What Colours Do Dogs See?
The myth that dogs are colourblind has been circulating for many years. The truth is that dogs dont just see in simple black, grey and white. In fact they have no problem seeing a list of other colours from yellow to violet. What they do have difficulty seeing is hues of red, green and orange.
Dogs eyes have something called photoreceptors in their retinas. These are divided into two categories rods and cones. Dog’s eyes have a high number of rods. Comparatively, human eyes have a high level of cones. They are also missing the fovea seen in human eyes, preventing their vision from being as clear.
Though this may seem like a negative point, it is this which provides dogs with excellent night vision. They do not see objects and shapes with the same level of detail as us, but it does mean they are superior at tracking movement.
So, how was it discovered that dogs see in limited colours? Around 100 years ago tests were carried out (purporting to be scientific) to determine just what sorts of colours dogs were able to see. However, the actual tests that were carried out did not help to determine the range of colours that dogs could see, but rather they showed that colour vision does not play a part in a dogs daily life.
90 years after the first experiments were performed, researchers Neitz, Geist and Jacobs carried out scientific tests on domestic dogs and determined that 1 Dogs are dichromatic they have two separate kinds of colour receptors within the eyes, and 2 One colour receptor is responsible for peaking in colours blue to violet and the other in colours yellow to green. Four years later further research was carried out to support these results.
Dogs in fact suffer from a form of green colour blindness similar to human red-green colour blindness. This particular illness is more commonly referred to as deuteranopia.
To attach the colourblind label to dogs is understandable, but not entirely the truth. A true explanation of their visual capabilities would state that, whereas they see in more colours than black, white and grey, they do not experience the full spectrum of colours that humans do.
Search the online marketplace adflyer for 1000s of great products. Search puppies for sale and find the latest pet information on the adflyer pets blog.
