long distance vision

[loggerboots]

Hi,

 

For you folks who allow your dogs to work a good distance from you ( say a hundred meters or more), does your dog sometimes have a hard time seeing you from a distance?

 

I've noticed that my dog sometimes gets confused if she's pretty far away and I call her - she'll look around as if she doesn't see me and sometimes she'll take off in a slightly wrong trajectory and I have to call her a 2nd time to let her re-home in on the sound of my voice, and then she'll see me and come right to me. She doesn't have any obvious vision problems under normal circumstances.

I've read that dogs can't see stationary objects at a distance as well as humans, so perhaps this is normal. Is this normal, or could my dog have some kind of long distance vision issue?

 

Thanks

 

PS- she only gets this far from me at a large, fenced field near my house and her recall is excellent

[Liz P]

I've had dogs easily spot sheep more than 500 yards away, depending on the shape of the field, height of the grass, weather conditions, etc. Do remember how much shorter your dog is compared to a human. Squat down at their level and you will see that what at first appears to be a flat field may have a small rise that blocks their view.

 

The only dog I've had that seemed confused by where the sound of my voice was coming from was deaf in one ear. That affects their ability to determine the direction of a sound.

[loggerboots]

Thanks Liz, it's not a flat field, it's rolling, so maybe that's something to do with it. Also, I'm also not white and fluffy She does notice dogs from quite a distance now that I think about it. She'll watch them from the ridge over looking our off leash area, so several hundred meters away. The partial deafness thing is interesting. She does seem to have trouble figuring out, for example, when my wife is shuffling around upstairs, that she's upstairs and not in the front room or something.

 

Something to ask the vet when I bring her in, if they can test for that kind of thing, not that it really matters in her new life, but now I'm wondering if it has something to do with why she didn't work out as a working dog.

[Liz P]

It's not an unusual reason for a dog to fail as a working animal. Generally they are said to be "lacking in confidence" or "disobedient."

 

A veterinary neurologist can do a BAER test to see if she is partially deaf.

[loggerboots]

yep, that was what I was told. Lack of confidence. Interesting, hope that isn't it, but if so, we'll live with it.

[juliepoudrier]

FWIW, I have set sheep at a number of trials and there are times when some dogs just seem to be inexplicably unable to see the sheep, even when the dog has run out close to where the sheep are. Movement of the sheep will usually get their attention. So although I do think border collies have good long distance vision, I also think they see movement more easily than they see things that are still.

 

As Liz noted, a dog that is unilaterally deaf might also have trouble finding a person who is calling it. That has nothing to do with sight, though.

 

J.

[arf2184]

I have poor vision. Even with correction, I do not see well as well as others. I may be able to see a shape or shadow in the distance, but unless it moves that's all it is...just a blurry shape. Once it moves, I can better guess what it is by how it moves and get a better idea of it size and shape by the contrast of the colors around it as it moves. Perhaps its the same for some dogs. Perhaps at a distance without movement the dog isn't quite sure if you are a person or a tall stump or if the whitish spot is a sheep or a rock.

 

Or perhaps some dogs just don't look that far out unless movement catches their eye. Not that they can't see that far away, but the just aren't looking that far.

[TEC]

A quick internet review indicates that dogs' distance vision, while varying by dog and breed, is several times poorer than humans'. One source used the figure 20/75, meaning a dog would have to be at a distance of 20 feet to see something as well as a human could see the same object clearly at 75 feet. Dogs' and humans' vision evolved for divergent purposes. Experienced trainers are said to use a sweeping hand motion to indicate his/her position with more certainty when working at large distances.

 

They see colors quite differently than we do. Dogs see primarily blue and a yellow similar to the color of safety vests worn by construction workers. That may explain why my border collie barks excitedly upon seeing a vested construction/utillity worker at almost any distance. She has never had a bad experience with anyone wearing a vest to my knowledge, but apparently she sees the color well, and it annoys her.

 

As a courtesy, I have for some time had a routine of raising my arm and sweeping it from side-to-side a couple of times when recalling (verbally or by whistle) my Josie from, say, more than 200 yds. She just seems to respond at a faster run and more directly. I use the gesture as a supplement after she has turned toward me, particularly when I am positioned in an unusual location, or working in a new (to her) field. Seeing movement more clearly than a stationary object is consistent with dogs' poor visual acuity. Josie evidently sees sheep at almost any distance, through tall grass and rolling swales, although I believe their motion, however slight, aids in locating them.

 

Here are a few sites I referenced: 1) http://www.findretrievers.com/news/wordpress/2011/05/02/the-difference-between-human-and-canine-vision-can-a-dog-truly-see-accurately-at-long-distance/"]

 

2)http://www.lapdk9.com/training_tips/the_world_through_your_canines_eye

 

3)http://www.retrieverpro.com/dog-health-eyes/

 

IMO it is not unusual for a dog to recall from an extended distance toward an auditory signal, yet be a little off on direction until it approaches more closely and precisely locates you visually. You might experiment using a sweeping arm gesture above your head, or something similar, and see whether it helps her recall in a more direct line.

 

Dogs' field of vision, motion detection, and ability to see in low light conditons are superior to humans', therefore making it difficult to say which has better vision. Each has its own environmental niche -- Kind regards, TEC