When Do Chihuahua Puppies Open Their Eyes? Surprising Facts (2024)

There’s no doubt about it:

Chihuahua puppies are insanely cute.

Butwhen do Chihuahua puppies open their eyes?

In this article you’ll find out the answer to this question.

You’ll discover:

• Why Chihuahuas are born with closed eyes.
• If you should help with opening your Chihuahua’s eyes.
• Surprising facts about Chihuahua eyes (did you know that Chihuahuas can have blue eyes?).
• And more…

When do Chihuahua puppies open their eyes?

Chihuahua puppies open their eyes when they’re ten to fourteen days old. Puppies are born with closed eyes because their eyes are still developing and fragile at birth. A puppy’s eyes should not be opened before they open naturally since this can cause the puppies to have problems seeing.

There are many other surprising facts you should know about Chihuahua puppies at this stage in their development. Keep reading to learn more…

You might also like: When Do Chihuahuas’ Ears Stand Up?

Why are Chihuahua puppies born with closed eyes?

It may seem odd that Chihuahua puppies are born with their eyes closed while human babies aren’t. However, the reason is that it takes longer for a puppy’s eyes and ears to develop than the rest of it.

If a Chihuahua puppy opened its eyes and ears before they were ready, it would be blind and deaf.

When a Chihuahua puppy’s eyes are still developing, they need to be in darkness. This allows the puppy’s perception of light to develop normally.

Chihuahua puppies aren’t just born blind – they’re born deaf, too.

This means that Chihuahua puppies are completely helpless and depend on their mother for survival.

Animals that tend to havehelpless babiesare animals that have many babies at once.

Are all dog breeds born with their eyes closed?

Not only Chihuahuas puppies are born with their eyes closed. All breeds of dogs have puppies that are born blind and deaf. It isn’t until a few weeks after birth that puppies begin to see things around them.

This is not just a fact that is limited to dogs, either. Many types of mammals are born underdeveloped, with vision and hearing that doesn’t quite work yet.

No matter the size or shape of the dog, from Chihuahua to Great Dane, they’re all born with closed eyes.

What should I do when my Chihuahua puppy’s eyes start opening?

What should you do? Nothing. The puppies should grow just fine on their own without help. While the puppies are blind, the mother should be with them to take care of them and watch over them.

Here is a videoof some Chihuahua puppies first crawling around with their eyes open:

If you have a newborn Chihuahua puppy that is not with its mother and is starting to open its eyes, the person who will be keeping the Chihuahua should spend the most time with it.

Why is that? Chihuahuas are a one-person dog, which means they find one person they like and become best friends with that one person.

So, if a baby Chi opens its eyes on the person who will be owning it for the rest of its life, the puppy can imprint on that person.

When a puppy begins toimprinton a human, it starts to see humans as a positive force in its life.

Should you ever open a Chihuahua puppy’s eyes?

Absolutely not. Because a Chihuahua puppy’s eyes are still developing in their first two weeks of life, forcing their eyes open early can do serious damage.

If a puppy is older than fourteen days old, and its eyes still haven’t opened, you may be dealing with a puppy that has a birth defect.

It’s best, in this case, to take the puppy to a veterinarian for a checkup to make sure the puppy’s eyes are healthy and normal.

Facts about Chihuahua puppy eyes

Chihuahua puppies take a few weeks to get their eyes open, but once they do have their eyes open, the puppy’s vision is still developing.

Here are a few facts about how Chihuahua puppies see the world:

• Chihuahua puppies have binocular vision.That means that there is an area of a Chihuahua puppy’s vision that overlaps, just like people.
• Chihuahua puppies have what is known as “protruding” eyes. Which means that the shape of the eye sticks out from the skull. This means that Chihuahua puppies can have more than their share of eye problems like scratches and other injuries.
• Chihuahua puppies have eyes that come in many colors,including blue.Blue eyes in a Chihuahua is a seriousfaultin the show ring. But it definitely doesn’t stop them from being cute.
• Chihuahua puppies are not colorblind.Scienceused to think that dogs couldn’t see color at all, but the truth is that they do see a few shades of specific colors such as yellow and blue.

What to do if a Chihuahua puppy won’t open its eyes

If your newborn Chihuahua puppy is over fourteen days old and its eyes are still closed, you should wait a few more days.

While most puppies open their eyes between ten and fourteen days, some puppies can take longer than others.

What if it has been twenty days, and the puppy’s eyes are still closed? It’s time to take it to a vet for an exam. This is so you can make sure that there is nothing wrong with the puppy’s eyes.

A vet can make sure the puppy’s eyes are growing correctly.

You can also help a puppy open its eyes around Day 16 or Day 18 by gently taking a soft cloth, dipping it in warm water, and lightly wiping the crease of the puppy’s eyes.

Sometimes fluids from birth can cause the eyes to crust over, making them hard to open.

It is very important that if you wipe a puppy’s eyes that you don’t wipe them too hard, as this can cause damage to the eye if the Chihuahua puppy’s eyes aren’t ready to be opened yet.

If the eyes don’t open with a gentle wipe, leave them alone. Whatever you do, don’t scrub.

What to do if a Chihuahua puppy is blind?

If you end up with a Chihuahua puppy that is blind after its eyes are opened, don’t worry too much.

Dogs that are born blind can navigate the world pretty well through their hearing and sense of smell.

As long as you don’t move things around too much, blind dogs get around fine.

If a newborn Chihuahua puppy opens its eyes and they look cloudy, don’t worry. This doesn’t mean that the puppy is blind.

Sometimes a puppy’s eyes will look milky or blue when they are very young, but the eyes will change to a darker color soon.

What can a Chihuahua puppy see when it opens its eyes?

For the first week or so after opening its eyes, a Chihuahua puppy can only see light and shadows, not any defined shapes. This helps it find its mother and its siblings in the den while the eye nerves continue to grow.

After this adjustment period, the puppy begins to see more clearly as an adult dog would. During this period of growth, a puppy also begins to move around and explore.

A week or two after opening its eyes, a puppy can see the world. It is around this time that humans can begin to bond with Chihuahua puppies since they can see as well as smell people.

Chihuahua puppies take time to open their eyes

It is hard to contain your excitement when Chihuahua puppies are still too young to have their eyes open and can’t move around much, but try not to rush them.

Chihuahua puppies need plenty of rest and patience to grow into happy adult dogs. So, even though you are excited to play with them, it’s important to give them time to adjust to their new world.