What Colors Can Boxers See?

Boxers --- like all other dogs and most mammals --- have dichromatic color vision. This means they see only two basic colors and all the hues and tints derived from those colors. Humans and some primates have trichromatic color vision --- three perceived colors --- while birds are tetrachromates, having color vision in the red, green, blue and ultraviolet. Boxers do not detect the red-to-green segment of the color spectrum, just like people with color blindness.

  1. Cones and Rods

    • A cone is a specialized cell in the back of the eye that senses color. A rod, also a retinal photoreceptor cell, is almost exclusively responsible for night vision, operating in faint light. In humans, three types of cones cluster in the middle of the retina and perceive blue, green and red light, as well as all the shades these colors can make up. Like all dogs, boxers have more rods and fewer cones than humans. Although they can't see as many colors as humans can and the colors they do see are less distinct, dogs can see much better in dim light than humans can.

    Blues and Yellows

    • Colors in the green-to-blue spectrum are the most discernible to dogs. Oranges, yellows and purples are also visible to dogs, although they seem more gray and brown than how humans see them. Since boxers can only see particular colors because they only have two types of photoreceptor cells, or cones, many shades of color look gray to them. In this way, boxers see colors as a person with red-green color blindness perceives them.

    Reds

    • Dogs do not see colors in the red spectrum as red. A bright red probably looks more like like a dark brown to a dog This deficit may cause problems for a dog. Compared to a bright yellow or blue toy, a red toy doesn't stand out for your dog. A red Frisbee can easily get lost in a pile of brown leaves, even if its distinctive color jumps out at you.

    Greens and Grays

    • Dogs cannot see greens as humans do, although they do see the colors that make up green, blue and yellow. Greens look somewhat gray to dogs. Since white is the combination of all colors and black the absence, boxers can see white, black and grays. Compared to humans, who see best in direct light, dogs see very well in dim light and probably see many more shades of gray than humans can.