Can Dogs See in the Dark? All About Dogs and Night Vision

Dog owners know that dogs are the best companions to have when out for a walk, on a hike, or simply relaxing on the couch. They also know that their furry buddies can be mysterious. Common canine puzzlers include deciphering dog behavior, understanding a dog’s facial expressions, figuring out the answer to the eternal question “Why does my dog stare at me?” and wondering “Can dogs see color?” And it doesn’t end there. For instance, when out for an evening stroll, have you ever wondered “Can dogs see in the dark?” Read on to solve that mystery once and for all.

Do dogs have night vision?

It depends how you define night. You’ll never find your pug prancing around the pitch-black house at 3 a.m. as if he had tiny night-vision goggles on. Dogs can’t see any better in total darkness than we can.

So can dogs see in the dark or not? In semi-darkness, like in the dim light of dawn and dusk, for sure. They have us beat, in fact. Dogs are much more able to spot shapes and motion, even at a distance, in semi-darkness than people are.

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How do dogs see in the dark?

Your dog has her retina (the nerve layer that lines the back of the eye, senses light, and creates impulses that travel through the optic nerve to the brain) to thank for that. “The retina has light-sensitive cells, called rods, which help dogs and humans to see in low light,” Katy Nelson, DVM, senior veterinarian at Chewy, tells Reader’s Digest. “While we’re not sure of an exact number, research has shown that dogs have many more of these rods than we do.”

How well can dogs see in the dark?

As it turns out, those big, sweet “puppy eyes” serve a purpose beyond cuteness. “The canine eye, like the eyes of cats and other mammals, has a larger pupil than a human eye, allowing more light into the eye,” explains Dr. Nelson. Plus, dogs have a wider field of vision than we do, owing to the fact the eyes of most breeds are spaced farther apart than ours. “A dog’s field of vision is approximately 250 degrees, as compared with that of a human, at around 190 degrees,” says Dr. Nelson.

But if it makes you feel any better, humans have keener vision in broad daylight. “The other type of cells in the retina are called cones. Cones perceive color and function best in well-lit environments,” Dr. Nelson adds. “While the human eye has six million cones, dog eyes have only about 1.2 million. This means that dogs have less acute vision in bright light than we have.” So we can definitely spot those kites and seagulls at the beach better than our dog can. But when it comes back to what dogs can see at night, we can’t compete.