Recently, I made a purchase of pet supplies through Valley Vet Pet Supply and in that order, I'd asked for two Flippy Floppers (soft frisbees). My Parker is a sporty dog and he loves playing with all kinds of toys, but Flippy is his absolute favorite, he's completely obsessed with playing with them. He'll wear out two or three of these soft frisbees over the course of the spring, summer and fall.
Okay, so the order arrives and I open the box and what do I see? For the first time, ever, Valley Vet has sent me a green Flippy and a neon yellow one. I was frustrated and disappointed. I know that dogs are "red-green" color-blind, I know that Parker is not going to be able to see either one of these Flippies - especially not when they hit the grass. Because dogs see grass as "yellow" or something like that - or so I've been told. It was pointless for me to send them back, the postage would cost more than it's worth. Still, I'm frustrated and feel like I have to do something. So I write to the manufacturer of Flippy Flopper, Bmb Pet products, and I ask them; "Do you people put any thought into these toys that you're making? Considering that dogs are red-green color blind, why would you make a product and paint it a color that a dog cannot see?" For a graph, to see what range of colors a dog can see, follow the link;
http://www.uwsp.edu/PSYCH/dog/LA/DrP4.htm
Bmb pet products thanked me for making a "good point" and sent me two complimentary Flippy disks that were a color other than green. Yay, yay, yay! But something even BETTER happened after that.
All these years, Parker has been catching and chasing Flippies that were neon pink, neon orange or blue... When these disks would hit the grass, he would frequently lose them. Then, he'd start systematically running back and forth, canvassing the yard until he found his Flippy. (He would have made an awesome search and rescue dog!) This has happened every year for his 9 years, I've taken it for granted, as something normal.... Today, when we were playing with his very first ever Khaki Flippy, I saw something incredible. Parker never lost his Khaki Flippy! No, not even once! There was no hunting, no running back and forth searching for it. No! This Khaki Flippy stands out, Parker can really see it and he was able to run directly to it every single, solitary time that it hit the grass or flew into a bush. There was a dramatic and massive improvement to Parker's game. He was more relaxed, too, there was no frustration - he was having a great time. So, from here on out, it's Khaki Flippies ONLY! Because these are the ones he can see, they really stand out for him.
You may wish to experiment with the colors of your dog's toys and see how it effects his game?
