New Seeing Eye Goggles Cure Color Blindness in Dogs

The Seeing Eye, world renowned for its Seeing Eye® dog breeding and training program, has announced a massive breakthrough that will benefit all dogs. The canine species has long been affected by a form of color blindness that limits their color perception to shades of gray, yellow and blue. On April 1, 2014, the 85-year-old non-profit based in Morristown, N.J., announced that it has successfully invented goggles that allow a dog to see the world in full color.  The first dog trained to wear the goggles and identify the full color spectrum is a Seeing Eye dog named Rainbow, a yellow Labrador retriever.

“Rainbow has been an excellent working dog and companion. I used to listen for the flow of traffic when crossing the street, but now Rainbow can just read the traffic lights. As an added bonus, I no longer have to worry about whether or not my socks match,” said The Seeing Eye’s President & CEO Jim Kutsch, who has been blind since the age of 16. Kutsch has been secretly testing the first partnership with a Seeing Eye dog trained to use the new goggles.

With their enhanced full color vision, Seeing Eye dogs can provide extra aid to their blind and visually impaired owners when working near traffic and busy intersections. Seeing Eye dogs with full color vision can now read the colors of traffic lights and cross walk signals, and recognize stop signs for their bright red color. In addition, the dogs can now aid their owners in new ways such as color coordinating their outfits and selecting paint colors for their home.

Seeing Eye® Goggles: Frequently Asked Questions

How do Seeing Eye Goggles work? Seeing Eye Goggles have special lenses that filter light waves.

Who is the first Seeing Eye dog trained to use the Goggles? Rainbow is a two-year-old yellow Labrador retriever. He was bred, raised and trained by The Seeing Eye.

How did you teach the dogs to identify the different colors? As puppies, we taught several litters of Seeing Eye puppies to retrieve different colored toys that were named for their color. Next, the dogs learned to play a modified version of the children’s game “Red Light, Green Light.” The dogs who most consistently won these games were selected for the pilot program.

Is this a joke? Yes! Happy April Fools’ Day from The Seeing Eye!

Then how do Seeing Eye® dogs help their owners cross the street? We’re glad you asked! When approaching the curb, the handler is responsible for listening to the flow of traffic and giving his or her dog the “forward” command when the traffic is moving parallel to the crossing. The dog must watch for traffic and keep his or her handler safe from cars that may be turning right on red, running traffic lights or otherwise entering the crosswalk. This is where intelligent disobedience comes in - if it’s not safe to cross, the dog is trained to disobey the command until it is safe. Seeing Eye dogs are trained to display intelligent disobedience anytime following a command would put their handler in harm’s way. Seeing Eye dogs have been trained to safely guide their owners through busy intersections since the first Seeing Eye dog was trained, and we continue to have the most rigorous traffic training program among guide dog schools.

What else can Seeing Eye dogs do? Seeing Eye dogs are trained to guide their handlers around obstacles, whether they are on the ground or overhead. They alert their owner to changes in elevation or tripping hazards, and most importantly, they are trained to navigate street crossings and instilled with a sense of intelligent disobedience.  Dogs are taught to ignore a command that would jeopardize the safety of the handler, such as crossing against traffic or a command to walk off an empty subway platform.

 For more information about Seeing Eye dogs visit SeeingEye.org.