# Can dogs see the stars? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 29, 2014, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-see-the-stars/684834 "2014-03-29T16:09:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-see-the-stars/684834/21 "2014-03-31T01:11:43Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Birds can recognize star patterns and use them in migration. While I’m not sure if this capacity has been demonstrated in dogs, it’s possible that in some circumstances recognizing the positions of certain stars and star patterns could assist with orientation at night. To my knowledge dogs do not migrate for season changes. They usually only leave areas which they have marked as their territory to seek out food or water when either become scarce. They can, and apparently do, use scent primarily for that. ---
**Author:** ![nevadaexile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb8c5e/32.png) [@nevadaexile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nevadaexile)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-see-the-stars/684834/22 "2014-03-31T01:16:46Z")
> [@Napier](#): > > Is there some line of reasoning waiting in the wings here, such as “humans have no evolutionary need to see stars, and we can see them, and dogs have no evolutionary need to see stars, so they probably can”? Humans increased visual acuity has aided them in countless ways,types the man on a laptop which required human visual acuity to create. Dogs, and their ancestor wolves, on the other hand, have managed to exist for millions of years and yet have never achieved the same level of visual acuity as humans. If they needed to, then dogs with higher levels of visual acuity would have gained an evolutionary advantage over those which do not. Also, humans would have bred dogs to have better eyesight if they saw an advantage in that sense over say, hearing or smell. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-see-the-stars/684834/23 "2014-03-31T01:33:34Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > To my knowledge dogs do not migrate for season changes. They usually only leave areas which they have marked as their territory to seek out food or water when either become scarce. They can, and apparently do, use scent primarily for that. No, they don’t migrate, and I didn’t say or imply that they did. Wolves (and dogs are descended from wolves) may disperse over hundreds of miles from where they were born, and in any case can range over large areas where scent might not be particularly useful, and it’s not out of the question that they could use stars to orient themselves over such large distances. ---
**Author:** ![am77494](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d2c977/32.png) [@am77494](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/am77494)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-see-the-stars/684834/24 "2014-03-31T03:25:43Z")
It may seem counter-intuitive or even surprising, but the answer here maybe that we don’t know. If small insects can use the stars to the advantage, I would guess an evolved mammal also can. Here’s a cite " [Dung beetles follow the milky way: Insects found to use stars for orientation](http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/01/130124123203.htm)" ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-see-the-stars/684834/25 "2014-03-31T03:31:23Z")
> [@Ulfreida](#): > > They can’t see them very well, but they can smell them. Whereas humans need a [smelloscope](http://img.gawkerassets.com/img/196d0eky5hv83jpg/ku-xlarge.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-see-the-stars/684834/26 "2014-03-31T04:03:20Z")
[Seals can navigate using stars as cues.](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7532867.stm) Seals and dogs are members of the same order (Carnivora). Seals probably have even lower visual acuity than dogs, so it’s likely dogs at least have the potential to see and use stars as cues. ---
**Author:** ![randompattern](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/7993a0/32.png) [@randompattern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/randompattern)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-see-the-stars/684834/27 "2014-03-31T04:06:44Z")
If you hit them on the head hard enough? Sure! Relax I’m joking!😛 ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 10:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-see-the-stars/684834/28 "2014-03-31T10:40:22Z")
> [@nevadaexile](#): > > After all, their dispersal across five of the seven continents (Australia and Antarctica don’t count as we introduced them there) states their current evolutionary track seems to be working out pretty well for them without the ability… Uh…we introduced them to North and South America too, didn’t we? ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-see-the-stars/684834/29 "2014-03-31T14:58:43Z")
> [@Sailboat](#): > > Uh…we introduced them to North and South America too, didn’t we? Yes, as well as most of Africa. In fact, dogs are “introduced” by humans in most of their range. The evolution of dogs in general has been driven far more by artificial selection by humans than by natural selection. If we’re going to discuss the evolutionary influences by natural selection on canid vision, it’s better to look at ancestral wolves than dogs themselves. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-see-the-stars/684834/30 "2014-03-31T15:22:24Z")
