Fact or Fiction: Dogs Are Colorblind

NEW YORK - Dr. Jerry Klein is Chief Veterinary Officer of the American Kennel Club, and has nearly 40 years of experience in the veterinary field.

Fox 5 went to Dr. Klein to answer some common myths about dogs, and here’s what he told us:

Fact or Fiction: Dogs Are Colorblind

Answer: FALSE: The retina of both species have rods and cones. The human eye contains more types of cones while the canine eye has more rods and no fovea, which is responsible for sharp visual detail in humans. The result is that dogs have superior night vision and are better at tracking movement than we are, but see fewer colors and shapes and objects appear in much less detail. The bottom line is that tossing an orange ball onto green grass may look like yellow against yellow to your dog, but his acute motion-detection ability will help him fetch it anyway.

WNYW-TV/Fox5 is a media partner of the American Kennel Club.