What Colors Can Miniature Schnauzers See?

Miniature Schnauzers are color blind as are other dog breeds, but this does not mean that they cannot see colors. The colors they see, which are limited, are not as vivid as the ones humans see. Like humans, dogs' eyes have cells called cones, but they only have two types, whereas humans have three. It is believed by researchers that dogs can distinguish shades of gray that humans cannot. This is because the canine retina has more rod cells that are necessary to see shades of gray. Because of this they can see well when lights are dim.

  1. How Color Blindness Works

    • Humans with normal vision have three types of cones, which enable us to see a full, vivid rainbow of colors. People who are color blind have only two cones and are unable to see as many colors as everyone else. There is no information that shows that color perception is different among breeds of dogs, therefore all dogs see the same colors. While a human with perfect vision can see objects 75 feet away, dogs cannot see objects clearly over 20 feet away.

    The Dog's Rainbow

    • While we see red,orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet, dogs see dark blue, light blue, gray, light yellow, darker-brownish yellow and a very dark gray. Colors in a dog's world are yellow, blue and gray. They see green, yellow and orange as a yellowish color. They see violet and blue as blue, and blue green is seen as gray. Reds and the bright orange of safety cones are perceived by dogs as browns and grays.

    Choosing the Right Toy Colors

    • When a dog's master throws a red ball the dog may stop and look for it and then look back to its master. To your dog the ball looks brown, so if it lands on a lighter surface it may be invisible. A yellow, blue, violet or green toy are visible to your pet and a lot easier for it to retrieve on a contrasting surface. But, if you toss an orange ball onto green grass the dog will only see yellow on yellow. Dogs can, however, follow quick movement better than humans, so they can follow the ball if they are not distracted or if it is not thrown too far. It's almost as if the object has disappeared. Blue and violet are the best color choices for dog toys unless your flooring is also blue.

    Blindness

    • Miniature Schnauzers are susceptible to dry eye syndrome.

      SARDS, Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration Syndrome, is a sudden onset of blindness in dogs. It is caused by an irreversible loss of vision and is most common in miniature schnauzers, dachshunds and Brittany spaniels, however, it has no connection with color perception.