Question

Dogs can only see black and white

Comments

It seems that the claim was untrue and misleading. It was proven wrong by many sources before, and it originated from an author of DogWeek Magazine. Great fact check!

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This claim is seemingly incorrect, as there’s no source to back up the claim.

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I really like how this explains the myth in a simple, easy to understand way! The comparison to red/green color blindness makes it super clear, and the AKC citation is a nice touch it makes the info feel really credible. Great job!

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The claim that dogs can only see black and white is false. Dogs can see shades of blue and yellow, but have difficulty distinguishing between red and green.

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The claim that "Dogs can only see black and white" has long been a popular and widley shared belief. However, recent scientific research has proved that this myth is incorrect. Supporting the idea that dogs do see color, however, not in the way that humans do. I discovered that dogs have only 20% of the cells that humans have, which are for detecting color. (Pedigree, 2025). Because of the lack of cells that dogs have, their vision is more limited, only seeing yellow and blue shades. Many media sources altered the assumption that dogs only see in black and white, without prven evidence.However, research specifically in veterinary studies has provided evidence that while dogs do not see the full spectrum of colors like humans, they are not colorblind in the way previously thought, only susceptible to certain shades.
Sources: https://www.pedigree.com/dog-care-articles/our-help-hub/training-resources/do-dogs-see-only-in-black-and-white

Answer 1

This has been proven false over more recent years. According to American Kennel Club, "Dogs can make out yellow and blue, and combinations of those colors. This renders a lot of the world grayish-brown. That lush green lawn? It probably looks like a field of dead hay. That bright red velvet cushion? Still comfy, but it probably comes across as a dark brown blob to the dog." This states that dogs can see color, just not the same way humans do. Another article, Scientific American, states, "It turns out that dogs possess two types of color-sensing receptors, called cones, in their retinas. This makes them similar to most mammals—including cats, cattle and pigs—and unlike humans, who have three cones." This presents why dogs see colors differently than humans but still see color.

https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/health/can-dogs-see-color/

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-colors-do-dogs-see/

Answer 2

This claim is false. It is a common mistake that people think that the only colors dogs see are black and white. Through research and investigation we know that this claim is false. According to Penn State University, dog's eyes are fairly similar to human eyes and have cones and rods just like us. Although we contain a lot more cones than dogs which allows us to see colors like, blue, red, green and yellow. Dogs on the other hand only contain a small amount of cones and can only see the colors blue and yellow. This is also equivalent to the amount a human with colorblindness can see. In conclusion, this claim is false and dogs can see color but only a limited amount! 

https://sites.psu.edu/siowfa15/2015/09/16/dogs-can-only-see-in-black-and-white-myth-or-fact/

Answer 3

Based on my research, I've come to the conclusion that the claim is false. Its scientific proven that although dogs have less color- sensing receptors than humans, they aren't limited to just seeing black and white. The article I chose states when this discovery happened. "The myth was finally debunked in 1989 when ophthalmologist Jay Neitz, then at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and his colleagues discovered that canines could see blues and yellows but not reds and greens. Some humans, about 8 percent of men and 0.5 percent of women, are similarly red-green color-blind." 

What Colors Do Dogs See? | Scientific American

Answer 4

This claim is false, dogs don't see the world in black and white, they actually perceive colors. They just cannot see as vividly as humans. Dogs can see shades of blue and yellow. But dogs struggle to tell the difference between red and green. Therefore making their color vision similar to the  red/green color blindness in humans. For instance, what looks "red" to us may look "yellow" to a dog, and "green" might look like a shade of gray. This  comes from studies on canine vision, which have shown that dog's visual spectrum is limited compared to humans, but it's certainly not just black and white. 

American Kennel Club. (2025). Can dogs see color? Retrieved from https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/health/can-dogs-see-color/

Answer 5

Don't worry, you're not experiencing the Mandela affect! The idea that dogs can ONLY see black and white, has been the general consensus among doctors and veterinarians forever. Recent studies have shown that the original claim on dogs color sight may be false. "As it turns out, dogs have only 20% of the cone photoreceptor cells - that humans have" (Pedigree). Now that doesn't mean dogs have perfect vision but it does mean they can see color. Dogs are able to see certain shades of the better half of the color wheel which means our initial claim was wrong or we are watching an evolutionary step of the dog. "While we can't ask dogs to read an eye chart or pick out colors, behavioral tests suggest that dogs can see in shades of yellow and blue and lack the ability to see the range of colors from green to red" (Pedigree). It's super interesting to read about new discoveries like this as it allows you to understand animals much more in depth!

https://www.pedigree.com/dog-care-articles/our-help-hub/training-resources/do-dogs-see-only-in-black-and-white

Answer 6

This is false. According to Pedigree, a recent study has shown that dogs actually do have some color in their vision. As stated in their article," dogs have only 20% of the cone photoreceptor cells the part of the eye that controls the perception of color that humans have." In addition, studies shown in behavioral tests suggest that dogs can see in yellow and blue. Pedigree mentioned," In other words, dogs see the colors of the world as basically yellow, blue, and grey." 

https://www.pedigree.com/dog-care-articles/our-help-hub/training-resources/do-dogs-see-only-in-black-and-white

Answer 7

This claim is false, dogs can see more colors than just black and white. Although it is difficult to get a fully accurate idea of all the colors dogs can see, various studies with different colored toys for instance, shows a keen sense of color of blues and yellows, whereas a color like red is more difficult for a dog to see-- if you ever noticed your dog run past a red toy in the grass it's due to their incapability to properly distinguish red. Although they do not have the capacity to see the entire spectrum of colors like humans, they can still see different hues.

https://www.pedigree.com/dog-care-articles/our-help-hub/training-resources/do-dogs-see-only-in-black-and-white

https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/health/can-dogs-see-color/

Answer 8

It appears that this is a false claim with no sources to back it up. In this article, it is said that dogs have two cones that can see and respond to blue and yellow lights. This is because dogs have dichromatic vision and therefore can't see greens and reds.

https://adelaidevet.com.au/pet-library/can-animals-see-colour#:~:text=It%20was%20once%20thought%20that,the%20eye%20called%20cone%20photoreceptors.

Answer 9

The claim that dogs can only see in black and white is false. This claim was once believed to be true and has since sparked many discussions, however, multiple sources have proved it wrong. Although dogs do have less range of vision than humans, they can still see colors other than black and white. An article by Scientific America explains that “dogs possess two types of color-sensing receptors, called cones, in their retinas. This makes them similar to most mammals–including cats, cattle and pigs–and unlike humans, who have three cones.” This essentially means that dogs can see shades of yellow and blue but not red and green. The article also points out there are many other factors that need to be considered when discussing a dog's vision, as it isn’t as simple as seeing only yellow and blue. Another article, written by the American Kennel Club, goes into more detail about why this is the case, saying that dogs have evolved this way due to their need to hunt at night. This is why they have more rods and different color perception. 

Sources: 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-colors-do-dogs-see/ 

https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/health/can-dogs-see-color/ 

Answer 10

Although I agree with your fact check and I appreciate the article attached, I think your claim would benefit from another stronger source. The article you linked does back up your claim, but it isn't extensive and doesn't provide much evidence, so I would suggest finding a second source that does so. You could also explain why dogs see the way they do instead of only stating that they see some colors.