While it is easy to think that man's furry friends may see the world the same way humans do, this is not the case. According to the American Kennel Club, the range of colors that dogs can see is fewer compared to most humans. Moreover, they can only recognize nearer things. The perception of dogs is also poorer compared to humans.
However, dogs beat humans when it comes to darkness or night vision.
Can Dogs See in Total Darkness?
Understanding a dog's night vision traces back to its evolution from wild canines. These canines were primarily active during dawn and dusk. To successfully trap and catch their food, these creatures needed to be able to notice movement within dim lighting. With the evolution of dogs over time, they kept such night vision advantages while adapting daylight functions.
The American Kennel Club notes how dogs can see the light and movement during darkness and other circumstances of low light. While several light-sensitive rods in their retinas play a role in this, their tapetum lucidum is their core weapon for such a function. This special layer reflects the entering light and allows the retina to register such light. It, thus, boosts and magnifies visual sensitivity under low-light situations.
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What Does a Dog's Night Vision Look Like?
While dogs do have the capacity to see well during the night, the Merck Veterinary Manual notes how dogs are unable to distinguish intricate details as well as humans.
Nevertheless, knowing how dog vision works is important in breeding and training working dogs for specific functions. Guide dogs, for instance, would require exemplary peripheral vision to protect their partners.
To understand how a dog's vision looks during the night, individuals can try out the Dog Vision image processing tool. Such a tool can illustrate the visual perceptual differences between dogs and humans.
How Good is a Dog's Night Vision?
As mentioned earlier, dogs can catch light and movement during low-light and dark situations. In such a sense, they are better than humans.
However, other than this, the American Kennel Club also notes how their night-seeing abilities are affected by the FFF or Flicker Fusion Frequency. This FF refers to the rate at which light frames with intervals are seen as a picture that is continuous and steady. The higher the movement speed of a creature in its environment, the higher the FFF is.
Compared to humans, dogs have higher FFF. Hence, a TV that displays continuous movement to humans may seem to flicker in a dog's vision. However, such heightened capacity to see flickering lights enables dogs to trace slighter activity within darkness.
What Colors Do Dogs See in the Dark?
Dogs generally see few colors compared to humans. The American Kennel Club also notes how the creatures can make out blue, yellow, and their combinations. They cannot see any greens and reds. These color limitations, however, are compensated by the creatures' night vision capacities.
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