What’s it like looking through dogs’ eyes? How do they see the world differently than humans do? A common belief based on older science is that a dog sees everything in black and white, like in old movies. Thanks to scientific research conducted over the past several decades, however, we’ve learned that this canine can see more than shades of gray.
So what colors can the animal see, and why does it see those colors? Read on if you want some more insight into a dog’s eyesight.
Dogs See Mostly in Yellows and Blues
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Based on research conducted by ophthalmologists Jay Neitz, Timothy Geist, and Gerald Jacobs and published in 1989, dogs don’t see strictly in grays but rather perceive color on a spectrum between two wavelengths of light, yellow and blue. They see yellow and blue objects the clearest and see objects between those colors in different shades of yellow, blue, and gray.
Like most animals capable of sight, dogs have two types of nerve cells called photoreceptors in their eyes. The first type, rods, allow them to detect light and motion, while the second type, cones, allow them to differentiate between colors. Animals with dichromatic vision, have two types of cones, which allow them to see up to 10,000 colors; in contrast, humans have three types of cones, which allow them to see up to 1,000,000 colors.
Dogs Don’t Distinguish Between Red and Green Well
Dogs can see yellow and blue objects easily but have a harder time distinguishing between red and green things. According to a paper published by scientists Marcello Siniscalchi, Serenella d’Ingeo, Serena Fornelli, and Angelo Quaranta, these canines exhibit the same type of red-green colorblindness that around 8 percent of human men and 0.5 percent of human women have.
While most humans can distinguish easily between red and green objects, canines perceive both colors as fairly indistinguishable gray; however, they might be able to differentiate these objects since red objects tend to be darker than green objects. So they can find a red ball on a green field after all; still, owners could do their pets a favor by buying blue toys, which stand out well on grass that their canine companions usually perceive as yellow.
Although humans can perceive many more colors on the visible light spectrum, dogs might be able to see certain colors than humans can’t. According to a study published by R.H. Douglas and G. Jeffery in The Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the lenses in their eyes transmit many wavelengths of ultraviolet light that humans’ lenses block out, meaning that the animals might be able to see more blue light than humans can.
Their Eyes Have Other Benefits Outside of Color Vision
Though dogs don’t perceive as many different colors as humans or certain other mammals can, their eyes have certain benefits that human eyes don’t. Their eyes contain more rods than humans do, allowing them to spot and track moving objects more quickly and accurately than humans can and give them better night vision than humans.
Their eyes also feature unique mirrorlike membranes called tapetum lucidum, which reflect light back into the retina a second time so the rods can gather more visual details. These membranes allow the animals to see in six times less light than humans can. The membranes also cause their eyes to glow bluish-green at night and in photos.
Final Thoughts
A dog’s world is more colorful than most people suspect. Rather than just black and white, they see in yellow, blue, and gray, though they do have trouble distinguishing red and green. Still, they can track motion and see better at night than humans can.
These fascinating canines continue to surprise and endear us. Now that you know that they have a wider visual palette than commonly believed, you can better appreciate a dog’s eye view of the world.
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