Dogs Can See Ultra Violet Light
One of the most fascinating things about dogs is to know the difference between them and us in terms of how we perceive the world. We both look at the same things and live in the same homes but what they see is usually different to what we can see. We have talked about how a dog’s eyes are slightly different to ours and how it affects them in seeing different colors here - finerdogs.com/blogs/finer-dogs/are-dogs-color-blind
That may be an areas where we think they have a disadvantage to us but there are areas where their vision is much better. Dogs are better equipped for night vision and under dimmed light. Now studies suggest they can see ultra violet light, essentially being able to see things not possible for us.
Many people believe dogs have a sixth sense and this might actually be an explanation of the phenomenon. You might have experienced your dog staring at ‘nothing’ or barking randomly. Maybe they are seeing something you cannot see with your eyes.
Seeing ultra violet light is not uncommon in animals and is used by them to carry out necessary tasks for survival. Bees use it to direct them to nectar on flowers by spotting patterns and color we cannot see. While other animals such as reindeer use it to spot predators like polar bears who would otherwise be camouflaged in the white snow.
So what are some of the great things they can see that we cannot?
- Layers in paintings – if an artist has made a mistake and painting over something, a dog will be able to spot it, while you will never realize.
- Stars – they will be able to see more up in the sky at night than us, even in bright cities.
- Security features in money – your dog can tell a real money from fake by being able to see the security strips.
- Black light – so toys, t-shirts, tattoos that have black light used can be seen by dogs.
- Urine marks – dogs can see if there are traces of urine left still not cleaned. So make sure you clean up in case the dogs sees!
- Earths magnetic field – they can see it, while we might not even know how it looks like!
So this just proves how amazing dogs are and how different they see the world from us.