The Science Behind Our Colors: Why Blue & Yellow?

At Dog Is King, we don’t just design products to look cute on your living room floor. We design them for the one family member who actually uses them: your dog.

You’ve probably heard the old myth that dogs see the world strictly in black and white. While science has thoroughly debunked that, it has proven something much more fascinating: dogs are naturally red-green color-blind.

While humans navigate a world of reds, greens, pinks, and purples, your dog’s eyes are built to vividly experience a beautiful, simplified spectrum of blues and yellows.

Here is the peer-reviewed scientific proof behind why we only build our gear in blue and yellow.

For decades, scientists debated exactly what dogs see. The definitive answer came from a landmark study at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

The Study: Color vision in the dog (Neitz et al., Visual Neuroscience)

The Science: Researchers mapped the canine retina and discovered that dogs are dichromats. They possess two types of color-detecting cone receptors (whereas humans have three). Their eyes are optimized to capture two primary wavelengths: short-wave blue (429 nm) and long-wave yellow (555 nm).

What this means for your dog: That bright red or orange ball you throw into the green grass? To your dog, it blends into a muddy, confusing shade of gray or brown. But a blue or yellow toy? It practically glows against the grass, making it instantly recognizable.

To see exactly how this limitation plays out in real-world behavior, researchers created a modified version of the classic human color-blindness test—specifically for dogs.

The Study: Are dogs red–green colour blind? (Siniscalchi et al., Royal Society Open Science)

The Science: Using behavioral testing, scientists confirmed that dogs completely fail to differentiate red silhouettes from green backgrounds. Their visual processing perfectly mirrors human red-green deuteranopia.

What this means for your dog: Buying a red bed or a green collar means choosing colors your dog literally cannot distinguish from the floor or the backyard. By sticking exclusively to blue and yellow, we ensure your dog sees their favorite items with crystal-clear clarity.

Some skeptics argued that dogs don't actually care about color—that they just look for things that are lighter or darker (brightness). A fascinating behavioral study put this to the test.

The Study: Colour cues proved to be more informative for dogs than brightness (Kasparson et al., Proceedings of the Royal Society B)

The Science: When given a choice between following a specific color cue or a specific brightness cue to find a reward, dogs overwhelmingly chose the color cue.

What this means for your dog: Your dog actively uses color to navigate their world and identify their belongings. Color matters deeply to them—as long as it’s a color they can actually see!

When you shop with us, you are shopping with canine-centric design. We stripped away the reds, the oranges, and the greens that get lost in translation, leaving behind a vibrant, high-contrast world of blues and yellows.

We don't match our products to human trends. We match them to your dog's DNA.