The American Beagler Forum

In a recent post, someone said that a beagle has 85% of its sight at night. This set me to wondering...what do you think? Does anyone have any info of studies that have been done to try and determine how well a dog can really "see" after dark? From observation and what I have been able to learn of the the physical make-up of a dog's eye, I am of the opinion that their abilities are quite limited but, they make up for it with their senses of smell and sound.

Neither people or dogs can really "see" in the dark. I would rate their ability as compared to lighted conditions as about 40% or less.

What do you think? Can anyone point me to a study of some sort?

I hunt almost exclusively in the late day or night and have often considered this issue.

I would think they could see as well as any other night predator, you have coon hounds running at night, they don't run into trees so would have to believe that their night vision was just as good as a coyote, coon hound, wolf ect.

I have spent many hours after dark running dogs and observed dogs in the heat of the chase running full speed through the thick. Unless your dogs are struggling to navigate through the woods, I think your looking too deep into the matter.

I cant give you the exact percentage of what they can see at night, but based on life experience, they dont loose much.

i think that a dog can see in the dark it can be pitch black and thow my dog a treat and he will still catch it if he cant see how could he catch

bucks better beagles wrote:In a recent post, someone said that a beagle has 85% of its sight at night. This set me to wondering...what do you think? Does anyone have any info of studies that have been done to try and determine how well a dog can really "see" after dark? From observation and what I have been able to learn of the the physical make-up of a dog's eye, I am of the opinion that their abilities are quite limited but, they make up for it with their senses of smell and sound.

Neither people or dogs can really "see" in the dark. I would rate their ability as compared to lighted conditions as about 40% or less.

What do you think? Can anyone point me to a study of some sort?

I hunt almost exclusively in the late day or night and have often considered this issue.

I wonder how critters that hunt at night survive if they can't see. Obviously there is a difference in seeing in daylight and nighttime because rabbits that will run straight to a hole in daylight will run good at night. However, I have never seen a critter that was chasing or being chased run over something and injure themselves, so they must see pretty good.

intresting post


i have wondered this myself,i run at night more than day,and i have always wondered how these hounds can run full blast and not get hurt by smashing their heads into trees and downed logs ect.


a while back,i was running along the ohio river at night,one of my dogs was hunting beside me and perked its ears up,looked down the river bank and started growling and barking at something,i looked and could not see a thing,then suddenly a a guy with fishin poles came out of the dark,i couldnt see him,but the dog saw him from way off in pitch black of night.

i just did some research and found this from a professor (paul miller) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison...he says

"No one is quite sure how much better a dog sees in dim light, but I would suspect that dogs are not quite as good as cats,” which can see in light that’s six times dimmer than our lower limit. Dogs, he says, “can probably see in light five times dimmer than a human can see in.”

But the canine’s biggest advantage is called the tapetum. This mirror-like structure in the back of the eye reflects light, giving the retina a second chance to register light that has entered the eye. “Although the tapetum improves vision in dim light, it also scatters some light, degrading the dog’s vision from the 20:20 that you and I normally see to about 20:80"

the tapetum is what causes a dog's eyes to glow at night.





hope this answers your question

amanda

Thanks Amanda. That is the type of research I am looking for. I know there are people such as the scientist Skinner who did a large amount of study on beagles. Perhaps there is someone who could advise what 20/80 sight is in lay-mans terms.

Many of my dogs have been hurt and scratched and even blinded with sticks at night. I know, of course, that dogs get around real well at night but not as good or fast as most of us think.

Bob

Amanda, on what engine did you search? Was anything said about whether a dog sees color or not? Recent articles in scientific journals I have read, indicate that some dogs perceive color. It used to be thought that dogs see only in black and white. If they perceive color, it could change the way they perceive light at night.

They more I learn about the enhanced senses (sight, sound, smell. etc) that a dog has, the more amazing they become.

Bob in snowed in Michigan

Ive

Use to run at night a lot because had work all day .I'm sure they can see better then us .IL have to say they are driven by sent .I went to basset hound trial once and guy had blind basset and run I couldn't believe what i saw I did fell bad the dog it did run the line pretty good and was not that slow could have killed a rabbit in front of it.

I like to brake pups in the dark on sent line .Id walk them to where the rabbit was and let work the sent after a while ever night they start to open up I found it better then sight chase to start them like some do ive seen where they caught up with the rabbit and saw it lol and you know

Interesting, I have no idea what % they can see at night, but i know they run GREAT!

bucks better beagles wrote:Amanda, on what engine did you search? Was anything said about whether a dog sees color or not? Recent articles in scientific journals I have read, indicate that some dogs perceive color. It used to be thought that dogs see only in black and white. If they perceive color, it could change the way they perceive light at night.

They more I learn about the enhanced senses (sight, sound, smell. etc) that a dog has, the more amazing they become.

Bob in snowed in Michigan

I just searched through yahoo. nothing was said in that particular article about color, but i did find this..


"Dogs do see in color, but their perception of color is not the same as it is for people. They cannot distinguish between orange and green. They can see various shades of blue and can differentiate between closely related shades of gray that are not distinguishable to people.

When comparing dog and human vision, people are better at depth perception, color perception and seeing minute details of an object. Dogs are better at seeing in dim light, responding to an image rapidly and detecting the slightest motion. They also have better peripheral vision."

amanda