Written in collaboration with vets
Puppies are highly dependent during the early stages of their life. In their first eight weeks, they require special care and attention to help them develop, typically relying solely on their mothers for nutrition to grow strong.
Dogs are born blind and deaf, keeping their eyes closed until vision develops later on. Nevertheless, this early period of life is when a dog grows and changes at its fastest rate, growing out of infancy and into explorative and playful dogs.
Puppies generally open their eyes within the first two weeks of their lives, typically between 10 and 14 days old. For most puppies, their eyes are still closed at one week old. Even when they start to open their eyes, they still won’t have clear vision. Their eyes continue to develop until they reach approximately eight weeks of age, during which they will slowly open their eyes wider, developing clearer eyesight.
Like most mammals, a puppy’s eyes will open when their brain reaches a particular point of maturity. However, a dog’s nervous system, optic nerves, and eyes are not fully developed at birth, unlike humans.
This timeline does vary for different breeds. For instance, larger canines, such as Great Danes, Saint Bernards, and Mastiffs open their eyes later than most other smaller breeds. This is due to smaller dogs reaching developmental milestones earlier.
This process is very slow, but progress can be seen from day to day. At first, a small slit may open, widening slightly every day. It is common for some discharge to appear in the corners of their eyes as this split opens, which can cause alarm for pet owners. However, this is completely normal, the puppy’s eyes will continue to open, and the discharge will soon clear.
This process will be visible for a few days before a puppy’s eyes eventually open fully, allowing the dog to experience its environment fully for the first time, rather than solely relying on smell and touch. Although their eyes are open after 10 to 14 days, a puppy will not develop clear vision until approximately 8 weeks old, when it has fully matured.
As we mentioned above, a puppy’s eyes are not fully formed at birth. This may seem baffling, but this part of a dog’s development occurs once they are born. The main reason why their eyes stay closed for so long is that their nervous system is still developing, including their optic nerves, which send visual messages to the brain, enabling vision.
A puppy’s eyes can not endure bright light until the optic nerves have fully developed. Therefore, their eyes stay closed whilst they continue to form. Also, closed eyes allow a puppy’s eyes to develop in a safer environment, preventing any dirt from entering the eye that could cause possible damage.
The majority of puppies open their eyes themselves without the need for any help. That being said, it is important that you check their progress every day. In some cases, you may need to contact your veterinarian immediately.
Signs to watch out for include:
Due to the delicate nature of a puppy’s eyes, proper care is needed as soon as possible. If your dog experiences any of these, contact your vet right away.
The development of a puppy’s sight coincides with physical coordination, such as walking. This is during what is known as the transitional period, with a number of key puppy milestones taking place.
Being fully dependent, puppies cannot support their weight fully during the first two weeks of life. Instead, they crawl on their stomach, pushing with their legs, which helps increase their strength. Puppies begin to rise up on their front legs when they are around five or six days old, before starting to use their hind legs at around two weeks. Although wobbly, a puppy will usually start to walk when they reach 18 to 21 days of age.
Remember, the first weeks of a puppy’s life are the most transformative in their lifetime. During this time, they do a lot of developing and resting. Learn how much sleep puppies need and more about your puppy’s health by exploring our resources to help them grow into strong, healthy dogs.
You can touch newborn puppies after around three weeks. When handling newborn puppies, you must do so very gently and only for short periods to avoid causing any harm or stress. Once they start to move around, it’s a good time to start handling them carefully.
Contrary to popular belief, mothers will not reject their puppies if handled by humans. But mothers will be naturally very protective of their puppies, so it's only fair to avoid her stress by limiting early access to the puppies being only the people who have an existing bond of trust with the mother.
One-week-old puppies should be resting and sleeping most of the time. Puppies tend to use up their energy by sleeping and feeding in order to gain weight and get stronger. At one-week-old, a puppy is in its neonatal period, a time when it’s building a maternal bond. Regularly check on your puppy to ensure it is putting on weight during this stage.
