How good is a Lab's eyesight? My 15 month Cooper sometimes "loses" the tennis ball in his sight.....like when he is looking for it after I have thrown it. Should I be concerned? I know there are certain colors they cannot see well or not at all. Thank you.
Dog eyesight isn't as good as ours, in terms of distinguishing detail. Our colour vision is much, much better too. Dogs have a bit of trouble distinguishing shades of red and green from each other, but they can see yellow and blue pretty well. Sometimes when they look for something they rely on their nose, when they'd maybe be better off using their eyes, and they miss things that are not hard to see. When he's looking for the ball is is sniffing for it? Is there anything else he does that makes you think his eyesight is different to how it once was?
Yes, Lady is good with yellow tennis balls and tends to spot them before scenting them on a retrieve. I also have orange and green dummies. She just can't see the orange ones in green grass at all and has to use her sense of smell, although she finds the green ones easier to spot. What she is really good at, sight-wise, is spotting movement. She frequently stops and watches and if I look carefully there is something there moving, like a bird or rabbit in the distance. At night she actually sees better then me.
Dogs have more rods (light receptor cells) and fewer cones (colour receptors) than humans. Their colour vision is similar to humans with red/green colour blindness, so green tennis ball in the grass can be tricky for them to spot. They are very good at seeing in the dark though Has Cooper just started having difficulty seeing things, or does he have new toys/balls which are a different colour to what he had before? Mira has difficulty finding some of her toys by sight due to their colour. They seem obvious to us, but she finds them by smell.
Juno has no problems with her tennis balls or rugby ball (all yellow) but has trouble with her green dummy but not with her orange
Cooper sees any movement....no matter how small or far away....he can see a bird or a bee or a fly! Maybe he is just ignoring the tennis ball....he is sort of funny at retrieving....he will run for the ball (yellow), get it, then drop it and move on to something else. I ask him to pick up his ball and he looks around but doesnt see (or ignores) the ball which is close enough for him to see. No, he is not sniffing looking for the ball.....he just sort of ignores having to go and get it! I realize he is a teenager and certainly pushing the envelope....he has now decided he is old enough to go and visit our neighbors when he feels like it....this happens when we are playing ball and he is off leash. We have a leash law here so he is very seldom FREE! Thank you for all your responses. He now has an ear infection so we are off to the vets for treatment....If it's not one thing, it's the other, isn't it?!!!! They sure keep us on our toes..... but fill our lives totally.
It sounds like you maybe need to train him to retrieve - he doesn't know that you want him to find the ball and bring it back. This isn't at all unusual. Lots of dogs have a strong "chase" drive (after movement), after all that's a natural thing involved in finding dinner. But lots need to be trained to pick up an object and return it to a human (that's not a natural thing involved in finding dinner). It's quite easy to do with a clicker and treats (well, it's easy if you are not too fussed about how he does it).
Thanks, Julie. I totally agree that I have been remiss in clicker training on ball retrieving....also on recall....shame on me! I will get on it right away .... ball fetching/retrieving is good exercise for him over and above his walks. Will get on it consistently.....for both our sakes.
