☝️ TLDR: Dogs have dichromatic vision, lacking red and green cones in their eyes, but they can still appreciate the Swedish flag
Today we talk about the misconception many people have about dogs seeing in black and white. Turns out they can actually perceive a limited range of colors. So, what colors can dogs see best?
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Dogs don’t have the same color vision as humans because their eyes lack the red-green cones that let us see a full spectrum of colors. Instead, they view the world primarily in shades of blue, yellow, and gray. This means what colors can dogs see do not include reds and greens: they appear as grayish-brown tones to them.
Scientists discovered these details about dog vision through behavioral experiments, where dogs were trained to distinguish colors. Researcher Jay Neitz is one of the vision scientists who studied animal sight and helped reveal that dogs see in a kind of “blue-yellow” spectrum. This gives them a unique view of the world compared to humans, which doesn’t appear to bother them — after all, their vision is built for other strengths!
Dogs see better in low light than humans. What colors can dogs see in the dark? Although they don’t see color well in dimmer environments, their vision is adapted for detecting movement and shades, helping them navigate their surroundings at dusk or dawn. Their eyes are equipped with more rod cells than humans, which allows them to detect movement effectively, even in twilight.
Does such a limited color palette affect dogs psychologically? Not really. What colors can dogs see may be fewer, but their sight is optimized for their need: spotting prey and detecting motion. While we might see the grass as green, dogs see it as a yellowish-brown, but to them, it’s just as interesting. Scritches and treats, after all, are way more important!
📌 Fun Fact: Octopuses Wear Sunglasses?!
Polarized light vibrates in one direction, rather than scattering in multiple directions as regular light does. Animals with polarized light detection have specialized photoreceptor cells in their eyes. These cells contain aligned pigments sensitive to the direction of light waves. This ability works almost like a built-in pair of polarized sunglasses, helping animals cut through glare and better detect objects against bright or reflective backgrounds. Polarized light detection serves different purposes across species, like navigation, finding food, avoiding predators, and communication. Among the lucky wearers of these natural sunglasses are cuttlefish and octopuses, bees and ants, butterflies, as well as fish and shrimp.
We might think of animal sight as inferior to ours, but some animals see things beyond our mortal comprehension.
| 🦋Animal | 🌈Number of Colors and Types of Photoreceptors |
| Mantis Shrimp | 12-16 types of photoreceptors |
| Bird (e.g., Pigeon) | 4-5 types of photoreceptors, perceiving millions of colors |
| Bluebottle Butterfly | Up to 15 types of photoreceptors, enabling thousands of color variations |
| Goldfish | 4 types of photoreceptors, seeing colors in UV light range |
| Reindeer | 3-4 types of photoreceptors, including UV vision |
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