What Colors Do Dogs See?

In the thread about Frisbees it got me thinking about the time I selected one for Mishka because of the colors they don't see so well. I chose a blue one so it could be seen on the grass. I don't think it would have made much difference though as they can still see movement.

 

From what I have read, the way that dogs see makes them very well-suited for hunting. Things which are not moving appear as shades of gray. When something moves, it turns into full color for the dog. This helps the dog to instantly see the prey.

This is also the reason why small animals running away from dogs may suddenly freeze when they feel that they are far enough from the dogs. When they stop moving, they tend to blend into the background, as far the dogs' vision is concerned.

 

I'd never known of that before. It has something to do with background contrast?

 

I thought they saw it color blind. Like green and red?

What they lack in sight, they make up in having a wider hearing range and a better sense of smell. I believe they can smell 20 times better.

 

This is really fascinating to me because we've had discussions about dogs and color recently. You see, Misha has 4 toys that are shades of blue that are her favorites. When all the toys are together, she will almost always chose to play with these first. I don't think it is texture because she has a three different color hedgehogs, but she prefers the blue one.

I see from that chart that blue is one of the spectrums they see well. This might explain her favoritism towards those blue toys.

Thanks for sharing this. It's very informative!

 

That part about blue is interesting. It brings up two possibilities. One would be that anyone wanting to keep out of sight of dogs should wear blue. The other is to make dog food in blue color. Do you think dog food in blue would sell?

 

I think it's the blue, Kottons favorite toy is blue and she will dig through the "toy box" until she finds it, but koko's favorite toy is brown...all of hers that she plays with are brown. Kash's favorite toy is whatever the other two are playing with

 

So you are saying next time I'm running away from a police dog change into a blue shirt?
I've also noticed bumble bees are attracedt to blue. Wearing clothes that colour can be annoying having the bees bumping into you in a hot house.
Blue dog food. No way! Don't they market dog food that tempts the owner to buy it? Wild caught salmon slices with a dill cream cheese dog food would sell much better. Funny that blue food can scare humans off. Except maybe blueberries and...

 

LOL argon...I have noticed that the dog food is marketed more towards us...even using flavors...have you ever tried your dog's food? Hmmm blueberry and liver...

 

Erk. Blueberry and liver.Mmm.
I will stick with squid in a Chardonnay sauce. I'm sure Mishka will get used to that.