March 2, 2025, 9:41 am | Read time: 5 minutes
It was long thought that dogs are completely colorblind and can only distinguish shades of gray. Now, a study has found that they not only see different shades but actually have a very clear favorite color. How did the researchers investigate this, and why are they so sure?
Dogs see the world differently from how humans see it. While we perceive a broad spectrum of colors through three different photoreceptors, dogs (and many other animals) have a dichromatic color perception that mainly includes shades of yellow and blue. Previous studies on color discrimination in dogs have mainly focused on trained animals that have learned to distinguish colors after repeated practice. However, a study conducted in India on dogs in the wild without prior training has now come to a groundbreaking conclusion: the animals have a pronounced preference for the color yellow.
Do Dogs Have a Favorite Color?
A study has investigated whether free-roaming street dogs have a preference for certain colors — with truly astonishing results. Until now, such studies have mainly been carried out on trained dogs in the form of conditioning. These color perception and vision tests have revealed a great deal about the vision of dogs; for example, they do not distinguish colors on the red-green spectrum. However, up to now, the animals have mainly been examined in a controlled, predetermined, small setting.
A new study published in the journal Animal Cognition has tested for the first time whether dogs living in the wild naturally prefer certain colors. The researchers chose street dogs as study subjects, as they have to make decisions every day without human guidance — for example, when looking for food. The aim of the study was to find out whether the animals are preferentially attracted to certain colors and whether this preference is strong enough to influence other needs, such as food intake.
To this end, the scientists chose yellow, blue, and grey as test colors. The researchers wanted to find out which color was preferred by the dogs and whether this preference was possibly due to natural selection or ecological factors.
“Given the Choice, I’ll Take Yellow”
458 free-ranging dogs in the greater Calcutta area were initially asked to choose from three different food bowls, all of which contained the same filling. In a second experiment, it was seen whether the animals developed a preference between gray and blue. In a third experiment, all three bowls were sealed with a sieve so that the dogs could not reach the food.
Finally, in the fourth experimental setup, higher quality food in the form of dog cookies or chicken was placed in the blue or gray bowls, while the yellow bowl remained empty. The choice was recorded based on the first bowl that the dogs inspected with their nose. All tests were video-recorded and statistically analyzed.
The evaluation showed that the animals showed a very clear preference for yellow over blue and gray. In contrast, there was hardly any preference between gray and blue, especially in the second test without the yellow bowl in the setup. Finally, the last two trials showed that it was not the smell or the food it contained, but that the animals preferred the color yellow. In 77 to 79 percent of cases, the dogs ran towards the empty yellow bowl and even ignored the dog cookies and chicken in the others.
Why the Dogs Might React So Strongly to Yellow
So, it is virtually proven that Indian street dogs do not show a preference for yellow based on smell or chance. Instead, it seems to be an ingrained behavior, proving that dogs also orient themselves strongly through visual stimuli. But what advantages could there be for dogs to have such a clear preference for yellow?
One hypothesis is the ecological valence theory. This states that animals prefer colors that have a positive meaning in their environment. In India, many foods are yellowish, for example, due to the use of turmeric or dried chili. Meat can also appear yellowish in the special perception of dogs. The color preference could, therefore, be related to the animals’ daily search for food.
The species-confidence hypothesis could also come into play. This states that animals perceive their own coat colors as safe. In the case of Indian street dogs, these are mainly mixtures of orange and brown colors, which they perceive as yellowish. However, this theory actually plays more of a role in the choice of potential partners.
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The fact that yellow gave a much brighter visual signal than the other two bowls could also play a role. However, it needs to be investigated further whether dogs in India are not the only ones to show this clear preference. Ultimately, it remains unclear whether it is innate or learned.
However, if dogs generally show a preference for yellow, this could have far-reaching consequences for play and training. If dogs generally react better to brightly colored objects, this could also motivate less active or playful dogs to learn tricks or identify their favorite yellow toy as a very valuable resource.
The discovery also raises new questions about the significance of colors in the lives of dogs in general. The fact that this preference of the animals was so strong that they even preferred the yellow object to food is very unusual. This means that it is stronger than the natural motivation to search for food. Further research is needed to clarify the causes and universal validity of this color preference.1