What Colors Can Dogs See? How Dog Vision Really Works

Goldfish have a three-second memory, toads can give you warts, and dogs are color blind… sound familiar? Well, these along with many other antidotes that we’ve all been told aren’t actually true. While I’d love to dive into the inner workings of the fish brain, instead we’re going to focus on the colors that dogs can see.

Rather than living in a world of shades of gray, dogs actually enjoy quite a bit of color.

Common misconceptions about dog vision

• Dogs are colorblind: Not exactly. Dogs are more accurately described as red-green color blind, meaning they can’t see reds or greens. But they can see yellows and blues.

• Dogs can see in the dark: No, dogs don’t have night vision exactly, but they can see pretty well when there is a little light to be had. This makes dawn and dusk prime hours for dogs to be out and about, seeing things that we can’t as easily take in.

• Dogs can see long distances: Dogs may have the advantage over us in low light but they really can’t match our vision at a distance. What may be clear to us far away is likely blurry to them.

• Dogs’ eyes detect motion: This one’s true. They are able to pick up even slight movements that may go unnoticed by us.

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Can dogs see color?

Dogs’ eyes are very similar to humans in a lot of ways. They are also different in a lot of ways, making a dog’s vision unique and even a little mysterious. One thing we do know is that dogs are able to see some colors, not just black and white.

What colors can dogs see?

Dogs are able to see varying shades of yellow and blue. They can’t see red or green, so that bright red ball you bought them or the green of your lawn likely looks more gray or brown. The blue of the leash, on the other hand, would be similar to what we see it as, maybe just a little muted.

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Are some dogs color blind?

All dogs are, in some ways, color blind. This just means they can’t see some colors, not all colors. A dog’s vision is most similar to a human with red-green color blindness. Again, dogs can’t see reds or greens but can see blues and yellows.

How does a dog’s vision work, and what do they see?

Vision is truly amazing, whether you’re talking about dogs, humans, or otherwise. The ability to see light and color are due to two different nerve cells in the retina. One type, rods, detect light and motion, the other type, cones, detect color. Dogs have a fair number of rods allowing them better vision in low light situations such as a dark room or the hours around dawn and dusk.

They also have a couple of different kinds of cones, ones that make them able to see yellow and blue. There is also some thought that though dogs can see these colors, they likely don’t appreciate the vibrancy that we do. Instead, colors may be more toned down or muted.

Do dogs have a favorite color?

Yup — a new study found that street dogs in India show a strong preference for yellow.

Scientists at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research carried out tests on 134 adult street dogs in urban, semi-urban, and rural areas. An experimenter set out three bowls near a dog before vocalizing to get the pup’s attention; the bowls were yellow, blue, and gray. The bowls were placed in a random order each time.

In some of the tests, each bowl had a biscuit. In others, there was no food in the bowls. In each version of the test, yellow emerged as the most chosen bowl by far.

They then studied the preference between just blue and gray bowls. There was no significant preference between these colors.

In the final experiment, researchers offered the dogs a choice between a gray bowl with food and a yellow bowl without food. Amazingly, the dogs still approached the yellow bowl; the yellow bowl was chosen 41 times, while the gray bowl with food was only chosen 11 times. When they used chicken instead of a biscuit in the gray bowl, the results held; the empty yellow bowl was chosen 47 times, and the gray bowl with food was chosen 14 times.

“Our experiments demonstrate a clear preference for the color yellow over blue and gray in FRDs of India, at least in the context of foraging,” Anamitra Roy, the study’s lead author, wrote. “This preference is so strong that it supersedes their attraction towards food, whether biscuit or chicken.”

Experimenters aren’t sure exactly why dogs love yellow so much. One guess is that for dogs who scavenge, raw meat and blood appear yellow, and so do many foods available to them of human origin which use turmeric and dried chili. It may be that yellow bowls had a higher contrast to the other bowls. They also note that color preference can be innate or learned, so it’s possible that their results are localized. For example, a separate study found that street dogs in Morocco had no color preference. Regardless of the reason, yellow was the clear favorite for these pups. Loving a color more than a treat? That’s a whole lot of love.

How does a dog’s vision differ from human vision?

We humans have the same set up of rods and cones in our retinas, just in different numbers and types. We have fewer rods, making it harder to see when the light is dim, and given that dogs have an extra reflective layer called the tapetum beneath the retina and the ability to more fully dilate their pupils, we’re no match for them when it comes to seeing in near darkness.

To offset the light situation, we have three different types of cones, allowing us to see red and green along with yellow and blue. There’s also differences in the vibrancy. Our colors appear bolder and brighter compared to a dog’s muted or dull color vision. Dogs also can’t see objects as clearly at a distance but do have a wider peripheral scope.

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Bottom line

• Dogs are able to see color in the form of yellow and blues. They can’t differentiate reds and greens, instead seeing these colors as grays or browns.

• Compared to humans, dogs can see better with little light and have a great field of vision but can’t appreciate as many colors, their vibrancy, or see things as clearly at a distance.

• No matter what colors your dog sees or doesn’t see, regular veterinary care is important for maintaining your dog’s eye health.

Commonly asked questions

Can dogs see in the dark?

Dogs may be able to gather even little bits of light with the help of their rods, dilated pupils, and tapetum in order to see when daylight is running short, but they can’t see well when it’s truly and completely black outside. They need at least some light for their eyes to take advantage of.

Does vision change across different dog breeds?

A dog’s eye is a dog’s eye, no matter the breed, but some dogs pick up a bit of an advantage, due to eye position. Brachycephalic, or smooshed-faced, dog breeds tend to have a wider field of vision because they don’t have a long, pesky nose to get in the way, like a Collie or Hound does.

References

• Rajalakshmi, Niranjana. “What Colors Do Dogs See?” Scientific America. 4 Oct 2023. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-colors-do-dogs-see/.

• Wolchover, Natalie. “Dog Vision: What Colors Can Dogs See?” Live Science. 22 Sep 2022. https://www.livescience.com/34029-dog-color-vision.html.