So last week, I was painting my beagle’s house blue to make it more pleasant to live in, and suddenly a thought provoked my mind, Can beagles see colors?
Beagles can see colors but not as many as humans. Behavioral tests show that they can see the shades of blue, yellow, and grey better. However, their eyes are insufficient to see colors ranging from red to green.
But there’s a reason behind it, and that’s evolution. We will further look into why they can see only a few colors and what other abilities their vision possesses.
Why can beagles only see a few colors
I don’t want to get all scientific here, so I will try my best to simplify this.
Eyes have cells that can catch and process light. These cells are called cones. Now to see a different range of colors, you need to have different types of cones that can process light at different wavelengths.
Humans have three different kinds of cones that process light and allow us to see all the colors that we can see.
Whereas dogs have only two types of cones that only allow them to see blue and yellow.
What beagles can see
As I said, beagles can only see shades of blue and yellow. Their eyes cannot see colors ranging from red to green.
The red color appears brownish-grey to beagles. And they see green as just a shade of yellow.
So this means that every toy of your beagle that is bright red is just brownish-grey to him.
However, your cuddle-monster can blue and yellow very well.
Here’s how beagles will see a Rainbow
Every though how a rainbow might look like to your beagle? Here’s how:
| Colors of Rainbow | How a beagle will see it |
|---|---|
| Red | Dark Gray |
| Orange | Brownish Yellow |
| Yellow | Yellow |
| Green | Shade of Yellow |
| Blue | Blue |
| Indigo | Gray |
| Violet | Dark Blue |
You can watch this video to see how your beagles would see a rainbow:
Differences between Humans and Beagle’s Vision
While we can see clearly see objects placed far away from our reach, beagle can’t. They may not have any difficulty seeing objects near them, but objects placed at some distance can appear blurry to them.
But they have a better ability to detect motion. That’s the reason your beagle gets distracted by small birds and other animals.
They also do not see the world as bright as we can, as their eyes cannot process as much light as ours. But on the other hand, this makes them less sensitive to change in light.
Pupils of beagles dilute more, allowing them to capture maximum light. That’s why they can see better in the dark.
So during night time, after switching off the lights, your eyes may need some time to adjust your visibility, but your beagle will be able to see everything without any compromise.
How this helps them?
Dogs are descendants of wolves. They use to live in the wild, and evolution gave them the abilities that were required to survive.
In the wild, nights are not safe for animals. That’s why they can see better in dim light.
They used to hunt for food. That’s why they can detect motions better. This helped them to find and hunt their prey.
Even though dogs have been domesticated for a long period of time, they still have abilities passed on by their ancestors.
Things you can do as a Dog Owner
Now that you know what colors your adorable beagle can and cannot see, you can make his world more colorful.
As red and orange are more appealing to humans, dog shops prefer to make dog accessories of those colors. But you can put colors in your beagle’s world (quite literally) by getting accessories that are blue or yellow.
So next time you make a purchase for your pooch, you know what color to prefer.
One more thing you know is that they detect small motions quickly. So next time, when you are in a park, playing fetch with your beagle, do not get irritated if he gets distracted by a small animal.