Vision in Dogs

Compared with the visual system in human beings, the canine visual system could be considered inferior in such aspects as degree of binocular overlap, color perception, accommodative range, and visual acuity. However, in other aspects of vision, such as ability to function in dim light, rapidity with which the retina can respond to another image (flicker fusion), field of view, ability to differentiate shades of gray, and perhaps, ability to detect motion, the canine visual system probably surpasses the human visual system. This has made the dog a more efficient predator in certain environmental situations and permits it to exploit an ecological niche inaccessible to humans.