Hi there,

We just got our 4 yo GSD a month ago. He's doing great and I think I'm just paranoid but I have to ask -- should he be able to see an orange ball in the dark?

Lately we've been going to park when it's dark and throwing the ball to him and he can never find it. I end up finding it faster than him half the time. And it's not like he doesn't love to retrieve the ball and return it because in the day he's a champ!

I also noticed he bumped into a glass door the other day.

He's been to the vet for a check up but I'm paranoid that he's losing his eyesight (ok I know...I'm getting way ahead of myself) but is that normal for him not to be able to find the ball in low cut grass? I thought dogs had better eyesight than people.

Thanks!
MO

 Quote: Mireya Ono

I also noticed he bumped into a glass door the other day.

I did the same thing myself a few days ago! Not sure that it's an accurate indicator of your dog's vision.

This link may explain why he can't find an orange ball on green grass at night.

http://www.cvm.uiuc.edu/petcolumns/showarticle.cfm?id=116

It is believed that dogs see in shades of violet-blue and yellow-green. Meaning violets, blues, and blue violets all probably look blue. Yellows, greens, yellow greens, oranges, and reds all show up yellow-green.

Does that make sense? I had to repeatedly retype this to make ANY kind of sense to myself.

So yes, it is feasable that it might be harder for your dog to see an ORANGE ball on GREEN grass at night since they might both show up in the same hue.

Try a blue or purple ball. Or put a blue or purple stripe around your orange ball.

In addition to the above reasons, dogs eyes are more flattened than humans (can't change their focal length as well as we can), and they are more sensitive to light and movement, but their resolving power is less. They have poor binocular vision and poor depth of field.

The more they see laterally, the less they see straight ahead - especially if there's a long nose in the way. So, convergence - focusing on an object if front of them - is better with frontally placed eyes (poodle, pug, etc.) than with laterally placed eyes.

So throw the ball so it keeps moving and he'll have an easier time.

Mike

Mireya,
As a disclaimer; I'm no expert, but from what this frazled brain remembers reading some years ago on dog sight goes something like: The canine doesn't really see very well, not in the way we see, that is. Their eyes don't have the focal lenght we do as humans, they don't see anything clearly (note here Mireya, your dog is still very young) beyond (oh I'll quess here) 75 yards at muturity. Further than 75 yds. they can only identify motion, but not what is in motion. They are much better at seeing movement day or night then we are. Day or night the canine uses all their senses to keep track of their surroundings, scent playing a HUGE roll, their very acute hearing, and finally will watch for movement.
There within is the (some where lol) the tale that they see better than we do at night. They always detect movement at a distance better then we do, their hearing is far superior to ours, and their noses! Well good luck trying to not being 'seen'.

Hope this isn't too muddled.

If I'm not learning, I'm not paying attention.
Randy

Orange is harder to see than white for dogs. In my retrieving work we only switch to the orange dummy when we want dogs to start hunting for items or are beginning to make the slow switch from bumpers to live/dead birds. My advice is to switch your evening throws to a heavily scented item or to a very white item.

As far as night blindness, some dogs see better than others in the dark. My papillons and lab generally have zero trouble but my parents have a spaniel who is nearly always has trouble navigating in the dark. She bumps into steps, and on occasion the glass sliding door. She has Cerfed several times perfectly fine as well.

Interesting post and responses. My dog's inability to sometimes see the orange Ultraball right in front of him made me think "Great...Now he's going blind". He never has that problem with his blue ball.

The upside is, as Melissa said, it forced my dog to use his nose and hunt for it and that became a whole different exercise for him to do. Also kept my lazy self from walking back-and-forth to find it.

I do wonder why they make a ball (and particularly a ball that you can hurl long distances) a color the dog can't see very well? :wink:

Because dog toys are designed to sell to people. Not to dogs.

very interesting read.

I know - the quality of responses on this post (and discussion group) is amazing!!

Thank you everyone! We have changed ball colors and things seem to be better!!