What Colors Can My Dog See? We Compare Dog and Human Eyesight

Veterinarians often get asked about the most appropriate toys for dogs to play with, including what color those toys should be. Overachieving parents standing in the toy aisle at the pet store may wonder, There has been a lot of hype around blue and orange toys for dogs recently. Should I switch out my dogs’ current toys for new ones in colors that may be easier for them to see? My dogs seem to like their current toys, but maybe they’re missing out on some extra fun. Why can’t dogs see color like we do? What colors can dogs see?

Let’s dive into it.

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Main takeaways

• Dogs can see color, but they have a more limited color-vision spectrum compared to humans.

• Dogs have similar limitations in seeing color as a person with red-green colorblindness. Bright colored toys and bedding appear more muted to their eyes.

• Deep blue toys may stand out most to dogs, but dogs can track objects well by using their other senses.

Can dogs see orange and blue?

Although some colors may appear more vibrant to dogs than others, it’s not worth getting rid of your dog’s favorite toys just to pick ones in colors that pop. Dogs likely perceive fewer different colors than humans do, but that doesn’t necessarily mean all colors look the same. It may be easier for a dog to pick out a bright blue or yellow toy against most backgrounds, but that doesn’t mean they can’t use motion, scent, or color patterns to play with their favorite toy. You never know: it may be more fun for a dog to have to use all their senses to find a thrown ball.

What colors can dogs see?

Dogs are colorblind, but not in a way that only lets them see shades of gray. Their color perception is likely closer to that of a human with red-green colorblindness. Because of the structure of their eyes and makeup of their retinas, a dog’s eyesight is less sharp than a person’s. Dog vision is adapted and optimized for identifying fast-moving objects in a variety of lighting conditions.

To understand how dogs accomplish this, some basic eye anatomy and biology is needed. I’ll try to keep it brief here, but this article goes into more detail if you’re interested. Eyes have two types of light-sensitive cells in them:

• Rods, which are more sensitive to light (meaning they can be activated when there’s less of it) and quicker to respond to motion.

• Cones, which provide color vision but have a slower response to changes in light.

Humans have three types of cones (sensitive to blue, green, and red), while dogs only have two (sensitive to blue and greenish yellow). Dogs likely interpret these colors as blue and yellow, but it’s hard to know for sure if their brains interpret color information in a similar way to humans. Dogs may also see a bit further into the ultraviolet range than people do, but this is still being investigated. Things in the bluish-green range likely appear to be gray to dogs.

In addition to having an extra type of cone to improve color perception, humans have a higher proportion of cones in their retinas. The cones are also concentrated in the area of the eye (the focal point) where light is most likely to hit. Dog eyes have relatively fewer cones, and they’re spaced out more evenly over the surface of the retina. This means that colors likely appear less saturated (intense) to dogs overall.

So, what colors do dogs see the best? Research shows that dogs’ cones are most sensitive to light at wavelengths of 429 nanometer and 555 nanometer. A wavelength of 429 nanometer corresponds to a bright blue color, which may be ideal for toys because it contrasts with the ground outdoors and most surfaces indoors. Light at a 555 nanometer wavelength corresponds to a kinda yellowy green. This means your dog likely enjoyed your brat summer (for those who celebrated), which featured the nearby 542 nanometer wavelength range.

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What colors can dogs see in the dark?

Dogs hold an advantage over humans when it comes to low-light vision. The increased overall proportion of rods combined with the presence of rods at the focal point of the retina provides advantages to dogs in dim light.

Dogs also see better in the dark due to the presence of a reflective layer in the back of their eye. This reflective tapetum sits behind the retina and reflects light not initially picked up by the rods and cones back at them, giving them a second chance to detect it. This means that dogs have a better chance at sensing something in low-light situations, but the way the light reflects may make things a little blurry.

Color nighttime eyesight in dogs is similar to your own. Cones take a lot of light to activate, so colors aren’t as prominent when the lights are low. Think about sitting in your room with the only light coming from your phone’s screen. If you lay it down in the center of the room, it becomes much more difficult to make out the colors of the leaves of your plants or art on your walls when they’re not directly in the light.

Dogs likely see even less intense color in the dark than people due because of the number and location of their cones. However, dogs can likely see objects and distinguish shades of gray better than humans in low-light conditions.

Related article

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What colors can’t dogs see?

Because of the type and structure of dogs’ cones, there are areas of the color spectrum where their vision falls a bit short. This doesn’t mean that they can’t distinguish between colors in these areas, but they likely just appear as shades of the same color rather than distinct colors. The tones where dogs truly don’t see color are in the bluish green range. Dogs likely see objects in the seafoam green to teal range as shades of white and gray.

It's always helpful to think back to elementary school (remember ROY G BIV?) or picture a rainbow, pride flag, or the album cover of Dark Side of the Moon when you’re thinking about the color spectrum. These colors occur in order based on their wavelength, from longest (red) to shortest (violet). Remembering the color spectrum can help you understand why some neighboring colors appear as the same shade to dogs.

Can dogs see red?

Dogs see red-colored objects as being in the yellow spectrum. Depending on the shade of red, the objects are likely to appear as a dark to brownish yellow.

Can dogs see the color orange?

As a blend of red and yellow, orange may appear as a deeper shade of yellow to dogs. Objects of this color may not stand out well against backgrounds with yellow to reddish hues.

Can dogs see yellow?

Much of dogs’ vision is likely in shades of yellow. Objects in the red, orange, yellow, and yellowish green color range likely appear as different intensities of yellow to dogs.

Can dogs see green?

Dogs likely do not perceive many shades of green as color. The greenish-blue range appears as shades of gray, but color vision begins to return as the blues deepen.

Can dogs see blue?

Dogs see what we would consider true blue colors very well. Deep blue to indigo objects likely provide some of the brightest colors dogs experience. Blue vision begins to fade to gray when it reaches the greenish end of the blue color spectrum.

Can dogs see purple?

Purple (indigo and violet) objects likely stand out to dogs as well, and they may seem brighter than they do to humans. Dogs may also have some ability to perceive ultraviolet light, which humans cannot see.

The bottom line

So, what does a dog’s eyesight look like? Because of the differences within their eyes, dogs likely see a less colorful and more blurry world than their parents do. Their vision prioritizes low-light vision and rapid motion tracking over sharpness and color accuracy. This doesn’t mean they won’t enjoy a brightly colored toy; just remember that they will likely appreciate the attention and time together more than the color.

References

• Byosiere, Sarah-Elizabeth, et al. “What Do Dogs (Canis Familiaris) See? A Review of Vision in Dogs and Implications for Cognition Research.” Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, vol. 25, no. 5, 15 Nov. 2017, pp. 1798–1813, link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13423-017-1404-7, https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-017-1404-7.

• Miller, P. E., and C. J. Murphy. “Vision in Dogs.” Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, vol. 207, no. 12, 15 Dec. 1995, pp. 1623–1634, pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/7493905/.

• Neitz, Jay, et al. “Color Vision in the Dog.” Visual Neuroscience, vol. 3, no. 2, Aug. 1989, pp. 119–125, https://doi.org/10.1017/s0952523800004430.

• Pongrácz, Péter, et al. “Do You See What I See? The Difference between Dog and Human Visual Perception May Affect the Outcome of Experiments.” Behavioural Processes, vol. 140, July 2017, pp. 53–60, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beproc.2017.04.002.

• “Vision in Animals - What Do Dogs and Cats See? - WALTHAMOSU2001 - VIN.” Vin.com, 2015, www.vin.com/apputil/content/defaultadv1.aspx?pId=11132&id=3844144.‌