The question of what colours dogs see is of interest to pet owners and scientists. For a long time there was an opinion that animals see the world only in black and white shades. However, modern research has disproved this myth, showing that dogs' vision is different from humans, but they can distinguish some colours. Which ones and how it affects their perception of the world will be discussed in this article.
The theory about black and white vision
The myth that dogs see only in black and white originated in 1937, when researcher Will Judy assumed that dogs perceive the world exclusively in shades of grey. This assumption was maintained for a long time, in the 1960s, scientists conducting another study, also mistakenly believed that only primates are able to distinguish colours. Only in 2013, researchers confirmed that animals can distinguish between yellow and blue colours, disproving the old theory.
Is it true that dogs are colour blind?
The common belief that dogs only see black and white images has been proven wrong. In fact, their vision is more like colour blindness in humans, namely a red-green form of the disease. This means that the animals do not distinguish between red and green, as well as all shades containing these colours. In their eyes, they look like monotonous grey or brown spots.
A dog's visual system differs from a human's in that they have only two types of cones in their retinas that perceive light, which explains why animals cannot distinguish the full spectrum of colours.
Do dogs suffer from colour blindness or colour perception disorder?
Dogs do have colour perception peculiarities, but it can't really be called colour blindness in the human sense. Not everyone believes that these animals suffer from colour perception disorder, but their vision is still different from ours. This is due to the evolutionary and anatomical features of their eyes.
The evolution of dogs as nocturnal hunters has played a key role in shaping their visual abilities. Their eyes were adapted to hunt in low light conditions, which led to an increase in the number of rods in the retina. The rods are cells that are responsible for light perception and movement, and work in low-light conditions. This is why dogs can see in the dark much better than humans. However, because of this, they have fewer cones, which are responsible for colour perception.
Unlike humans, who are trichromatic creatures, meaning they have three types of cones that allow them to perceive a wide range of colours, dogs are dichromatic. They have only two types of cones that can only distinguish a limited set of colours. In particular, animals are unable to distinguish between red and green, as well as shades containing these colours, such as purple or orange.
Thus, although dogs do not suffer from colour blindness in the usual sense, their perception of colours is limited. On this basis, it can be argued that they do not have the same colour perception as humans. Their vision is optimised for hunting conditions and orientation in the dark, rather than distinguishing a wide range of colours like humans.
What colours can dogs see?
Animals are able to perceive colours such as yellow and blue, as well as seeing shades of grey, black and white. For example, a red toy will appear brown to them and an orange toy will appear brownish yellow.
In practice, this means that dogs find it easiest to orient themselves to objects in these colours, especially when the environment is represented by duller shades such as brown and grey. This explains why many dogs like to play with bright yellow tennis balls that stand out in their colour perception.
Interesting fact, to make playing with your pet more fun, you can use blue or yellow coloured toys as these shades are more visible to their eyes. If you have an orange or red toy, keep in mind that it may be perceived as brown or greyish.
How do dogs perceive the world?
Even though animals don't see colours the way humans do, their vision is still different from humans. First of all, dogs have a wider field of vision, which allows them to notice movements even at long distances. In addition, their vision is myopic - this means that they see objects at close distances much worse than at distances of 6 metres or further away. For example, if a dog looks at an object that is 6 metres away, it appears to him that it is 22.3 metres away.
However, dogs' vision is compensated for by their keen hearing and olfactory abilities. They can hear a wide range of frequencies, including sounds that humans cannot perceive. Their sense of smell is tens of thousands of times stronger than a human's. This allows dogs to ‘see’ the world through odours, giving them a much more complete perception of their surroundings.
How do you visualise what your dog sees?
Today, with the help of technology, you can roughly understand how your pet sees the world. For example, the Dog Vision app allows you to upload a photo and see what it looks like to your friend. This app models colour perception with dogs' dichromatic vision in mind.
You can use it to visualise how the perception of different objects changes, in particular how your favourite brightly coloured toys or objects look to your pet. Knowing how pets see the world around them can help in choosing toys that are appropriate for their perception, as well as creating a comfortable and safe environment for them.
Dogs do not see the world in black and white, as has long been believed. They distinguish shades of yellow, blue and grey, and see space in dull browns and greys. Despite this, their eyesight is compensated for by their incredibly developed hearing and sense of smell, allowing them to better perceive the universe through smells and sounds.
