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Have you ever wondered what your dog sees when they gaze up at you, or at least the treat in your hand?
Well, now you can find out, as a new interactive tool shows you how your pooch, and other pets, perceive the world around them.
Dogs, cats, birds and rabbits all have different eyes to humans, meaning they have a different field of vision and access to a different colour spectrum.
The new feature allows you to upload or take a photo, and then place a filter over the top to transform it into what your animal of choice would see.
Dogs, cats, birds and rabbits all have different eyes to humans, meaning they have a different field of vision and access to a different colour spectrum (stock image)
Dogs only have two types of cones which are sensitive to blue and yellow, meaning they can only see these colours as well as shades of grey. Left: Human’s view. Right: Dog’s view
At the back of the human eye are photoreceptors – cells that respond to the light shining in.
These come in two types, ‘rods’ or ‘cones’, and while rods are sensitive to motion and night vision, the cones that are able to detect colour.
Humans have three types of cone cells, and each of these are most sensitive to a particular colour, either red, green or blue.
Dogs only have two types of cones which are sensitive to blue and yellow, meaning they can only see these colours as well as shades of grey.
This is comparable to the roughly nine per cent of people with red-green colour blindness, which makes green look more red.
However, dog retinas are rod-heavy, which is why they can see better in the dark and can detect motion a lot better than humans.
Dogs’ eyes are also positioned at a 20° angle and are a lot further apart than ours, which increases their peripheral vision.
This gives them a 240° field of vision – larger than a human’s 180° – but means they can’t see things in 3D and have reduced depth perception.
What dogs lack in vision they more than make up for with their other senses, like their sense of smell.
Their ‘olfaction’ is between 10,000 to 100,000 times more acute than ours, so are still able to cope well if their vision deteriorates.
The new feature allows you to upload or take a photo, and then places a filter over the top to transform it into what your animal of choice would see
Dogs can only see yellow and blue, rather than the full colour spectrum that humans can. They will see dark brown instead of red, beige instead of green and blue instead of purple
Like dogs, cats aren’t thought to be able to see the full range of colours humans can see, with scientists saying they can mostly only see blue and grey.
To compensate for this, they are vastly superior at detecting motion, thanks to their 200° field of vision and greater degree of peripheral vision.
Cats also have excellent night vision, thanks to them having up to eight times more ‘rod’ photoreceptor cells, which are sensitive to low light levels.
However, felines do not see as well in bright light as they have ten times fewer cone cells than us, so it makes things look more blurry.
Rabbits, on the other hand, have a nearly 360° field of vision due to having their eyes on the side of their heads, but they do have a blind spot directly in front of them.
They therefore rely more heavily on their acute sense of smell, but also use their whiskers and teeth to help ‘see’ what’s directly ahead.
The hopping mammals also have two colour vision, limited to green and blue, and can only see in two dimensions at close ranges.
Their world appears grainy, but they can see better in the dark than humans as they have more rod cells.
Birds can see the whole spectrum of colours that humans can, but also a few extra ones that are invisible and inconceivable to us.
That’s because they have four types of cone cell, and their extra one enables them to see wavelengths of light in the ultraviolet range, rather than just visible.
Species of birds which have their eyes on the side of their head have a field of vision of about 300°, whereas for those with them on the front, like owls, it is around 150°.
Some also can utilise ‘monocular’ vision that allows them to focus their eyes on different objects at the same time, rather than ‘binocular’ vision where both focus on the same object simultaneously.
Rabbits have a nearly 360° field of vision due to having their eyes on the side of their heads, but they do have a blind spot directly in front of them. Species of birds which have their eyes on the side of their head have a field of vision of about 300°, whereas for those with them on the front, like owls, it is around 150° (stock image)
Like dogs, cats aren’t thought to be able to see the full range of colours humans can see, with scientists saying they can mostly only see blue and grey. Left: Human’s view. Right: Cat’s view
Rabbits have two colour vision, limited to green and blue, and can only see in two dimensions at close ranges. Left: Human’s view. Right: Rabbit’s view
The new tool was developed by global pet and house-sitting site TrustedHousesitters, and can be accessed here.
If you are using a mobile, you can also click here to open the feature through Instagram.
Angela Laws, community manager of TrustedHousesitters, said: ‘The bond we share with our pets is so special, and truly understanding how they perceive the moments and life we share with them makes that bond even stronger.
‘We created this tool to allow people to learn more about pet vision – from understanding your pet’s favourite colour to realising how they see you, it can give owners a newfound understanding of their best friend – furry or feathered.’
Birds can see the whole spectrum of colours that humans can, but also a few extra ones that are invisible and inconceivable to us. Left: Human’s view. Right: Bird’s view