Can Dogs See Colour?

Can dogs see colour? Or are dogs actually colour blind? It’s a strange question to think about because there’s one obvious problem with finding the answer. We can’t ask the dogs. Where’s Dr. Doolittle when you need him?

But luckily, science has done a lot of the work for us when it comes to figuring out whether various animals see the same way that humans do. And because dogs are man’s best friend, we’re certainly not the first to have asked the question.

Are dogs colour blind?

You’ve probably heard someone say before that dogs are totally colour blind. In fact, it was considered fact for decades. If someone asked “can dogs see colour” most researchers would have answered a resounding “no.”

But thanks to scientific developments over the years, we know now that’s not strictly true. Dogs aren’t, in fact, completely colour blind. Dogs see in more than just shades of grey. But they don’t see a full spectrum. If that sounds a bit confusing, read on.

Can dogs see all colours?

Also no. While we now know that dogs aren’t completely colour blind, they don’t see colour the same way humans do.

In reality, dogs probably see a more muted version of our world than humans. Their vision is similar to that of a human with red-green colour blindness. But again, because the colours you’ve always seen (or not seen) are likely the only ones you’re familiar with, it might be hard to picture this.

Luckily, there’s a cool tool called the dog vision image processing tool. All you do is upload an image and it works its magic to show you what that picture would look like to your dog. Amazing, right?

How do we know if dogs can see colour or not?

Again, we can’t ask the dogs! So how do those clever scientists know what colours dogs see in? Of course, we’ll never truly know for sure. But we can be quite confident.

Ready for a bit of biology?

In both humans and dogs, light enters through the pupil then travel through the cornea and lens which focus the light on the retina. It’s here in the retina that you’ll find cones and rods.

Cones are what turn light into the colours that we perceive. Rods are what help us perceive motion and brightness. Where humans have three types of cones, dogs only have two. This means they perceive fewer colours than us.

On the flip side though, they have more rods. Which is why your dog sees better in the dark than you do, and why they can also detect motion more easily than you.

What colours can dogs see?

Dogs can see blues, yellows, as well as shades of grey. Meanwhile, humans can see around 1 million different colours because of the three types of cones in our eyes, each cone picking up around 100 different shades of colour.

Basically, a lot of colours would look indistinct or brownish to dogs. They’d come up as a shade of yellow, or grey. Your bright green jacket would look yellow-ish to a dog, and a red ball would probably be a dark brownish grey.

So now we know that dogs can see colour. Just not as well as humans.

What colour toys should I buy my dog?

If you want your dog’s toys to stand out against backgrounds like grass and stones, go for blue! When it comes to indoor toys, the colour choice is little bit more flexible.

It all depends on the colour of your carpet or flooring. If your floors are brown and you pick a brown toy, doggo might have trouble spotting it. Opt for multi-coloured toys that stand out from your home decor.

So next time your dog runs past that red toy without noticing it during puppy play, it’s probably because they haven’t seen it distinctly. Fortunately, their sense of smell is incredibly strong (10,000 to 100,000 times more powerful than the average human), which means they usually come back to find it.

Add colour to your pet’s life with dog insurance

While you’re out buying vibrant new toys, get them dog insurance too, so that they’re covered for those little accidents that happen along the way.

PD Insurance is dedicated to a long-term vision of consistently providing pets and their people with softer landings in the most crucial moments.

A value-rich, flexible PD pet insurance plan will help you cover the cost of a wide range of treatments. Why not take two minutes to get the quickest of quotes for your pet’s health protection?