On the Subject of: Black and White

Look into my eyes, listen only to the sound of my Bark

Not everything in the world is in Color, and on the other hand not everything is black and white either, physically or metaphorically.  It has been said that some people look through rose colored glasses and others only see what they want to see, but the burning question today is “Do Dogs only see in Black and white?”  I am going to shed a little light on this curious subject (no pun intended).

Ok, humans, sit down for this answer:  Contrary to popular belief dogs do see color and not just shades of grey.  Now I know that all of you dog owners, out there, have just fainted, another myth bites the dust, so let me clarify.  Dogs are colorblind, but that does not mean they do not see any color any more than a human that is color bind, only sees in black and white.  It is a common misunderstanding.  I can see color but not as rich or as many as you do.

My family Heritage originates in Yorkshire, England and they probably studied next to their masters at Oxford University, a little farther south.  I guess that’s where I get my smarts so I will attempt to explain, without a lot of scientific mumbo jumbo. 

Anatomy of a dogs eye

In the retina of the eye of both humans and dogs there are special light sensitive cells call “Rods” and “Cones”.  No, silly not fishing rods and Ice Cream Cones but special living cells.  Rods are responsible for low light vision and Cones are sensitive to color.  There are 3 different types of cones that are sensitive to the short, medium and long wave lengths of light and therefore color.  I have fewer cones than a human which suggests my vision is not as good as humans, and that I don’t have the rich range of color that you do.  The thing with color is not just cones but the different types of cones each tuned to different wavelengths of light.  Human colorblindness comes about because the person is missing one of the three kinds of cones. With only two cones, the individual can still see colors, but not as many as someone with normal color vision. Dogs also have only two kinds of cones, so their vision, also, is not as vibrant.

Do you see my Tapetum Lucidum?

Dogs see better in the dark than humans, partly because a dog's retina is dominated by rods which are sensitive to low light, and partly because of the tapetum lucidum  ( this word comes from the human language called Latin and it means  "bright tapestry")  which lies underneath the rod cells and reflects "concentrated" light back through them. This is a help to wild dogs who are likely to be hunting in poor lighting conditions. As an additional aid to hunting, dogs are particularly sensitive to seeing movement in the distance. They perceive stationary objects relatively poorly, though, which makes some seem clumsy. 

Something very interesting is that a lot of popular colors for dog toys are red or orange.  However red is very difficult for a dog to see.  It probably appears to be very dark brown or gray or maybe even black.  When you toss that ball in the grass and your dog runs past the toy you just tossed she might not be able to see the difference between the ball and the grass and it is not because she is stupid or stubborn.  It’s your fault human for choosing a toy with a color that is hard to tell the difference on your lawn.

Dog and Human color perspective

Here is a little color chart of how dogs and Humans probably see color.  This will help you choose our toys more intelligently. Yellow and Blue are good choices. 

There you have it, the real story and that’s the truth, cross my paws 

 

Now let me see..... Where did I put that ball.... I might have to use my nose.