Are Dogs Colorblind?

I have heard the idea that dogs are colorblind quite a few times. However, I never really thought that much into it. I decided to do some research to see if this common thought has some truth to it or if it is false.

Despite the common belief that dogs only see black and white, they can see colors. However, it is not in the same way as humans. This is due to the fact that dogs only have two color-detecting cells in their retinas, as opposed to the three that humans have.

Jay Neitz, a color vision scientist at the University of Washington, conducted some experiments with canines. He found that the perception of color that dogs have is very similar to the way that red-green colorblind people see. They are similar because people with red-green colorblindness only have two types of cones to detect color, just as dogs do. Neitz’s research shows that dogs, just like colorblind people, use cues to distinguish among colors.

Along with this information, I was curious what colors dogs did see. Because dogs only have two types of cones, they see green and orange as the color yellow. They also see blue-green as white, and red as brownish-black.

For a dog, there isn’t much value in seeing every color that humans do. The American Veterinary Medical Association writes “Restrictions in color vision are probably of limited consequence in dogs, as it is likely that dogs react only to colors of biological importance to them.”

Unlike humans, it isn’t necessary or of that much importance that dogs be able to see all the colors that we do. So, it isn’t necessary to feel bad that your dog can only see black and white. The colors that they can see work to their advantage.

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