CAN DOGS SEE COLORS, WHAT ONES, ARE THEY COLOR BLIND

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Last Updated on December 5, 2023 by Thee Puppypreneur

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CAN DOGS SEE COLORS

We will answer questions like, are dog’s color blind, can dogs see red or can dogs see green or what colors can dogs see, in this post but before I answer this question let’s talk about the eyes. The eyes are made up of rods and cones and cones are used during the day and rods are used mostly at night. ¹

Humans have 3 cones while dogs only have 2 and these cones are what is used to detect colors. ² So, what difference does having only 2 cones versus 3 cones make? Stay tuned for the answer….

Scientific research has determined that dogs aren’t as readily able to see all the fine details in an object ³ the same way a human can, but dogs are indeed able to see colors.

So, remember how I said dogs can’t see fine details, this is because they lack that third cone that humans have. However, they are excellent at detecting motion compared to the human vision.⁴

CAN DOGS SEE RED OR CAN DOGS SEE GREEN

As it turns out dogs can see colors, however they may not be able to see all colors the way you and I see colors. So, are dogs color blind?

Well, a human’s eye is defined as trichromatic meaning it can see only 3 colors. Those colors are red, blue and green, unless you’re color blind.

A dog’s eye is dichromatic ⁵ this means it can only see limited spectrum of colors and not the full range of red, blue and green.

Did you know that human men are more prone to developing red-green color blindness than women are. ⁶ In fact, studies show that the same color blindness that affects humans appears to be the same color blindness that affects dogs. ⁷

ARE DOGS COLOR BLIND

So yes, dogs are regarded as being color blind, but they can still see certain colors like blue and yellow ⁸ and varying shades of grey.

I have heard people say that dogs can’t see colors and they can only see in shades of grey, but this is not true. In fact, speaking of grey there was a scientific study done with 3 dogs and 30 shades of grey and it was determined that dogs are actually able to distinguish between the shades.

The darker the shades of grey got, the easier they were capable of distinguishing between the light and dark greys⁹, which makes sense since dogs can most definitely see better than humans at night.

WHAT COLORS CAN DOGS SEE FOR TOYS OR PLAYTIME

Dogs are not able to see the color red as red and they are not able to see the color green as green. But they are capable of disguising darker colors. Next time you are out shopping for your fur kid why not keep that in mind and choose a darker colored toy and make it easier for them to see.

However, let’s not forget your dog can still readily see the colors yellow and blue and discern between light and dark. So, why not have some fun with this cute light up strobe ball in a color they can see, like this blue one from;

Amazon.com: Planet Dog Orbee-Tuff Strobe Ball Blue Light Up LED Dog Toy : Everything Else

This ball is BPA, lead, and phthalate-free and proudly made in the USA. It is made of TPE rubber and yes there are others on the market that light up but those might be made of hard plastic and might not be so forgiving on the teeth.

Since were talking about playtime and exercise why not check out our other article;

DOG WALKS, HOW OFTEN, HOW LONG, AND THEIR BENEFITS