We introduced dogs, but their nearest wild relatives the wolves also spread to those places on their own. And in fact, the wolves appear to have been descended from coyotes, which originated in North America. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-see-the-stars/684834/31 "2014-03-31T15:34:53Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > We introduced dogs, but their nearest wild relatives the wolves also spread to those places on their own. And in fact, the wolves appear to have been descended from coyotes, which originated in North America. Gray wolves _Canis lupus_, the ancestor of dogs, never spread to South America or to most of Africa. Wolves colonized South America for a time (apparently including the Dire Wolf _Canis dirus_) but died out there. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-see-the-stars/684834/32 "2014-03-31T16:30:29Z")
This should be easily testable. Get the use of a planetarium, set the light levels, etc. to simulate the actual stars as we see them in nature, bring in a dog with the lights off, then turn on the stars and give the dog a treat. Repeat this over time and eventually the dog will salivate when you turn on the stars. ETA: Different breeds (not to mention individual dogs) may provide widely different results. ---
**Author:** ![busterpickle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@busterpickle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/busterpickle)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-see-the-stars/684834/33 "2014-03-31T16:56:49Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > [Seals can navigate using stars as cues.](http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7532867.stm) Seals and dogs are members of the same order (Carnivora). Seals probably have even lower visual acuity than dogs, so it’s likely dogs at least have the potential to see and use stars as cues. So, basically, replicate this test with dogs. See if they orientate via stars. I rememebr watching one of those shows on Discovery, or NG, History going over tales of dogs. A trucker in Australia lost his dog hundreds of miles away and the dog made it back home. I think this has to be stars as general compass points won’t take you back to a house (unless you had a map and a magnetic compass). Stars, on the other hands, can get you real close and at which point you are famaliar with the immediate area. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-see-the-stars/684834/34 "2014-03-31T17:11:25Z")
Stars will only get you real close if you’ve got an astrolabe, a high-quality timepiece, and some mathematical know-how to use them. Much more likely is that the dog followed the road (or some other one-dimensional terrain feature like a river) until he reached a familiar-smelling region. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [March 31, 2014, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-see-the-stars/684834/35 "2014-03-31T17:18:20Z")
Given the subject matter, this is a very Sirius question. ---
**Author:** ![Yumblie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/76d3ee/32.png) [@Yumblie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yumblie)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2014, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-see-the-stars/684834/36 "2014-04-01T02:15:51Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > This should be easily testable. Get the use of a planetarium, set the light levels, etc. to simulate the actual stars as we see them in nature, bring in a dog with the lights off, then turn on the stars and give the dog a treat. Repeat this over time and eventually the dog will salivate when you turn on the stars. > > ETA: Different breeds (not to mention individual dogs) may provide widely different results. My friend brought her Pomeranian into a planetarium once. We were planning for a show which involved moving the stars around in daily motion repeatedly. When we turned the lights back, on we found that the dog had vomited, possibly due to dizziness from watching the stars move around. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2014, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-see-the-stars/684834/37 "2014-04-01T17:32:45Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > They especially like to smell Uranus… But Uranus isn’t a star. The light you see from it is reflected sunshine. So you might say that… Ah, nevermind. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [April 1, 2014, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-see-the-stars/684834/38 "2014-04-01T21:16:21Z")
I was walking my dog early one morning on one of the rare days where the Northern Lights were visible in Colorado. He definitely saw that. He howled at them. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [April 2, 2014, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-see-the-stars/684834/39 "2014-04-02T03:27:46Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > But Uranus isn’t a star. The light you see from it is reflected sunshine. So you might say that… It’s mooning us? > [@](#): > > Ah, nevermind. Ok [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-dogs-see-the-stars/684834.md?page=1)