DogFacts - How dogs see

Dogs have camera-type eyes, which use a single lens to focus images onto a retina. Some other animals have compound eyes which have multiple lenses — sometimes thousands of them but dogs' eyes are more like our own. [source]

Dogs see differently than we do, though. Currently the thinking is that they see 'better' in some respects, but with a more limited colour range. [source]

It was recently discovered that different dogs have different retinas, some with what is called a "visual streak," a high density line of vision cells which runs across the retina, where others have an "area centralis," a single dot-like area where those high density cells are concentrated. Veterinary Scientist Paul McGreevey and his collaborator Perth neuroscientist, Dr. Alison Harman believe the dogs most likely to hunt and chase are the ones with a visual streak because they have better peripheral vision. You can tell what kind of vision your dog has by the length of its nose. Short nosed dogs have an area centralis. Long nosed dogs have a visual streak. And the dogs with the longest nose of all are the Afghans, also known, not surprisingly, as sight hounds, bred for hunting by sight. [source]

The area centralis dogs are not at a disadvantage though. Area centralis cells are much more concentrated than the visual streak line of vision cells, leading McGreevey and Harmon to hypothesize that dogs with area centralis retinas see in higher definition which would explain why some breeds watch tv while others show no interest in it.

Now that we know about these high density retinal cells, we can imagine that it might have a memory, not unlike a computer, with retrievable traces of past images being stored there.

Speaking of 'retrieving' (in this case iamges, not balls) artist Jana Sterbak's contribution to the Venice Biennale (2003) were six large screens playing back video taken by cameras mounted on Sterback's faithful pooch Stanley. Up until now, I've not been a fan of Sterback's work, (the most notorious being her Vanitas: Flesh Dress for an Albino Anorectic, exhibited at the National Gallery of Canada in 1991), but this piece says something about both the mystery of dogs, which all owners feel at some point, and how dogs work for us.

Articles about Sterbak's work:
[Art Focus]
[Richard Gagnon]
[Canadian Art]
[John W. Locke]