What Colors Can Dogs See?

Although a dog's primary senses are smell and hearing, sight also plays an important role in their life. Sight functions in helping a dog when it comes to satisfying their basic needs. However, there are many misconceptions around a dog's vision.

So, can dogs see color? The answer is yes. Dogs can see color, however not as we see them. Although there has been a misconception that dogs are colorblind and can only see shades of grey, it is now well known that dogs can indeed see colors. The colors they percieve are not at rich or as many as humans can see.

Dogs can see the colors we identify as blue, yellow and some shades of gray. While a human's visual cones are able to detect 3 different colors (blue, red and green) and its combinations, a dog's visual cone can only detect 2 (blue and yellow). This limited color perception is called dichromatic vision. To fully understand, take a look at the image above for a visual comparison.

As we've previously mentioned, dogs have dichromantic vision. Colors such as red or green will be perceived as a shade of gray. Therefore, blue or yellow are the easiest colors for dogs to see and the most attractive colors for them to see.

By looking at the image presented below, we can notice the difference between how humans distinguish color and how dogs distinguish color. In the dog side of image, we notice how canines strongly distinguish blues and yellows. However their vision of red, green and orange, have more of a grayish brownish hue.

For this reason, we recommend buying your dogs toys or devices which are blue and yellow. This will make it easier for your dog to distinguish their toys.

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