There's a reason your dog loves watching Bluey, according to a viral theory

"IT ALL MAKES SENSE NOW," one fan wrote on the explainer clip which now has 47 million views.

2 min read

August 25, 2023 - 10:43AM

Lifestyle

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Bluey really is the show that keeps on giving and now fans think they've found yet another reason to love the Aussie cartoon.

A new theory claims that there's a very intentional reason why our furry companions sit right alongside us when we're watching the show, seemingly just as engrossed as we are.

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Image: TikTok / Supplied

The reason your dog loves watching Bluey

The viral theory, that's circulating on TikTok suggests that dogs are particularly drawn to Bluey due to the show's use of dog-friendly colours.

Creator @jaclynbyrne kicked off the theory when she posted a video of her pup in front of the show. She wrote over the clip: "If you have a pup, play them Bluey, they use colours that pups can see."

It now has a whopping 47 million views and 8.6 million likes and has blown the minds of Bluey fans around the world.

"That's so amazing, I have a pup so I want to go play it for them now!" wrote one shocked fan.

Another wrote: "I watch Bluey with my dog, it's so adorable to watch."

And a third replied: "We always play Bluey when we leave our dog home alone, it calms him down."

"IT ALL MAKES SENSE NOW WOW, THAT'S SO CONSIDERATE OF THE PRODUCERS," remarked a different user.

What are 'dog-friendly colours'?

But what does Jaclyn mean in her clip? Well first, let's take a quick dog science lesson (something I never thought I'd be writing about in my career, but here we are!)

It's long been thought that dogs were totally colourblind and saw the world in black and white. But more recently, scientists discovered that dogs actually have dichromatic vision, which means they have two types of colour receptors in their eyes (cones) – compared to humans who are trichromatic.

The two types of cones in a dog's eyes means they can see a limited spectrum of just blue and yellow wavelengths, while they lack a cone that lets them see red light.

As a result, dogs perceive the world in shades of blue and yellow, with reds appearing as a shade of grey or maybe indistinguishable.

Image: TikTok

The Heeler family is made up of two colours that dogs can see well

Now, back to Bluey! In case you didn't know, Bluey is blue! And so are many of the other characters; Bandit, Uncle Stripe, grandma Chris, grandpa Bob and cousin Socks.

Her mum and sister are red heelers, but are depicted in a softer yellow-y orange.

So, the Heeler family is in fact made up of two colours that dogs can see relatively well!

"It took me five years to realise this"

Jaclyn wasn't the only one who noticed this thoughtful touch, with others taking to TikTok to post about the phenomenon.

"Anyone else notice the Bluey characters are all already dog vision colours? Your dog can watch it too!" said: @thats_so_katie.

And influencer @asheleyspam wrote: "It took me five years to realise Bluey the TV show is made in dog vision colours."

So what are you waiting for!? Go watch Bluey with your doggo - they'll be able to enjoy it the same way you do - at least in terms of seeing the colours!