If You Have A Lot Of These 3 Specific Colors In Your House, Experts Say Your Dog Is Probably Really Uncomfortable
marta_dabrowska | Shutterstock | Canva Pro We all have our opinions about people's taste, but the most opinionated member of your household when it comes to home decor just might be your dog, of all people — er, canines. According to an art therapist, certain home decor colors make dogs anxious.
If you've got a dog, you've most likely come home at least once to find they've chewed the heck out of one of your throw pillows or anxiously gnawed on one corner of the couch. They do this because they're anxious, of course. But the source of that anxiety might just be the colors you've opted for at the furniture or paint store. Yup, those behavioral issues you thought were poor training might actually be linked to the bold accent wall in the bedroom or the wallpaper in your dining room.
“We tend to forget that our pets are absorbing their environment in ways we can never fully appreciate,” says Dr. Eleni Nicolaou, an art therapist at painting and crafting platform Davincified. Dogs see and process color very differently than we humans do, which means "the visual tone of a room can either soothe them or add to their stress," according to Dr. Nicolaou.
Honestly, I can relate: This is why I hate the color yellow. It is garish and obnoxious and makes me feel like I have to run out of the room, and I don't understand why people like it. No offense, but I hate your yellow walls! Your dog, however, probably loves them. Blue and yellow are the colors easiest for dogs to identify, as they essentially have the equivalent of the red-green color blindness many humans have. But that makes them super sensitive to other colors and visual qualities, like the following three that make them anxious.
1. Bright reds and oranges
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Because of their red-green color blindness, bright reds and oranges appear murky brownish-yellow to dogs' eyes. When placed on cool-color backgrounds, say an orange pillow on a blue sofa, it jumps out at them in a way that is jarring.
Because their color spectrum is limited, dogs are especially sensitive to contrast, brightness, and visual clutter. Reds and oranges against cool colors is a perfect example, and Dr. Nicolaou says this contrast creates "visual tension" that makes dogs feel unsettled.
2. Stark Black-and-White Patterns
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That black-and-white herringbone chair of yours may look stylish and cool to us humans, but it's likely very overstimulating to your dog. Aside from the high-contrast, geometric designs increase the "visual clutter" that can overstimulate them, especially if they're home alone all day.
Dogs with separation anxiety are particularly vulnerable to this kind of overstimulation. Since they're already feeling uncertain, contrasting, busy patterns can bring an extra sense of disarray to their environment.
3. Fluorescent or overly saturated colors
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We get it, you're going for an early '80s Lower East Side graffiti look with that fluorescent yellow rug and day-glo green throw pillow, but your dog doesn't know what any of that is and hates it, okay? He hates it!
"Anything that feels intense to us is likely amplified for a dog in terms of visual stress,” Dr. Nicolaou says. "Their eyes are designed to detect movement and subtle shifts in light, so overly bright environments can feel aggressive."
To put a dog at ease, choose muted colors like sage green.
It may be dull and overdone, and not to mention very Y2K, but that sage green color every Pottery Barn and Crate & Barrel was festooned in at the turn of the century is your dog's favorite, according to Dr. Nicolaou.
“Sage green falls within a range that dogs can perceive as a calm, neutral tone,” Dr. Nicolaou explains. “It doesn't create harsh contrasts, and it mimics the natural outdoor tones that dogs find instinctively comforting."
This doesn't mean you have to repaint your entire home to look like a Pottery Barn catalog from 2002, though. Dr. Nicolaou says just a few accents in a room where the dog spends most of their time, a sage-green dog bed, or a soft sage-green blanket in their crate can make a huge, comforting difference. Then again, sage green has made a home design comeback in recent years, so if you're looking for a remodel that's Fido-approved, you heard it here first!
John Sundholm is a writer, editor, and video personality with 20 years of experience in media and entertainment. He covers culture, mental health, and human interest topics.
