Color preferences in dogs: A replication study

Free-ranging dogs (Canis familiaris) in India have been shown to prefer approaching yellow bowls before blue and grey ones (Roy et al. (2025). Animal Cognition, 28(1), 1–9). However, it is not clear if this preference for the color yellow is specific to free-ranging dogs in India or whether it generalizes to other dog populations. We conducted a replication of the Roy et al. study to assess whether pet dogs in the United States show similar preferences by measuring whether they approached yellow, blue, or grey bowls first. We conducted two experiments and found that pet dogs younger than seven years old first approached yellow bowls most often, replicating Roy et al.'s findings. To test if brightness rather than color accounted for this preference, we conducted a third preference experiment with light, medium, and dark grey bowls. The dogs did not prefer the light grey bowl, indicating that there was not a preference for the brightest achromatic stimulus. Therefore, a preference for yellow food-related objects extends beyond free-ranging dogs to our sample of pet dogs. Understanding dog color preferences is important for guiding the design of dog products and environments but also is critical for canine behavioral scientists who must make decisions about colors for experimental stimuli.