On a walk with a non-dog-owning friend recently, my dog froze and stared intently ahead.
We could see nothing.
So my friend asked, “What’s he staring at?”
This prompted a little dissertation on Vision in the Dog! Perhaps she wished she hadn’t asked by the end of it - but as a multi-cat-owner she was actually very interested. 😊
Dog Vision
The first thing to note is what colours dogs can see.
For us, colour is possibly the first thing we notice. For dogs it has far less importance.
They do see blue and yellow, but the colours aren’t strong. This means that a red toy in green grass is very hard for them to find visually - this is why you’ll see your dog hunting with his nose to locate the item.
Blue or yellow or white or black are much more likely to be spotted by them.
Incidentally, this is why sheepdogs are traditionally black and white. These “colours” are easy to spot at a distance, for us as well as the dogs. Border Collies come in many colours, but bright blue and yellow have not yet appeared as variants!
Altogether the dog’s colour vision is pretty murky.
So what DO dogs see?
Dogs are hunters. And as such, they are attuned to movement. That’s what they see!
We can look at a beautiful vista and see trees, a lake, sky, clouds, grass in the foreground …
Dogs see a bunny twitching his whiskers under a distant tree; a bird landing on a branch; some leaves disturbed by wind or a tiny creature; a grazing animal lifting its head in the field …
As hunters, this is what they need to be able to spot!
Also, dogs are crepuscular.
This means they are most active at dawn and dusk - when their prey is also most active.
Their eyes are adapted to see well in low light. They have something called Tapetum lucidum which reflects what light there is in the eye, and enables them to see well in the dark.
Interestingly, my Border Collie Rollo was afraid of the dark - he couldn’t see well at night. And this is because his eyes were partly blue and he didn’t have this layer of reflective cells behind the retina.
Dogs’ eyes are perfect for their purpose
So you can see that while dogs’ vision is very different from ours, it’s perfectly suited to what they were designed to do.
Of course, scent is incredibly important too, and 30% of the dog’s brain is devoted to this.
How can you utilise this knowledge now to work with your dog?
Find out which colour toys suit him best, close up and at a distance
Observe what he’s likely to be looking at, rather than say he’s staring, or barking, at nothing. Just because we can’t see it, doesn’t mean it isn’t there!
Encourage him to use his nose, with scent games, hide and seek, and so on. He’ll find this tiring and most satisfying.
By the way, to tell which animals are hunters and which are prey, follow this nice rhyme:
Eyes to the front, hunt! Eyes to the side, hide!
It applies to birds as well as mammals.
Sea creatures not so much - the shark has eyes on the side of its head and cannot see immediately in front of its face. But they hunt largely by scent, and close in with a Tapetum lucidum ten times stronger than a cat’s - so they really can see well in deep, dark, waters.
Think of some predators now - cats, small and big; dogs/wolves/foxes - all canids; bears; hawks, owls, vultures; frogs, lizards, some snakes.
And prey - mice, rabbits, all small furries; songbirds; fish.
And for a great way to use your dog’s visual ability, teach him a fantastic retrieve! Here you go:
