There are so many awesome things to consider when you own a dog. Different things about their behavior can be appealing, but something about the way their eyes glow when it starts to get dark or on a photo can really make you wonder. If you have spent time questioning how well your eyes see or how you see them, keep reading.
Why do dog’s eyes glow green?
While this is an intriguing question, there is a reason for the eyes to glow green. First, you must keep in mind that the dog’s pupil itself is much larger than a human adult eye. This allows more light to come into the lens and reflect outward where you see the green color.
The tapetum lucidum that dogs have in their eyes allows the dark shadows to make the eyes appear green. As humans, we do not have these specialized pigment cells found in most mammals, so our own eyes do not glow a greenish color.
Why do my dog’s eyes glow green in the dark?
Most dog’s eyes appear either a chestnut color or a subtle blue shade that is not really a glow throughout the day. These special pigmented cells that dogs have in their eyes are not needed to see throughout the day, hence the lack of glow.
At night, however, when the light is much lower, and the outside is darker, the tapetum lucidum is more prevalent so that your dog can see. This prevalence then turns into a glow and gives off the greenish color that you see so often at night when you look at your dog, or they come into contact with a flashlight or other light source.
Why Is It Greener Some Nights Than Others?
Depending on your dog’s diet, how green their eyes appear at night and with the glow can change. Higher levels of riboflavin and zinc in their body allow the reflectiveness of their eyes to be brighter. Both of these nutrients have reflective properties that are enhanced by the amount within. The more zinc, the brighter the green in your dog’s eyes.
Why do my dog’s eyes glow in pictures?
Even if you take a picture of your dog under a light, you may notice that their eyes are glowing in the picture. The flash in your camera lens interacts with the reflective portion of your dog’s iris in their eyes. Not unlike people, but a direct shot of the eye with the lens forces the light to reflect, capturing it in the picture.
This makes the eyes on the dog appear to glow and draw attention to this part of the picture. This does not mean that anything is wrong with your dog, but they looked directly into the camera when the picture was taken.
Why do some dog’s eyes glow red?
If you notice that the glow in your dog’s eyes has shifted, then the color probably reflects a red tint. Some dogs will always have a red glow to their eyes in the dark, while some start with green and then sometimes appear red. The red color instead of the green is the number of blood vessels that are in contact with the eyes and building up in the back.
This does not indicate that anything is wrong with your dog. It is just a reflection of what is happening within your eye at that time. This means that your dog could, at different times, have its eyes glow red or glow green.
Lack of Pigment
As your dog starts to age, you may start to see the red eyes more frequently than you did before. This means that the pigment in their eyes is slowly declining over time, and the blood vessels are reflecting through stronger than before.
This is more common with older dogs and some larger breeds. This could also be a factor in their diet, especially if you have changed their food lately. They may not have as much zinc or riboflavin as they did before.
Is it normal to see a glow in your dog’s eyes?
You can rest easy when you are out walking your dog and see that they are glowing. There is not anything wrong with your dog, and it is ubiquitous for them to glow. Since there are a few factors that go into the glow of your dog’s eyes, you can expect the color of their glow to change periodically, also. This is natural for their eyes to glow, and their eyes have shifted so that they can see in the dark.
Dogs who spend a lot of time outside or enjoy late-night walks around the same time every day will have this glow almost every day. If you want to see if it changes, you can take your flashlight and peak at their eyes when you are heading back in.
Not All Dogs Glow The Same
If you have two different dogs of different breeds, sizes, or even ages, you may find that their eyes look different and glow differently. This is normal and can be expected. Some breeds have more tapetum lucidum than others, so their glow is brighter or greener.
Even dogs of the same breed can have a different glow at night, contributing to individual factors affecting each dog differently. Something as slight as the arrangement of your dog’s eye is different from your other dog can be al the reason needed for their eyes to glow differently.
Angles Can Change The Glow
If you are used to looking at your dog directly and you see them from a different angle in the dark, the brightness of their glow or the color can be different. If you notice that when you are standing next to your dog, and they have a greener glow than when you look at them directly in the face, then the angle can impact what you are seeing and make you think there are changes with your dog.