Puppy Color Vision

For an animal behaviorist who has studied dog development and psychology for decades, it can be a lot of fun to implement what is known from research by putting it into practice in the labradoodle puppy room.

I installed a very high contrast black and white vinyl on the floor and walls of the puppy room. It’s the sort of thing you might see in a retro 1950s diner–big checkered squares of black and white. I did this because of what I know about dog vision and puppy development. I’m so glad I did because it’s been so much fun watching these labradoodle puppies stare at this high contrast visual pattern! They love it! And it’s good for them!

Are dogs colorblind?

Dogs aren’t actually completely colorblind. They can see more than only black, white and shades of gray. Their color perception is more like that of a human male who is red-green colorblind. So my labradoodle puppies can see not only black, white, and shades of grey. They can also perceive hues of yellow and blue.

puppy vision

Puppies are born with their eyes closed. Contrary to popular belief, they aren’t born blind. They are born with their eyes closed. They can perceive the difference between a bright light and darkness through their closed eyes similarly to you or I might. Their labradoodle puppy eyes stay closed during their first few weeks of life.

Once their eyes open, how well do dogs see? There are actually breed-specific differences. Some breeds like cocker spaniels and corgis have relatively poor eyesight compared to sporting breeds like the Labrador Retriever.

Aside from those fairly uncommon breed-specific differences, most dogs, including our labradoodle puppies, will have eyesight or visual acuity that is about 20/75. Yes, that’s right. Dogs have worse eyesight than people. Compared to a person with 20/20 vision, dogs only see the details at 20 feet that we would see at 75 feet.

Why are retrieving toys bright orange?

If dogs can’t really see reds, then why are those big retrieving toys always in hunter orange? Those training aids are neon orange not only to match the hunter’s own orange and camouflage aesthetic, but because the dog trainer intentionally wants the training aid to visually blend into the environment.

While we can see a bright orange stick from a long distance, to the dog it’s just another gray lump on the ground. The dog trainer wants the dog to use its nose and not only its eyes to locate it. And because he also doesn’t want to lose it, those are colored bright orange.