Eyes: Dark brown, slightly slanted, almond shaped. Dark rims essential.

Lovely eye shape and excellent color

The keen yet appealing expression of the Canaan is one of his most essential and distinguishing characteristics, and a major factor in achieving this expression is the eye shape and color. The Canaan has what has been called a “sloe eyed” Oriental look, created by the very dark almond shaped slightly slanting eyes emphasized by the black “eye liner” around them. The result is an alert, intelligent, and at the same time sweet expression which is expressive of the character of the breed.

Eyes that are too light will have a hard and staring expression, like that of a bird of prey, rather than the soft and sweet expression desired. Even a medium brown eye can appear to be too light, especially if the dog is black or with a black mask. The criterion for judging the correctness of the eye color should be the effect it has on the expression as a whole. Yellow eyes do occur occasionally and are unquestionably incorrect; this is often connected with undesirable coat colors as well. Pale or liver eye rims greatly detract from the desired expression as well, and are definitely not desirable.

Round eyes result in an expression that lacks the intelligent and alert look that are so expressive of the breed’s character, tending to create a “stupid” or staring look. Small or piggy eyes create a “mean” expression. The eye must be almond shaped and properly set in the head, and never round or prominent or too small.

Though not yellow, these eyes are still too light in color

Light eyes create a harsh expression

Eyes too round