This pet owner on TikTok takes the time to explain why you should never get red toy dogs to play with. His quick video explains what they see.
If you are the loving adoptive parent of a dog, you probably know that dogs are famously colorblind. Because of this, you probably wouldn’t expect them to have a favorite color. On that same scale, you may never have thought about what color dog toy your canine companion will get every time you find yourself at the pet shop to teach them something new to play with. However, you may be surprised to learn that the color of their dog toy is more important than you think.
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As Ashton Olson on TikTok (@smashtonstudios) explains in his video, you’d do well to avoid red toys for your dog, as their particular type of colorblindness will render red dog toys completely ineffective. Let’s break down the intriguing reasons why you shouldn’t get red toy dogs.
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There’s an interesting reason why you shouldn’t get red toy dogs.
In his video posted in early October 2023, Ashton made an interesting observation when it came to playing with his dog, Daxter. His first TikTok has been viewed over 40 million times at the time of writing and has probably given dog owners around the world some much-needed clues as to what kind of toys they should get for their pooches. dog
In his TikTok, Ashton uses a special filter that mimics a particular version of a dog’s colorblindness. Thanks to this filter, Ashton saw that the red squishy toy he got for Daxter had changed its color in a way that blended perfectly with the grass, where the dogs love to play.
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“No freaking wonder you can’t find this red squishy,” Ashton stated in his initial video upon discovering what Baxter was seeing. “Of course you won’t!”
Sure enough, Ashton’s dog missed the red toy from the grass because it looked the same color. Even though he sees it thrown away, Daxter immediately loses the toy and ends up never being able to find it.
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Fortunately, this problem has a very easy solution. If dogs really only see yellow and blue, get them yellow or blue toys instead! To that end, Ashton goes to the pet store to find Daxter’s new blue toy to play with.
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The results are almost immediate. In several subsequent videos, Daxter can be seen happily playing with his new blue toy. When it was thrown for him to pick up, Daxter was able to dart the toy away as it probably stood out against the same colored surroundings. Since then it has become Daxter’s new favorite toy.
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You may be asking yourself at this point, why do dog toy manufacturers make red toys in the first place? One TikToker posted an interesting theory in the comments. They suggested, “Most dogs use their nose to find it after watching it fall.”
If it falls too far, however, they may not be able to detect it by sight or smell.
Dogs will probably appreciate the toys you get them no matter what color they are, but now people are well aware that they tend to get the most out of blue or yellow toys.
