Dogs make the most amazing pets. Aside from being man's best friend, they can also be a woman's best friend and a playmate for children in the household. Choosing to add a dog to your family is a big decision to make, and it is vital you do your research to make sure you get the right breed and the perfect addition to your family. One question that pops up a lot is "are dog's colour blind?"
There has been a wealth of research done on the topic of the dog's vision. Investigations into whether dogs are colour blind, or precisely what colour they can see have been extensive and have shown some fascinating findings.
What is Colour Blindness?
Colour blindness is when the ability to perceive colour is altered. There can be different degrees of colour blindness, and this depends on which colour receptors are affected. For people, there are two basic types of colour blindness. Red and green colour blindness meaning the person with red-green colour blindness can tell the difference between these two colours. Then there is blue-yellow colour blindness, causing people affected by this type of colour blindness to be unable to identify either of these colours from each other. A dog's vision is similar to that of a person with red-green colourblindness.
Are dogs colour blind?
The correct answer to that question is that no, dogs are not colour blind. That being said, dogs do have a unique way of seeing the world. Our canine friends do not see the world as humans do.
A dog's vision is not strictly limited to black and white, nor do dogs have blurred vision. They can see colour, but just not as many as humans do. Dogs only have two kinds of colour detecting cells (or cones) within their retinas. Most humans have three colour detecting cells allowing us to be able to see more of the wavelengths across the visual spectrum.
Dogs can distinguish between blue and yellow but not between red and green colours.
How else does a dog's eyesight differ?
As with a human retina, a canine retina also contains other types of photoreceptors called rods. These receptors are not for colour but are light receptors. Dogs are sensitive to changes to light changes meaning they can differentiate between light and dark. Dogs can see shapes and movement too, In fact, thanks to the rods in canine eyes being higher than in the human eye, dogs can ultimately see better in dimmer light and can detect movement better than the human eye too!
As if you needed more excuses to love your dog!
Why it is important to know about your dog's eyes
Once you understand how dogs' eyes work, you can understand why they behave the way they do and why they gravitate to objects more than others. Avoiding more red or green toys and accessories will give them a better play experience and knowing where their range of vision is will help you to get their attention faster. Standing directly in front of them where their field of visual acuity is the greatest will afford you their undivided attention.
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