+7 votes
in General Factchecking by Apprentice (1.1k points)
by Apprentice (1.0k points)
For many years, the answer was yes. Dog’s are kind of the same as humans since they have rods and cones. According to PetKeen,“Rods are used to detect motion and light. Cones are used to distinguish between colors”. For dogs, dichromatic vision allows dogs to see colors like green and yellow.

https://petkeen.com/do-dogs-see-black-and-white/
by (140 points)
Going over the article, dogs can actually see color. They just have less cones so they're not able to see the full color spectrum like humans do. They do have more rods letting them see better shades of black and white which helps in the dark.
by (160 points)
This is a false statement dogs can see more than just black and white, while their sight color spectrum is limited they can see a collection of grey, brown, yellow, and blue. During the season they have limited sight colors because dogs only have 2 types of cones which is 20 percent of the cones human eyes have. With the 2 cones, they also struggle to see different hues of the same color. There is more information on this topic at the Purina online site.

57 Answers

+1 vote
by Apprentice (1.0k points)
This claim is false. According to https://sites.psu.edu/siowfa15/2015/09/16/dogs-can-only-see-in-black-and-white-myth-or-fact/, the idea that dogs cannot see color is a myth. It is stated that dogs can see what humans call color blindness. Most dogs can only see shades of blue and yellow.
False
+1 vote
by Apprentice (1.8k points)
This is not a valid claim!

Dogs can see some colors, but not as many as humans. Dogs have two color receptors (humans have three). This means that dogs can't see shades of red and green very well. Instead, they are better at seeing blues and yellows. However, even though they don't see as many colors as we humans do, dogs are still good at seeing in low light and noticing movement. They rely on their senses of smell and hearing a lot too, which helps them get around and understand the world.

https://www.petmd.com/dog/general-health/what-colors-do-dogs-see/

https://www.forbes.com/advisor/pet-insurance/pet-care/what-colors-do-dogs-see/

https://www.rd.com/article/can-dogs-see-color/
False
by Genius (41.7k points)
Nice work providing multiple sources to back up your fact-check!
+1 vote
by Novice (860 points)
While this was thought to be the truth for many years it was recently discovered by scientist that this is false. The Adelaide Vet posted "Cats and dogs have two types of cones, which are sensitive to blue and green light. This means they have a useful level of color vision". This determines that dogs are able to see colors in blue and green not black and white.

Link: https://adelaidevet.com.au/pet-library/can-animals-see-colour/#:~:text=It%20was%20once%20thought%20that,the%20eye%20called%20cone%20photoreceptors.
+1 vote
by Newbie (450 points)
The claim that dogs can only see black and white is false. According to American Kennel Club, dogs have a form of color vision known as dichromatic vision, which allows them to see certain colors, such as green and yellow. The retina plays an important role in color perception. Humans are trichromatic, meaning they have three types of cones that register different light wavelengths, allowing them to see a range of colors. On the other hand, dogs are dichromatic, having only two types of cones. While they may not see the same full spectrum of colors as humans, they can still perceive some colors.

https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/health/can-dogs-see-color/
False
+1 vote
by Novice (670 points)
Dogs can't see the same colors as humans however they still can see some. According to American Kennel Club, dogs have more rods in their retina whereas people have more cones. This is the key difference in color perception between dogs and people. Dogs are missing red-green cones. Through a dog's eyes, red, pink, and orange will blend into the grass.

Dogs can see colors but lack the ability to see some so their world appears a lot more grayish-brown but not black and white.

https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/health/can-dogs-see-color/
False
+1 vote
by Newbie (480 points)

The prior idea that dogs can only see black and white is a myth. According to the American Kennel Club, "Scientists now believe that a dog’s color vision is similar to that of a person who has red-green color blindness, according to research conducted by Jay Neitz, who runs the Neitz Color Vision Lab in the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Washington." This means that dogs can make out yellow and blue, and combinations of those colors, leaving the world mostly grayish-brown. 

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

False
+1 vote
by Apprentice (1.5k points)

It's False! (thankfully)

Color vision in dogs is more limited than in humans. This is explained in detail on the website Dogs Naturally. "Your dog's eyes...only have two cones - blue and yellow," it says. This is known as dichromatic vision, and it implies that while your dog can see color, his experience of it is subdued when compared to that of a human. The most significant difference is that dogs cannot interpret red light, making it difficult for them to discriminate between different hues." Red and green, as well as hues including them, are examples of colors that dogs are unable to process. The American Kennel Club (AKC) explains where this misconception came from. According to the AKC, "the idea that dogs perceive solely in black and white has been credited to Will Judy, a lifelong dog enthusiast, writer, and former publisher of Dog Week magazine...'All the exterior environment appears to them as shifting flashes of black and gray,' Judy wrote in his 1937 textbook "Training the Dog." https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/health/can-dogs-see-color/

False
+1 vote
by Novice (860 points)

False! https://www.purina.com/articles/dog/care/can-dogs-see-color#:~:text=Dogs'%20eyes%20only%20have%202,experience%20red%2Dgreen%20color%20blindness.

According to this article from Purina, dogs are able to see more colors than just black and white! Because dogs only have two cones, they are able to see brown, shades of grey, blue and yellow. While they can't see all the colors, rest assured your fur babies aren't living in an old movie!

Dogs’ eyes only have 2 types of cones (just 20 percent of the cones in human eyes). Because of this, a dog’s color spectrum is limited to shades of gray, brown, yellow and blue.

False
+1 vote
by Novice (700 points)

This is false. A scientific study was done that tested dog's preferences for visual stimuli and results showed "dogs preferred to choose the test stimuli according to the chromaticity, not the brightness." Therefore, dogs seem to know color and can tell it apart from brightness.

https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2013.1356

False
+1 vote
by Novice (600 points)

This is false,

According to the article, "Scientists now believe that a dog’s color vision is similar to that of a person who has red-green color blindness, according to research conducted by Jay Neitz, who runs the Neitz Color Vision Lab in the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Washington". This conception was created because dogs have more rods than cones with humans having more cones than rods in the retina. 

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

False

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