Dog Information

Does a pet dog see the world in color or black and white?

I have a beautiful family dog with nice light brown eyes, that wags its tail alot. He is a very happy playful family dog. I sometimes wonder, do certain pet animals such as dogs and cats see in color OR black and white?

Public Comments

1. I think dogs are black and white.
2. All cats and dogs see only in black and white.
3. Why wouldn't you think they see the same way you see? Maybe they only see pinks and yellows, lol.
4. Dogs and cats can see color, not all colors of course. Some colors they can see are red, green, and yellow. Thats why dog toys are those colors because they can see those colors. I learned this is psychology class.
5. Like most mammals, dogs are dichromats and have color vision equivalent to red-green color blindness in humans. Different breeds of dogs have different eye shapes and dimensions, and they also have different retina configurations. Dogs with long noses have a "visual streak" which runs across the width of the retina and gives them a very wide field of excellent vision, while those with short noses have an "area centralis" — a central patch with up to three times the density of nerve endings as the visual streak — giving them detailed sight much more like a human's. Some breeds, particularly the best sighthounds, have a field of vision up to 270° (compared to 180° for humans), although broad-headed breeds with short noses have a much narrower field of vision, as low as 180°.[8][9]
6. Dogs can only see if black and white. I would guess the same is true for cats - not sure.
7. Dogs are red-green color blind. They see a brighter and less detailed world when compared to humans. Peripheral vision is better than humans (dogs see more of the world), but distance is not judged quite as well. Dogs excel at night vision and the detection of moving objects. Dogs have much better night vision for 2 reasons: They have more rods (which enable night vision). They have a structure called the Tapetum Lucidum This is a reflective surface behind the retina (area including the light sensitive cells) that reflects light back through it (gives the eerie shine at night).
8. Humans have the ability to see all the colors of the electromagnetic spectrum, while the dog does not. It is thought that humans rely on color to find and identify food. Dogs have prey which are usually camouflaged, so they do not have to rely much on visual cues to find food. Because dogs have more rods in their retinas than humans, their ability to see in dim light is much greater. They are also better able to detect motion. Dogs see in colors of yellows, blues, and grays. The color red would appear yellow to a dog, and a green object would look white. Dogs have better lateral vision than humans.
9. of course, i don't know if it's true but they say it improves their vision by 3 times as much as humans.
10. It is a common misconception that dogs are completely color blind and see only black and white. Recent studies have shown that this is not true. While dogs do not see as many colors or as vivid a spectrum as humans they can detect the difference and/or intensity in many colors. Here is a site to help illustrate http://www.uwsp.edu/psych/dog/LA/DrP4.htm
11. they say animals alonly see that i believe they can see colors my dog tell her to pick up her pink ball thats mixed with every other color see gets it she dont likre red toys tears them up good she 155pd rottie 3yrs old big baby
12. My Black Lab and Maltese can see a red pointer light (The kind you use to play with cats) but my Siberian Husky can't see it. I guess it depends on the animal.
13. well lets see to tell you the truth and i know this 4 a fact and dogs see in black ,white and brown. my brother jack is like all knowing i hate to admit that so yeah.he told me that about dogs.....well g2g bye p.s.my name is lilham
14. well dogs can only see bright colors like red or yellow
15. well they can see some colors just not all of the colors that we can.
16. They see it in color. Not like we see it, mind you, but in color none the less. Scientist know this because they know the make up of the canine eye (presence and distribution of rods and cones) Dogs can pick out two colors-blue-violet and yellow-and they can differentiate among shades of gray." Dogs are unable to distinguish among green, yellow, orange, and red. They also have difficulty differentiating greens and grays. http://www.cvm.uiuc.edu/petcolumns/showarticle.cfm?id=116