just more obvious on Solid Whites. Some choose to use a whitening shampoo to clear this up.

White Malamutes can display Black factoring, Red factoring, and dilute factoring in their pigmentation.

PHOTOS COMING SOON

Patterns

Many people think Agouti and Seal are colours, when in fact, they are patterns. They do not effect the colour in any way, only where the colour appears. Agouti and Seal can effect any colour, except Solid White.

Agouti

Agouti (sometimes called the "wild or wolf" gene) is responsible for the coat banding seen on some malamutes. Agouti malamutes MUST have at LEAST three bands of colour to be considered Agouti. The colour at the tip of the guard hairs is their "dominate" colour. The middle band is usually lighter, a tan, cream, white, etc. The lower portion of the hair, closest to the body is darker.

Please see the examples below for more info

Black Gene Variations are shown below

BLACK

BLACK SEAL

BLACK AGOUTI

Mahogany Gene Variations are shown below

BLACK

MAHOGANY SEAL

MAHOGANY AGOUTI

(DILUTE)

BLUE SABLES

BLUE SEALS

BLUE AGOUTI