Among Its Many Merits, ‘Bluey’ Is Also Dog-Friendly

Although technically a children’s show, viewers have found that Bluey can be enjoyed by audiences of all ages. However, could the show’s broad audience also include dogs?

The show follows the adventures of Bluey, an anthropomorphic Blue Heeler puppy, as he explores the world with his family and friends through an imaginative lens. It has earned high praise from adults, especially parents who love the show’s encouragement of imagination and creativity, teaching of life lessons, and promoting of healthy family dynamics.

Bluey‘s high quality and wholesome premise means it has become a rare preschool show that can be enjoyed by the entire family. While it is unusual enough to hear that a children’s show has gained a devoted and wholesome adult audience, some are convinced Bluey‘s power doesn’t just transcend age but also species.

Is Bluey a dog-friendly show?

Curiosity about Bluey’s potential canine audience arose when viewers started noticing their dogs seemingly watching the show along with them. However, watching TV isn’t an unusual phenomenon for dogs. Although dogs perceive TV images differently than humans, they can still see and hear what’s playing, and some dogs are drawn to the colors, motions, and sounds. TikTok users believe that dogs’ interest in Bluey goes beyond the usual interest, though.

A TikTok from user Jaclyn Byrne suggested that all users play Bluey for their pups because the show uses “colours that pups can see.” Byrne paired the caption with a clip of a dog staring excitedly at the screen as the Bluey credits play. The clip quickly went viral, gathering over 13 million likes, a million reshares, and over 44k comments.

The video was quickly followed by users testing out Bluey on their dogs or showing how Bluey became a part of their pet’s routine. In almost all of the videos, the dogs appear mesmerized by the cartoon.

Meanwhile, these TikTok users are actually on to something with their theory. As mentioned above, dogs are able to watch movies and TV shows, but they perceive them differently than humans. One of the major differences between human and dog eyesight is color perception. Dogs and humans both have cones in their retinas, which are photoreceptor cells that give them the ability to see color. Humans have three types of cones: red-sensing, green-sensing, and blue-sensing. These three colors are vital to human vision, as every color on the visible light spectrum is a combination of them.

However, dogs only have two types of cones: yellow-sensing and blue-sensing. Where humans perceive red, green, and orange, dogs will usually see gray or brownish-yellow colors. Meanwhile, viewers will notice that Bluey is primarily in blue and yellow. The main character and several of his friends are blue, while even the Red Heeler dogs are a yellowish orange instead of pure red. So dogs will be able to perceive Bluey better than other shows, given its dog-friendly colors.

The creators of Bluey have never commented on the dog-friendliness of the show, though. As a result, it’s unclear if the color scheme is purely coincidental or was purposefully made for dogs to see. Still, regardless of how the color palette came about, it does appear fairly dog-friendly, giving viewers yet another reason to watch the show.

(featured image: damedeeso / Getty)