MANY PEOPLE THINK THAT DOGS ONLY SEE THE WORLD IN BLACK AND WHITE. HOWEVER, THIS ISN’T ENTIRELY TRUE. WHILE DOGS CAN’T SEE AS MANY COLOURS AS HUMANS, THEY CAN STILL PERCEIVE BLUE AND YELLOW. THEIR COLOUR VISION IS LIMITED COMPARED TO HUMANS, BUT THEY HAVE OTHER VISUAL ADVANTAGES. FOR INSTANCE, DOGS ARE MUCH BETTER AT SEEING IN LOW LIGHT. LET’S EXPLORE WHAT THE WORLD LOOKS LIKE THROUGH A DOG’S EYES!
HOW DO DOGS’ EYES DIFFER FROM HUMANS?
HUMANS CAN PERCEIVE COLOUR THROUGH CONE CELLS IN THE RETINA, AND WE HAVE THREE TYPES OF CONES. THESE CONES ALLOW US TO SEE DIFFERENT SHADES OF RED, GREEN, AND BLUE-VIOLET, WHICH TOGETHER CREATE A FULL COLOUR SPECTRUM.
DOGS, ON THE OTHER HAND, ONLY HAVE TWO TYPES OF CONES THAT CAN PICK UP BLUE-VIOLET AND YELLOW SHADES. THIS MEANS DOGS SEE THE WORLD SIMILARLY TO HUMANS WHO ARE RED-GREEN COLOURBLIND. THEY CANNOT PERCEIVE RED OR GREEN AND INSTEAD SEE EVERYTHING IN SHADES OF BLUE AND YELLOW.
NIGHT VISION: DOGS HAVE THE EDGE
WHILE HUMANS MAY HAVE THE ADVANTAGE IN COLOUR VISION, DOGS DEFINITELY OUTSHINE US IN NIGHT VISION. THIS IS BECAUSE DOGS’ EYES GATHER MORE LIGHT THAN OURS, ALLOWING THEM TO SEE BETTER IN LOW-LIGHT CONDITIONS. THE RETINA OF A DOG IS MOSTLY MADE UP OF ROD CELLS, WHICH ARE SENSITIVE TO LIGHT AND HELP DOGS SEE WELL EVEN IN DIM ENVIRONMENTS.
FUN FACTS ABOUT DOGS’ VISION
1. DOGS ARE GREAT AT DETECTING MOVEMENT
DOGS’ RETINAS CONTAIN MORE ROD CELLS THAN HUMANS, WHICH ENHANCES THEIR ABILITY TO DETECT MOTION. THIS ABILITY IS ESPECIALLY USEFUL WHEN SPOTTING SMALL PREY, LIKE SQUIRRELS.
2. WIDER FIELD OF VISION
DOGS HAVE A WIDER FIELD OF VISION COMPARED TO HUMANS. THEIR EYES ARE POSITIONED SLIGHTLY FARTHER APART, WHICH ALLOWS THEM TO SEE FURTHER TO THE SIDE IN EACH DIRECTION.
3. DOGS HAVE BLURRY LONG-DISTANCE VISION
HUMANS WITH PERFECT VISION HAVE 20/20 VISION, WHILE DOGS TYPICALLY HAVE 20/65 TO 20/85 VISION. THIS MEANS THAT A DOG HAS TO BE ABOUT 20 FEET AWAY TO READ SOMETHING THAT A HUMAN WITH 20/20 VISION CAN READ AT 65 OR 85 FEET.
4. CLOSE-UP VISION IS NOT AS CLEAR
DOGS CAN SEE THINGS CLEARLY IF THEY’RE AT LEAST 13 TO 20 INCHES AWAY FROM THEIR EYES. IF AN OBJECT IS CLOSER, THE IMAGE MAY BECOME BLURRY. HUMANS, ON THE OTHER HAND, CAN SEE OBJECTS AS CLOSE AS 10 INCHES AWAY.
5. DOGS RECOGNISE YOU BY SHAPE AND MOTION
IF YOUR DOG RECOGNISES YOU FROM A DISTANCE, IT’S NOT BECAUSE IT CAN SEE THE DETAILS OF YOUR FACE, LIKE A HUMAN WOULD. INSTEAD, IT RECOGNISES YOU BY YOUR SHAPE AND THE WAY YOU MOVE.
“THE EYES OF A DOG MAY NOT SEE THE WORLD IN THE SAME COLOURS AS OURS, BUT THEIR HEART SEES IT IN THE PUREST WAY POSSIBLE.”
IN CONCLUSION: A WORLD OF BLUR, BUT STILL AMAZING
WHILE DOGS MAY NOT HAVE THE SAME COLOUR VISION AS HUMANS, THEY ARE FAR FROM BEING VISUALLY CHALLENGED. THEIR ABILITY TO DETECT MOVEMENT, SEE BETTER AT NIGHT, AND HAVE A WIDER FIELD OF VISION MAKES THEM UNIQUELY ADAPTED TO THEIR ENVIRONMENT. SO, EVEN THOUGH THEY SEE THE WORLD DIFFERENTLY, THEIR VISION IS MORE THAN ENOUGH FOR THEM TO NAVIGATE AND THRIVE.
