Well...while I don't know that one color is better than another for a dog, Desi
will always choose the pink toy. It doesn't matter if I have identical
blue/pink, brown/pink, or red/pink....he ALWAYS selects the pink. Colors of
toys don't seem to matter to Dolly. With her it is more of a smell. She will
go to the toy bin and smell and smell until she finds the one that she wants.
I have given up on buying different colors, and lately they don't play with
both at the same time anyway. I think that each dog is different and the
choices are made based on different criteria such as the type of fabric,
plastic, latex, the texture, and with Desi - the color.
To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Date: Wed, 25 Apr 2012 23:44:37 -0400
Subject: [Chihuahuas] Can color affect your dogs moods?
I don't see how this proves that the dogs prefer one color over the other, or
for that matter that they do or don't see colors.
Maybe they identified one because it was different, not necessarily because of
the color. I wish they said what colors they gave the dog to choose from.
Peggy
Link: Can color affect your dogs
moods and behavior?
Color therapy, also called chromotherapy, is using color to impact moods,
emotions, and even health. But can color affect your dog?
The first step in answering that question is to know what colors dogs see. Dogs
do see colors, but the colors they see aren’t as vivid or as many as we see.
Most experts agree that while they can’t see reds and greens, dogs do see most
other colors — including blacks, whites, grays, yellows and blues. That means a
toy that looks red or green to you doesn’t look the same to your dog, it
probably looks dark gray.
How do we know dogs see colors? The dog’s eye — and the human eye — have
special light catching cells called cones. But since your dog has fewer cones
than you, his color vision won’t be as intense as yours.
In a study at the University of California — Santa Barbara, dogs were shown
three light panels in a row. Two of the panels were the same color while the
third was different. If the dog could identify the one that was different and
press that panel, he was rewarded with a treat.
Using this method, the study suggested that dogs see the world in mostly
yellows, blues and grays. They see green, yellow and orange as a shade of
yellow. Violet and blue both appear blue.
To see if color impacts your dog’s moods and behavior, try your own
experiments. Red, orange and yellow are stimulating to humans but blue and
violet are calming. Toss your dog two toys — one yellow and one blue — and see
if the yellow toy inspires a more energetic playtime. Or the next time your dog
gets anxious from a thunderstorm or noisy fireworks, try exposing him to
soothing colors. (Of course, any serious anxiety issues should be discussed
with your veterinarian.)
