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Eyes 101: Sight Development Puppies and Dogs

Eyes 101: Sight Development Puppies and Dogs

Updated On August 21st, 2000

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Reviewed By Petco’s Animal Care, Education and Compliance (ACE) Team

Have you ever wondered about why puppies are born with their eyelids closed? Find out more about eye development and eyesight in puppies and adult dogs.

Eye Development in Puppies

All puppies are born with their eyelids closed. The lids are closed because the eyes are still developing and bright light can damage to the sensitive tissues. The eyelids remain closed until the newborn puppy reaches 10 to 14 days of age. At this time, the lids open exposing the still immature eyeball. The eyeball at 14 days of age is bluish to gray in color. The iris, or colored portion of the eyeball, gives the eye this bluish appearance. Additionally, the cornea may appear hazy or not transparent. The iris will take on the adult coloration usually by eight weeks of age, but some breeds may take longer. The cornea will normally become clear by eight weeks of age also.

When pups first open their eyes, they can only see movement and shapes. The good news is that a puppy's vision will improve dramatically over the following weeks and should have adequate vision by eight weeks of age. An eight week old pup's vision should be as acute as an adult dog's vision.

How Puppy Vision Is Assessed

Visual evaluation can be assessed by silently tossing cotton balls into the air and observing the puppy's visual response. The normal puppy should follow the hand motion then watch the cotton ball as it moves through the air and falls to the floor. It is important to make no sound as the puppy may respond to the noise rather than the visual stimuli. This vision test can also be used to assess the vision of adult dogs.

Do Dogs See Colors?

[It is a myth](http://www.petcoach.co/article/are-dogs-color-blind/#:~:text=What%20colors%20do%20dogs%20see%2C%20then%3F,that%20appear%20similar%20in%20color.) that dogs only see black and white. While dogs cannot see every color of the rainbow as humans do, they can see shades of certain colors. It is thought that dogs can see shades of blue, yellow, green, and grayish brown. Humans also have the advantage in seeing fine details, but dogs can definitely see better in dim light as well as perceiving movement.

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