What Colors Do Dogs See Best?

I've heard that dogs can only see black and white. Really?

When you look at a rainbow in the sky, you see shades of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Can your canine friends identify the same color range as you? Did he see the black and white stripes? Do the colors look blurry?

How dogs see color is a long-standing research topic, and the results are pretty astonishing. While dogs can't appreciate all the colors humans do, their world isn't entirely black and white. In fact, dogs live in a colorful world.

What makes colors so "colorful"?

Color is distinguished by nerve cells in the eye. The retina of the eye has two main types of cells—rods, which detect light levels and motion, and cones, which distinguish colors. The human eye has three types of cone cells that can recognize combinations of red, blue, and green. Dogs have only two types of cone cells and can only distinguish between blue and yellow -- this limited color perception is called dichromatic vision.

Humans may have more cones that allow us to see more colors and see them brighter than dogs, but dogs have more cones when seeing in low light or recognizing moving objects , they have an advantage.

What is color blindness?

Color blindness is the term used for changes in the ability to perceive color. In humans, the degree of color blindness depends on which color receptors in the eye are affected. There are two basic types of color blindness in humans: red-green color blindness and blue-yellow blindness. People who are red-green colorblind cannot distinguish between the two colors. It makes Christmas boring! Likewise, people who are blue-yellow-blind cannot tell the difference between a yellow shirt and a blue shirt.

When it comes to discerning colors, a dog's normal vision most closely resembles a person with red-green color blindness. Having said that, no further degrees of color blindness have been recorded in dogs.

How does dog vision compare to human vision?

Just because dogs don't appreciate the entire color spectrum like humans do, that doesn't mean they can't perceive different colors. They just might not see the "true" color of the object.

For example, red is a dark brownish gray or black to dogs. Yellows, oranges, and greens all look a little yellow to dogs. Our furry friends see blue very well, but purple looks the same to them as blue. When playing the catch game, the dog can't tell the difference between red and yellow balls. Fortunately, they have a strong sense of smell, so they can usually identify their ball and avoid confusion when playing catch games in the park.

"In addition to color perception, canines and humans have other visual differences."

In addition to color perception, canines and humans have other visual differences. In some ways, canine vision is not as sharp as human vision. Dogs are more nearsighted than we are. When looking at an object from the same distance, the object may appear sharp to us but blurry to our dog. Our canine companions are also less sensitive to changes in brightness. Basically, dogs simply cannot perceive color in rich, vibrant hues the way we do.

What are other visual differences between dogs and humans? ,

Canines have some visual advantages over humans. Dogs' eyes are more on the sides of the head, which gives them a wider range of peripheral vision than ours. The tradeoff is a smaller range of vision, so dogs don't have our depth perception.

A dog's pupils can dilate as much as possible, allowing them to capture as much light as possible. They also have reflex cells under the retina, forming the tapetum. The tapetum layer gives the dog a "shiny-eyed" appearance and also improves their ability to see in dim light.

Dogs also have more rod cells in their retinas than their human friends. The rods are responsible for detecting light and motion, even small movements over long distances. As a result, dogs can see better in dim light (dusk and dawn) and can detect motion more accurately than humans.

Why do dogs see what they see?

Nature provides dogs with special visual adaptations that allow them to survive and thrive in the wild. Seeing clearly in dim light and capturing slight movements in the forest in the distance improves the dog's hunting abilities. These assets can also help dogs know when HE becomes prey and needs to escape.

Times have changed and most dogs are now members of our human family, so we provide them with nutritious food and protect them from predators. Even so, these visual abilities are still present in canines.