Re: [pyrnet] eye color

["Linda Weisser" <lmweisser@home.com>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Robyn Allwright" <ziffanyrobyn@earthlink.net>

I have always been told the lighter eyes was a sign of poor breeding, and
should be judged as a fault. >>

"Light" is sometimes in the eye of the beholder.  The standard says "Rich
dark brown".  However, the French (FCI) standard says "The rather small
eyes, of intelligent and thoughtful expression, are of amber brown color."
I once had Guy Mansecal fault a bitch of mine for having eyes that were too
dark.  Until that moment it hadn't occured to me that eyes could actually be
too dark.  But, of course, as in nearly everything, he was right :-))  What
he said was that they were so dark that no light shone out of them.  She had
an almost "flat" expression.

This is in no way to defend the almost yellow eye.  That is a very different
issue than amber.  Light eyes are surely a fault, but I have seen more that
one dog who was of excellent breeding and loaded with virtures who had
slightly light eyes.  Faulting is always a balancing act.

 I do want to say to Sherry that Pyr's eyes should *not* be "piercing".  All
standards make reference in one way or another to the soft and often dreamy
Pyr expression.

Linda