What Does It Mean If A Puppy Is Born With Its Eyes Open?

If a puppy is born with its eyes open, it’s natural to assume it’s healthy.

However, it’s essential to understand what this can mean for its behavior. Since many of your pup’s eyes are shut, it may be difficult to interpret its behavior.

So, what does it mean if a puppy is born with its eyes open? Many people like puppies for their cute appearance and playfulness.

However, most people prefer to buy puppies that are closed-eyed because they look cuter and are more adorable. However, puppy owners should consider buying a puppy with open eyes.

This is because puppies with open eyes tend to be healthier and happier. For example, puppies with open eyes are often more active than puppies with closed eyes.

In addition, puppies with open eyes tend to be more social than puppies with closed eyes. Though puppies with open eyes may seem less cute, they’re usually healthier and happier.

For this reason, puppy owners should consider buying a puppy with an open eye.

What Does It Mean If A Puppy Is Born With Its Eyes Open?

Puppies are born with their eyes closed and undergo several stages of development before they open them for the first time.

During the first stage, which lasts for two weeks, puppies are blind and can’t hear or smell. During the second stage, which lasts for three days, the puppy’s eyes begin to open and it starts to hear and smell.

On the third day, the puppy opens its eyes for the first time. During the third stage, which lasts for two weeks, the puppy continues to learn and grow.

During the first week, the puppy’s vision improves, but it remains blind. During the second week, the puppy’s vision improves even further, and its ears open.

By the end of the third stage, the puppy is fully developed and ready to be adopted.

Why Are Puppies Born With Eyes Closed?

Puppies are born with their eyes shut to protect them from infection while they’re in their mother’s womb.

The protective eye membranes on their eyelids dissolve when born and leave the eyes exposed. Puppies’ eyes are then closed by blinking and by fluid building up around the edges of their eyes.

Finally, puppies’ eyes stay shut for about 17 days while they’re nursing from their mother.

What Is Going On Behind A Puppy’s Closed Eyes?

A puppy’s eyes are similar to human eyes in many ways.

For example, they can dilate and contract like human eyes. Also, a puppy’s eyes have muscles that can move them in different directions.

However, there are some key differences between puppy and eye anatomy. For example, a puppy’s eyes are smaller than the human head, and they also have an extra eyelid, called the nictitating membrane.

A puppy’s extra eyelid helps protect the eyes from irritations and scratches. Furthermore, puppies have a third eyelid that closes during sleep and protects the eyeballs from drying out.

Overall, a puppy’s eyes are very different from human eyes, but they work very similarly.

What Do Open Eyes At Birth Indicate?

Having open eyes at birth is generally a good sign.

However, there are some exceptions. Babies with open eyes at birth are more likely to have vision problems later in life.

However, if the eyes don’t close within 24 hours, the baby may have other health problems and may need an exam by a doctor. If your baby has open eyes at birth, it’s important to monitor them closely for the first few months.

If you do notice changes, contact a doctor immediately.

What To Do If A Puppy Is Born With Eyes Open?

Puppies are born with their eyes shut.

They open them after about two weeks. During this time, they can’t see or focus their eyes properly.

Eyes that are open too early are very sensitive and prone to damage. If puppies have their eyes opened any earlier than two weeks, they won’t be able to focus their eyes properly.

Also, the optic nerve may be damaged and may even become paralyzed, causing permanent blindness in the puppy’s eyes. Puppies that are over two weeks old are old enough to have their eyes opened.

However, you should still be careful when opening their eyes. It’s best to use eye drops to lubricate the eyes before opening them.

You should also use a soft cloth to gently wipe the puppy’s eyes. You should do this several times every day until their eyes are fully open.

Once the puppy has open eyes, it will be able to see clearly and properly.

Are Puppy’s Eyes Fully Developed When They Open?

Puppies are born with their eyes shut.

However, their eyes don’t fully develop until they’re about 10 days old. Thus, puppies can’t see when they first open their eyes.

Puppies are sensitive to light, so their eyes get darker when it’s dark outside.

Also, puppies can’t see very well in the dark because of their limited vision, so their eyes have blood vessels that absorb light.

These blood vessels help puppies see better in the dark.

As puppies grow older, their eyes get better and they can see better in the dark than before.

However, puppies’ eyes never fully develop until they’re about 10 days old.

What Other Eye Issues Can A Puppy Have?

The Pink Eye

Infection in the eye caused by bacteria or viruses often causes pink eye in dogs.

When a dog has pink eye, it may look like his eye is swollen and reddened because the infection causes the eye to swell.

To reduce pain, they may also massage their face with their paws or rub their nose on their bed or carpet.

Medication is frequently prescribed to treat the infection and to reduce the swelling and redness.

Glaucoma

This is a pressure imbalance in the eye that causes damage to the optic nerve and causes vision loss.

Look for wet or foggy eyes, squinting, loss of vision in the affected eye, sensitivity to light, or a visible bulge in the eye socket. If you notice any of these symptoms in your puppy, contact your vet immediately.

Medication is frequently prescribed to reduce pressure and to protect the optic nerve from further damage.

Cherry Eye

When the eye’s inner membrane, known as the nictitating membrane, bulges forward instead of remaining inside the dog’s eye socket, it’s called cherry eye.

This condition is very common in dogs and is usually caused by a genetic predisposition. The condition can occur in both one eye or both eyes and is common in small breeds of dogs.

Cherry eye can be treated with surgery if your dog is young and healthy enough to undergo the procedure. Your vet can recommend the best course of action to take if your dog develops this condition.

Typically, surgery is very successful and dogs recover quickly from this type of procedure.

Entropion

A hereditary condition in which the eyelid rolls inward toward the eyeball causing irritation to the eyes.

Typically, surgery is successful in correcting entropion in dogs but complications can arise so it’s important that your pet has regular veterinary check-ups following the procedure to ensure the eye is properly healing.

Do Dogs Have Colorblindness?

Dogs have colorblindness just like humans do.

However, their colorblindness is different in two important ways: it affects dogs differently and affects dogs at different wavelengths than humans do.

Humans have three types of cone cells and three types of rod cells in their eyes.

Cone cells are photo receptor cells that are most sensitive to short wavelengths like red, yellow, and green wavelengths.

Rod cells are photo receptor cells that are most sensitive to black and white wavelengths.

Rod cells are responsible for our night vision, while cones are responsible for our color vision.

Dogs have cones and rods too, but they have different compositions from those of humans: they have fewer cones and rods than other mammals and their eyes are more sensitive to blue light than human eyes are.

That’s why dogs see colors less vividly than humans do.

Also Read: How Many Puppies Do French Bulldogs Have?

Final Words

A puppy is unlikely to be born blind unless it’s a rare breed with genetic defects that cause blindness in pups. Since dogs are colorblind, it may be difficult for a puppy to distinguish between certain colors.

Don’t automatically presume that the puppy can’t see something just because you can’t see it either.

If you do not act responsibly as a pet owner, you can not only harm your dog’s health but also cause unnecessary anxiety to the dog by always having to point things out to it.

Three breeders contacted in response to this post said that their puppies can see at birth and that their eyes are healthy.

If it happened, it would be a very small percentage in the breed, and it would definitely be genetic or inherited – there is no way for a dog to be born blind.