Because of this, dogs see the world in mainly two colors: blue-violet and green-yellow. They can't tell the difference between green, yellow, orange, or red. These colors all look like shades of yellow to them.
It's also worth noting that dogs struggle to tell the difference between blue-green and gray. So that teal toy you love? We all know dogs are colorblind-or do we? Many people assume pups see the world in black and white, but that's actually a myth. While their vision is different from ours, it's far from colorless.
In fact, dogs can see some colors, it's just not the full rainbow human eyes experience every day. Can dogs see color, or are they color blind? Research shows that while dogs can't see the same colors humans do, they can see some shades and combinations. There is some research around dog color blindness, but we still have more questions than answers.
Dog color vision is described as dichromatic, or "two-colored." Dogs are good at distinguishing between variations of blues and yellows, but they can't see red and green well. Dogs see the world similarly to humans with red. Have you ever wondered whether your dog could see (and appreciate) the striking pink or nuanced teal color of a new toy? Humans on TikTok are using a dog vision filter to help answer this question.
Why should humans be curious about the colors that dogs see? Many dog owners like to "get inside the mind" of a dog to be able to pick out toys and other items that appeal to a dog's color vision. Understanding the color vision of dogs can also be useful when training dogs to respond to or retrieve objects. How dogs see the world is very different to humans, and can only distinguish between blue and yellow hues.
It is widely believed dogs see in black and white. But recent studies have proven otherwise for what colors dogs can see. Dogs can see the colors we identify as blue, yellow and some shades of gray.
While a human's visual cones are able to detect 3 different colors (blue, red and green) and its combinations, a dog's visual cone can only detect 2 (blue and yellow). This limited color perception is called dichromatic vision. To fully understand, take a look at the image above for a visual comparison.
Wondering what colors your dog can see? We break down everything you need to know about dog color capacity and vision in this article so that you can better understand your dog.