How does the dog see? Everything you need to know

Have you ever wondered how dogs see?

Or which is the difference between the eyesight of a dog and that of a human being?

You’ll probably be curious to find out if he distinguishes colors or if he has a black and white vision, if at night he sees clearly to peacefully walk around the house or if he gropes in the dark like us.

Well, we can actually assure you that these are not banal questions at all!

Knowing more about your puppy will allow you to take care of him in best possible way.

Curiosities about dog vision

Let’s try to shed light on it, in order to better understand your furry friend and to face life with him with awareness.
Let’s find out together which are the main faq about dog vision and everything related to it.

Do dogs see colors?

Yes, but not like us.
This is a widespread rumor, but not correct. Dogs, in fact, have a colour vision but with a lower intensity than the human being. This allows them to distinguish distant subjects much better than the close ones.
But, there’s an exception: when they open their little eyes for the first time, when they are newborn, they are blind and for this reason they completely depend on their mother up to 3 weeks of life.
In any case it is good to keep in mind that until they’re 3 months old they still don’t see everything and every color clearly.

Dog’s vision is called dichromatic: it means that he’s able to see blue and yellow shades, while other colors are perceived as different shades of grey. As shown in pictures, his vision is very similar to someone with red-green color blindness. It seems to be proved by an Italian study in which a team of experts subjected a group of dogs to the Ishihara test – the same used in colorblind subjects – showing them a series of cats, with different shade colors, while moving.

The result? They couldn’t distinguish the various shades of green and red.

How do dogs see in the dark and at night?

Dogs, thanks to the tapetum lucidum, see much better than us in darkness.

The tapetum lucidum is a layer located behind the eye that allows light to be reflected towards the retina and therefore to increase the amount of light captured. A bit like when we want to take a picture and we increase the exposure time to make it clearer.

For this reason, when he’s located in an environment with low brightness, your loyal friend has the skill to move more easily than you.

Differences between dog and human eye

Why are there such differences between human and dog vision?

It is important to underline that visual ability is not just good or bad. The ways in which we can distinguish an object depend on four key factors: brightness, movement, texture and color.

So let’s discover together the meaning of these 4 key factors:

• brightness: as previously said, dogs have a better ability to see in the dark thanks to the particular structure of the eye which allow them to absorb more light from the outside;
• movement: dogs, as real predators, have developed a remarkable ability to keep the focus on objects in movement. This happens thanks to the greater density of the rods in the retina: these photoreceptors absorb more light consequently they allow dogs to keep the attention steady on the dynamic object;
• texture: it is the impression given by the surface of an object, which affects the perception of the depth, shape and size of the object itself. Humans have a better ability to distinguish the texture of the object, because we have a more structured eye than that of our furry friends;
• color: dichromatic color vision does not allow your dog to distinguish a red ball from a green one, but this is certainly not a limit for him! In fact, he perceives all the other colors as different shades of gray, and it still allows him to differentiate objects.

So, does Fido see better than us?

Yes and no.
If in terms of hearing your dog triumphs unchallenged, in terms of vision we have points against, but also better characteristics in comparison to our furry friends.
Would you have ever said that?

For instance, we can see a wider spectrum of colors; while they, thanks to the position of the eyes, have a much larger amplitude of the visual field and they’re able to see up to 240°.
Our vision is better closer (15cm away is enough for us to distinguish the subject), while theirs is really much much better from afar.

How to protect your dog’s eyes

Protecting your dog’s eyes? How about sunglasses for summer days? What a style!

Seriously, there are some tricks to make sure your pet is fine. We must remember that good vision is important for him to understand what is happening around him. Here are two tips for a peaceful life together with your life partner.

1. Feed him with healthy foods

We know that good nutrition is the basis of a strong health. A correct and balanced diet is exactly what is good for vision. Foods such as carrots, liver, eggs, spinach and broccoli contain high quantities of Beta Carotene, a natural pigment that is beneficial for both the eyesight and the skin and the coat as well, giving a shiny effect and revitalizing the color (in particular for specimens with reddish-fawn coats).

Furthermore, for your four-legged friends, there are specific nutrient-based snacks that help keeping healthy visual function.

2. Keep his eyes clean

It is important to keep in mind the importance of taking care of your puppy’s well-being. Some areas, just like that of the eyes, are particularly sensitive and require to be treated with the utmost care, using high quality products, and with a lot of gentleness.

The eye contour cleansing lotion by Yuup! is the ideal solution for the daily cleansing of dogs’ eyes. Based on decongestant Green Tea, softening Lotus flowers and distilled Euphrasia distilled water, it has a soothing, calming and refreshing effect.

We hope that our advice had been useful to you, because seeing well will allow your dog to experience the surrounding environment more peacefully.

That’s why it’s important to take care of his eyes, as well as all the other aspects of his health, for a happy life together with your furry friend!