Eyes in a heavily coated breed, let alone the importance of expression in them, is fertile ground for jokes, and as Puli owners, we’ve heard them all. Can they see? And if you can’t see the eyes, do they matter in a show ring?  It depends. The Puli’s AKC breed standard only mentions eyes to describe their shape and color.  The same essentially holds true for the Bearded Collie, Komondor, and Polish Lowland Sheepdog. The Havanese standard, however, does mention expression (it should be “soft, intelligent and mischievous”) as does the Lhasa Apso’s (“alert, thoughtful, intelligent”).

Expression can become more specific in heavily coated breeds when the eyes can be seen, and we use the Great Pyrenees as our illustration. To be accurate, the Great Pyrenees appears to be more massive than he really is because of the volume of coat, but the breed standard, if we’re being honest, is skimpy on details regarding the eyes: It describes them as “medium sized, almond shaped, set slightly obliquely, and rich dark brown.” It does mention expression (it’s “elegant”), but it’s the Illustrated Standard that gives us more to work with:  The correct Pyrenean eye “gives the dog its unique expression. It is a far-away, almost dreamy look that says, ‘I have everything under control’ — a very intelligent, regal, relaxed look.”

Is this not a marvelously helpful aid to judges and breeders?

This expression can be found in Pyrs that never step foot in a show ring, and below are just a couple of images we pulled off the internet:

Great Pyrenees by Mary Swift

Great Pyrenees lakeside by Danita Delimont

We invite you to share photos of your “dreamy but in control” eyed Great Pyrenees

Top Image: DepositPhoto