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 claim is false. It is a myth that dogs can only see shades of grey, but it is true that dogs have a smaller range of color vision than humans do. Will Judy hypothesized that dogs only saw in black and white in 1937. The American Kennel Club released a well-researched article about the history behind the myth and the science behind the actual color range that dogs have and it appears to be hues of blues and yellows as opposed to the idea that it is a range of greys.

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

https://caninechronicle.com/current-articles/the-encyclopedic-dog-lover-will-judy/

Answer 2

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

    The claim that dogs cant see color is false, The link above is a website that explains how the common belief that dogs only see in black and white is a myth. Dogs actually can see some colors, though their vision is different from humans. They have two types of color-detecting cones instead of three, allowing them to see blues and yellows clearly, while reds and greens appear as gray or brown. Their eyes are also better adapted for detecting movement and seeing in low light. Because of this, toys and training tools in blue or yellow are easier for dogs to see than those that are red or orange.

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

   The link above explains is similar to my first link and goes into depth on the myth that animals only see in black and white has been debunked by scientific studies. Color perception in animals, including cats and dogs, depends on cells in the eye called cone photoreceptors. Dogs and cats have two types of cone cells sensitive to blue and green light, whereas humans have three, red, blue and green. Because of this, cats and dogs have a limited color spectrum they can’t differentiate reds and oranges as well as humans can, often confusing red and green. Most animals do have some level of colour vision, and only very few examples such as a certain fish species are confirmed to see purely in black and white.

Answer 3

The claim that “dogs only see in black and white” is false. Many people have heard this over the years, but modern science has proven it wrong. According to the BBC article “How Dogs See the World,” dogs actually do have color vision. The article says, “Despite what you may have heard, this doggy world is much more than monochrome.” It also explains that dogs see the world kind of like people who are red-green color-blind. This means they can see shades of blue and yellow, but they don’t see reds and greens. So while dogs don’t see the full range of colors that we do, they definitely don’t see the world in just black and white.
The myth that dogs are completely color-blind started way back in the day.. Before the 1960s, scientists didn’t have the technology to study how dogs’ eyes worked in detail. Because they couldn’t find evidence of color-detecting cone cells, they assumed dogs could only see in shades of gray. But later research using advanced tools and experiments proved that dogs do have cone cells that allow them to see some colors.
Modern studies, supported by sources like the American Kennel Club (AKC) and Scientific American, have helped explain this better. These sources show that dogs’ vision is just  limited compared to humans, but not colorless all together.. For example, dogs might see a bright red toy as a dark brown or grayish color, but they can easily tell the difference between a blue ball and a yellow one. Their color vision helps them recognize certain objects, even if they don’t see colors as vividly as we do. Their world might not be as colorful as ours, but it’s definitely not just shades of gray.

https://www.sciencefocus.com/nature/how-do-dogs-see-the-world?utm_source=chatgpt.com
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/health/can-dogs-see-color/

Answer 4

This claim is false/misleading, as dogs do not just see in black and white. There is no additional sources or links to confirm any reasoning behind this claim. Without this information, it can be assumed to just be a false claim. 

According to the American Kennel Club, this claim had first been made by Will Judy, who was a publisher of Dog Weekly magazine. He also claimed that dogs can only see vague outlines and not full shades or shapes. He stated that “It’s likely that all the external world appears to them as varying highlights of black and gray,”.

In more recent studies, it is shown that dogs have a different color spectrum then us, and that they don’t just see black and white. According to Dr. Jerry Klein of the American Kennel Club, “canine eyes have a larger lens and corneal surface and a reflective membrane, known as a tapetum, that enhances night vision,” https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/health/can-dogs-see-color/

Answer 5

This claim, that dogs can only see black and white, is false. I fact checked this claim by looking at an article from the American Kennel Association, which says humans have three types of color receptors, or cones, in their eyes, whereas dogs only have two types and they lack the red-green cones. These receptors help distinguish and control color perception. It states dogs can see some colors such as yellow and blue but have a harder time seeing reds and greens. So while dogs can’t see as much color as humans they definitely don’t just see black and white.

Source:

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

Answer 6

This claim has been proven false by multiple credible sources, Many people have assumed that dogs see the world in black and white, but scientific research shows otherwise. Dogs have two types of color receptors (cones), allowing them to see shades of yellow and blue. though their vision is limited compared to humans they do not just see black and white. A good way to grasp dogs vision is comparing it to seeing only muted colors.

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

Answer 7

While there's no initial source added, which would already lead me to believe that this claim is false, the question of "Can dogs only see in black and white?" has been long proven false. Dogs cannot see the same range of colors that we do as Humans, but they can see more than just black and white. To put it simply, dogs are red-green colorblind, which means that they can't see the red and green electromagnetic spectrum, but they can see shades of yellow and blue. The ability to see colors depends on the amount of cones that we have in our eyes (humans have 3, which is why we can see red. Dogs have two, which is why they can't). So, no, dogs do not only see black and white.

Sources:

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

https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/do-dogs-see-color

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

Answer 8

The claim that "Dogs can only see black and white" I found to be false. Dogs can see colors, while blue and yellow hues are more in their color range; they cannot see reds or greens as humans can. This claim must have come from early research at a time when scientists really didn't understand the inner workings of how dogs and their eyes work. A primary source I found was a 1989 Vision Research study by Neitz, Geist, and Jacobs, which proved that dogs have two color receptors in their eyes. In terms of secondary sources, both Scientific American and Snopes explain how dogs are dichromatic, and the black-and-white idea is a complete fluke.

Furthermore, we can see the biases where AKC focuses on pet owners, Scientific American simplifies science and makes it more digestible to read, and Snopes is known for its myth-busting abilities. Noting that all of the research points to these sources being experts in the fields that they study. The only evidence that supports the claim that "Dogs can only see black and white" comes from an old assumption that was made before modern testing even existed. On the flip side there is evidence against it which includes lab studies which even show dogs can tell apart blue and yellow objects, furthuring the point that they can see color.

Sources!

https://doi.org/10.1017/S0952523800004430
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-colors-do-dogs-see/https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/dog-eyesight-shades-blue-yellow/https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/health/can-dogs-see-color/https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13423-017-1404-7https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3730601/

Answer 9

No this is not true, but they have a point. According the American Kennel Club, dogs do not see only in black and white. Modern studies of canine eye structure show that dogs can perceive some colors, just not as vividly as humans. In this article they explain that dogs have two types of color-detecting cones in their retinas whereas humans have three. This means dogs can see shades of yellow and blue, but they cannot distinguish red and green, which often appear as gray or brown to them. So, although dogs’ color vision is limited compared to ours, they do not only see in black and white. So while this claim is untrue, it also misleading and exaggerated because dog's do not see all the colors that we do, but it is far from plain black and white. 

Source: 

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

Answer 10

According to the American Kennel Club, dogs are able to see more than just black and white. They can’t see the whole spectrum of color like humans can, but dogs are able to see blue and yellow. They have only two color receptors compared to the human eye’s three. The Patton Veterinary Hospital states that dogs can’t see red or orange. These both look black or brown to dogs. They have no problem seeing blue or yellow. These sources both proved that dogs aren’t colorblind. 
 

Sources: 
https://pattonvethospital.com/blog/1155205-do-dogs-see-in-black-and-white_2

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