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

Dogs do not only see in black and white. According to the American Kennel Club, dogs do not have the same color vision as humans but they still see more color than just black and white. Dogs have dichromatic vision instead of trichromatic that humans have. Meaning they have more rods than cones in their retina. And they have only two types of cones rather than three. Dogs can make out yellow and blue and a combination of those two colors.

https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/health/can-dogs-see-color/#:~:text=vision-,Can%20dogs%20see%20color?,more%20than%20shades%20of%20gray.

Answer 2

This statement is false. 

From the VCA Animal Hospitals, dogs CAN see color. They have three types of cones that can display combinations of red, blue, and green. The American Kennel Club states, "The notion that dogs see only in shades of black and white has been attributed to Will Judy, a lifelong dog fancier, writer, and past publisher of Dog Week magazine." 

Dogs do have limited color accessibility compared to humans, according to the American Kennel Club, but they do not see strictly black and white. 

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

https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/do-dogs-see-color#:~:text=Human%20eyes%20have%20three%20types,perception%20is%20called%20dichromatic%20vision.

https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/do-dogs-see-color#:~:text=Human%20eyes%20have%20three%20types,perception%20is%20called%20dichromatic%20vision.

Answer 3

The claim Dogs can only see black and white is false. 

According to Are Dogs color blind? Understanding how dogs see color, The popular notion that dogs can only see black, white, and various shades of gray is incorrect. The truth is, while dogs can’t see the same colors as humans do, they can still see some colors. 

Here’s why. Both humans and dogs are able to see thanks to two main types of cells in the retina – rods, which detect light levels and motion, and cones that help us to differentiate colors. Human eyes have three different types of cones, which allow us to identify combinations of red, blue, and green. Dogs, on the other hand, have only two types of cones, which means they can only discern blue and yellow. As a result, dogs are red-green color blind.

https://spca.bc.ca/news/how-dogs-see-colour/

Answer 4

This is a general misconception that changed in the 80s when Jay Neitz, PHD, discovered that dogs can see color through cones in their retinas. While us humans have three cones dogs only have two similar to other mammals like cats. Because of this dogs may not have as great a color range than us humans but can see color nonetheless. (https://ophthalmology.washington.edu/news/dr-jay-neitz-featured-in-article-on-canine-eyesight)

Answer 5

According to VCA animal hospitals, dogs can indeed see more than black and white. Humans have three cones that allow us to see a large variety of colors while dogs only have two. Although this inhibits their ability to see certain colors that doesn't mean everything is black and white. The limited color perception they posses is called dichromatic vision.

https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/do-dogs-see-color#:~:text=Human%20eyes%20have%20three%20types,perception%20is%20called%20dichromatic%20vision.

Answer 6

This claim was easy to prove as false. The article I found states that for a long time, scientists thought that dogs could only see black and white. However, they have a different color spectrum than humans and can see blues and yellows but not red and greens. How animals see the world is ultimately beyond color as they are still intelligent and color doesn't affect their physical functions.

Comments

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

Answer 7

Although for a long time people believed that dogs did only see in black in white, recent studies show that this claim is false. Dogs have dichromatic vision, similar to humans with color blindness, where they are only able to see blue, yellow, gray, and brown. 

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

https://www.purina.com/articles/dog/behavior/understanding-dogs/can-dogs-see-color#:~:text=to%20certain%20colors.-,What%20Colors%20Do%20Dogs%20See%3F,experience%20red%2Dgreen%20color%20blindness.

Answer 8

This claim is untrue. Dogs can see blue and yellow. Dogs possess only two types of cones, and can only discern blue and yellow. This is called dichromatic vision. Humans have more "cones" in our eyes, which allow us to see more colors. Dogs have more "rods" in their eyes, allowing them to have better vision along the lines of movement. Dogs can perceive different colors, they are just not able to see the true color. Dogs eyes are created like this so that they can survive in the wild if need be, and are able to pick up on the movement of predators and improve their hunting abilities.

https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/do-dogs-see-color#:~:text=Dogs%20possess%20only%20two%20types,perception%20is%20called%20dichromatic%20vision.

My source was VCA animal hospitals, which is a very accredited and reliable chain of veterinary hospitals. I have background in veterinary medicine, and VCA has proven to be very trustworthy with their information.

To conclude, dogs do not just see black and white, but they see green and yellow, similar to a certain type of human color-blindness.

Answer 9

The claim that dogs can only see black and white is false. According to the American Kennel Club dogs can see "yellow and blue and combinations of those colors" so it is true that dogs cannot see colors the way humans do however they do not only see in black and white. Dog's vision is adapted based on their survival need of tracking and hunting their food at night, this means that they have a larger lens, corneal surface, and reflective membrane. Additionally, they have more rods, which enable better vision in low light. Cones are what work in bright light and control color perception. The reason that the spectrum of color is smaller in dogs than humans is because dogs have more rods than cones in their retina, dogs have two cones while humans have three. So while dogs have a smaller range of color, they do not see in black and white.

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

Answer 10

This claim is false, it is a common misconception that dogs can only see in black and white, but we now have the evidence to prove this isn't true. " In all animals, including humans, the perception of colour is determined by the presence of cells in the eye called cone photoreceptors. Cats and dogs have two kinds of cones, which are sensitive to blue and green light. This means they have a useful level of colour vision.  The level of colour vision in other animals depends on the presence and types of the cones." (AdelaideVet). What is true is dogs and cats are colorblind. 

https://adelaidevet.com.au/pet-library/can-animals-see-colour/