Okay, just to be completely clear, I googled this and I'm NOT talking about a yellow sclera, which might indicate leptospirosis or kidney problems.

So, both of Ollies eyes are a sort of light hazel colour, both the same (not one of these wacky dogs with one blue eye and one brown eye) and there's no sign of swelling, infection, mucus or anything else which might indicate a problem.

Thing is, I've noticed that when he's walking toward me at night, if a light shines in his eyes one of them reflects green and the other reflects yellow.
Both my other dogs' eyes reflect green and, since I noticed it, I've been paying attention to other dogs and I haven't seen another dog with a "yellow" eye.

At first I thought that maybe it was a fluke, caused by the angle that light was reflecting from his eyes, but it's always the same; one "normal" green reflection and one bright yellow reflection.

A few days ago he did have a problem with his eye (probably got something in it while hedge-diving) so I took the opportunity to take him to the vet' for a check-up and ask about the yellow eye at the same time.
Trouble is, as I've said before, all the vet's around here tend to be rather, erm, "callous" about pets.
Unless there's something hanging off they're not interested and if there is something hanging off the recommended treatment is always to put the animal to sleep.

So, the vet' checked his eyes, looked in them with one of those magnifier-doodads, and declared him to be fit and healthy.
I did make a point of asking what might be causing the yellow reflection but he didn't really manage to offer a worthwhile explanation.

I assume that, if there was anything wrong, he would've seen it when he looked in Ollie's eyes but I can't help wondering why his eyes are so obviously different.
Clearly, there must be something different about the eye that reflects yellow, right?

So, anybody heard of this or got any ideas what it might be or whether it's worth worrying about?

Ever the pessimist, I can't help thinking that when the vet' said "There's nothing wrong with his eyes" what he really meant was "There's nothing wrong that I'm interested in fixing but he's probably going to go blind in one eye within a year or so" and, if that is the case, I'd like to know so that I can deal with it.

Our late Duncan yorkie had yellow reflection in his eyes at night, used to look a bit like a wolf staring back at me on our walks. Never had any problem with his eyes though so I assumed it was normal but now you mention not had any other dog with eyes like his.

I think you are worrying unnecessarily. If your dog is happy and appears to be able to see OK then I suggest you stop fretting over nothing.

Uhuh,

I don't mean to sound like I'm "panicking" over it.

It just kind of bugs me that the vet' couldn't manage to explain why there IS a difference at all.

I mean, if he'd said something like "The ocular fluid in the eye is what gives the reflection it's colour and it looks like one of Ollie's eyes is slightly different to the other in that respect" then I'd be more at ease.

I wouldn't actually be that worried if the yellow reflection is a sign of some pre-existing condition because, whatever the issue might be, it doesn't seem to be having an effect on his quality of life.
Just seems a bit obtuse to simply deny that there is a difference when the dog has, quite obviously, got eyes that ARE different to each other in some way.

It could just be a genetic fluke, what are rest of the litter like and the parents ?

I did wonder about that too but, alas, Ollie is our latest "rescue" so we've got no idea about his family.

Again, though, if that was the case, you'd think it would be common enough that a vet' would have no trouble explaining it as such.

Just seen this answer to the question on google:

It's determined by the Tapetum (properly the Tapetum Lucida), which is a reflective layer at the back of the eye that reflects light back through the retina. One thing I hate about people who explain it this way is that it leaves out why this is important or works -- it gives the retina a second chance to register light that has passed through it unabsorbed in the first pass, effectively doubling its optical length.



Eyeshine occurs in a wide variety of colors including white, blue, green, yellow, pink and red. However, since eyeshine leads to iridescence, the color varies slightly with the angle at which it is seen and the minerals which make up the reflective tapetum-lucidum crystals

Thewhatnows?

At first I did wonder if it was simply something to do with the angle of light being reflected but, after months of casual observation, I'm pretty sure that one of Ollie's eyes always reflects yellow and the other reflects green.

I guess the only question, now, is whether it's just natural for a dogs tappet-crystals to be different in one eye to the other or whether it might be a sign of some other issue.

Another good answer I found:

So here's what I think might be happening:

1) The eye that appears red lacks a tapetum lucidum and the result is the typical 'red-eye' seen in humans due to the appearance of the blood vessels of choroid and the underlying the cornea.

2) The dog has different crystalline or cellular arrangements in its eyes causing the reflected light to correspond to the different wavelengths. Interestingly, tapetum appears a blue-green colour in the Dutch sheep dog but an orangy colour in the Old English sheepdog.

3) The dog is slightly bung eyed and light is hitting the structure at a slightly different angle in one eye than in the other, affecting the way the light is reflected (but being an appauling physicist, I have no idea whether or not that is valid.)

That's interesting !