How Do Dogs See The World? They Do See Color, But They Focus More on Us

Key Takeaways On How Dogs See The World

• How dogs see the world is based on the structure of their eyes. Dogs are dichromats, meaning they only have two color-processing cones, while humans have three.
• Dogs can see colors, including yellows and blues; however, they aren’t able to process green.
• Dogs have distinct gazes for humans. They seem to focus on us to try their best and figure humans out.

Dog owners know all too well that their pets can bark at just about anything, from inanimate objects like giant mummies and skeletons at Halloween to snowmen and inflatable Santas during the holidays. While we may see these objects as something to pay no mind to, our dogs likely see them in a vastly different way.

Although dogs don’t see as well as people, they don’t have poor vision. New technology is helping scientists understand dog vision and how they see the world.

Read More: How do Dogs Tell Time?

How Dogs See the World

Although scientists have long used visual tasks to study dog cognition, research into dog vision is relatively recent. As a result, there are many long-held misconceptions about what dogs can and cannot see.

“They do see color, they do not see in black and white; that is a common misconception,” says Madeline H. Pelgrim, a researcher in the Brown Dog Lab at Brown University and a Ph.D. candidate in the department of cognitive and psychological sciences.

Dogs are dichromats, which means their eyes have two color-processing cones. Humans are trichromats and have three color-processing cones.

Can Dogs See Color?

While humans can see red, yellow, blue, and the spectrum of colors in between, like orange and green, dogs’ processing cones only pick up yellow and blue; however, they lack the medium-wavelength cone required to perceive green.

Dogs see well, and they do use color cues, particularly during the day. But their vision isn’t as sharp as humans.

“We know they have worse visual acuity than people,” Pelgrim says.

Read More: Dogs Do Dream, and It’s Most Likely About Their Toys, Food, and You

What Do Dogs Focus On?

Although dogs’ vision is less colorful and less sharp than humans’, a 2025 study in Cognitive Science found they use their sight to focus on what they find most important.

In the study, 11 dogs were trained to wear goggles fitted with an eye-tracking device. The participants included five mixed breeds, two Golden Retrievers, one Australian Labradoodle, and one Miniature American Shepherd.

The dogs were walked on a predetermined route, and the eye-tracking device picked up more than 20,000 gazes. After researchers excluded the gazes related to sniffing bouts, the sample was reduced to 11,698.

The study found that dogs relied on their vision to process whatever they found interesting. The gazes were directed at people, plants, vehicles, and, because the dogs tended to watch where they were going — the pavement.

“We now have an understanding of the percentage of time they are looking at the ground in front of them. It’s not too dissimilar from people,” says Pelgrim, the lead author on the study.

The study also found that dogs were very individualistic in what caught their attention. What one dog found meaningful, another ignored. One paw-ticipant, for example, was enamored by a shuttle bus that ran across the Brown University campus.

“Every time the bus was available, he was captivated by it,” says Pelgrim. “We had another pup that walked right past it and couldn’t have cared less, not even worth a glance.”

But the dogs did share one interest in something they found worthy of looking at — humans.

How Do Dogs See Humans?

The study was distinct from other research into dog vision because the dogs weren’t given a visual task to complete. They were being their normal selves, going on a walk, which enabled the research team to understand what dogs chose to look at.

Not only did the dogs in the study find humans interesting, but they also had distinct gazes for different humans.

“At people in the distance, they would fixate on them, almost trying to figure them out,” Pelgrim says. “Or we saw these quick gazes back to their owner or me, who was working with them.”

For dogs holding their gaze on Halloween decorations, they may be trying to figure out the giant skeleton and whether it is a threat. They might be looking simply because they find it interesting. Or like many humans, they may even be wondering, why would someone put up a nine-foot Halloween decoration?

Read More: Do Dogs Have Selective Hearing?

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