The question always arises from beginners in the retriever training world, “Why are the training bumpers are different colors?” The simple answer is the different colors determine the different levels of retriever training. Some bumpers are easier for a retriever to see than others due to dogs not being able to see any colors. Retrievers do not see colors the way we as humans see colors.
A white bumper would look white to your retriever, as it does to you, but an orange bumper would look orange to you and grey to your retriever. For the majority of retrievers, orange is “invisible”. The environment you are using your bumpers in determines their proper training uses.
White Bumpers:
Use during beginning stages for training marks
Use in a darker environment/backgrounds
Easily seen by your retriever
Orange Bumpers:
Use for training blinds and your retriever’s confidence is built up
Hard for your retriever to see/locate
Build marking/depth perception for your retriever and keeps its nose turned off until it reaches the bumper
Easily seen by the handler
Black Bumpers:
Use alongside white bumpers depending on environment/background
Use in lighter environment/background
Used for training marks/blinds
Easily seen by retriever during certain conditions
Black/White Bumpers:
Best of both worlds
Use in both dark/light environments/backgrounds
Use for training marks
Easily seen by your retriever
Best bumper for water training (If you are dealing with reflections on the water, your retriever is able to see both black and white)
