 The Short Answer is: |
Dogs’ eyes at birth are already a substantial percentage of what their full size will be. Over the course of his/her life, your dog’s eyes will grow by 20-25%. |
In this article you will know the answer to the query “Do Dogs’ Eyes Grow?“.
- Fascinating facts about dogs’ eyes
- Do puppies’ eyes change color?
- Why do they do this?
- What diseases cause dogs to have small eyes?
- What diseases cause dogs to have inflamed eyes?
- Why did my dogs’ eyes get bigger?
- Can one-eyed or blind dogs have a good quality of life?
- Why do dogs growl when you look them in the eye?
- What are the main eye shapes that dog breeds have?
- How does a dog’s eyesight differ from a human’s eyesight?
- How can I better care for my dog’s eyes?
- Do dogs’ eyes grow?
Perhaps you have heard that the eye is the gateway to the soul. That is especially true for dogs.
Nearly two-thirds of all dogs communicate with their owners by using their eyes.
Often we wonder what our dogs are trying to say when they look into our eyes. There are times when we wonder about the eyes themselves.
What are the differences between dogs’ and humans’ eyes? Do they differ in any way? How do dogs’ eyes develop?
We’re going to answer all of these questions today… and more. First lets take a look at some interesting facts about dogs’ eyes.
Fascinating facts about dogs’ eyes
Dogs have less visual acuity than humans as we generally know. What is their visual acuity like?
A dogs vision is generally 20/75. Therefore they need to be 20 feet away to see something that we can see from 75 feet away.
As much as our dogs love looking into our eyes so do we. Contacting our dogs’ eyes triggers the release of oxytocin also known as the love hormone.
The mere act of maintaining eye contact with our dogs is enough to foster feelings of love and companionship.
Dogs cannot distinguish between red and green. Despite seeing colors they have the same visual acuity as a person who is red-green colorblind (without our visual acuity).
Blue yellow and grey are the only colors our dogs see in the world. However one advantage our dogs have over us is their ability to see in the ultraviolet.
The breed of your dog greatly impacts how he or she communicates with you using his or her eyes.
The research found that dog breeds that are closely related to wolves make eye contact with us less often. Dogs from other breeds also make eye contact with us for a much shorter period of time.
Blue eyes are one of the most recognized characteristics of Huskies around the world. Husky eyes are not blue the blue color is an optical illusion.
Huskies’ eyes appear blue because of how light enters and exits them.
Do puppies’ eyes change color?
They do. Generally puppies are born with blue eyes but their color changes about 9-12 weeks after birth.
They develop their “final” eye color weeks after they’re born and this happens slowly and gradually.
Why do they do this?
The eyes of newborn puppies lack melanin. As soon as they open their eyes and start to take in their surroundings the light that enters their eyes triggers melanin production.
The amount of melanin produced in the eyes depends on the genetics of your puppy. As the amount of melanin in the eye increases the color of the eye will be darker.
What diseases cause dogs to have small eyes?
Microphthalmia is the most common disorder that results in dogs having smaller eyes. The condition can be inherited resulting in one or both of the dogs eyeballs being noticeably smaller.
A puppys microphthalmia can also be caused by certain medications taken by its mother during pregnancy.
Nerve damage stroke or tumors are more serious diseases that can lead to small eyes.
What diseases cause dogs to have inflamed eyes?
Dogs can suffer from a variety of diseases that cause eye inflammation. Among them are:
- Tear duct obstruction
- caused by trauma to the eye
- or foreign body irritation
- Bacterial/viral/fungal infection
- Parasitic disease
- Canine herpes
- Adenovirus
- spotted fever Rocky Mountain
- Lyme disease
- Cataracts
- Autoimmune disease
- Diabetes
- High blood pressure
- Toxemia
- Cancer
- Corneal ulceration
It is not an exhaustive list and there are many other diseases that can cause your dog to have inflamed eyes.
If you spot inflammation in your dogs eyes contact your veterinarian.
Why did my dogs’ eyes get bigger?
There are two situations in which this can occur. Below are the details:
Exophthalmos is the condition in which the eye appears to bulge out of its socket.
Despite the fact that the eyes appear bigger the eyeball itself has not gotten bigger; it has simply been pushed forward.
Physically a bulbous eyeball results from buphthalmos.
It is sometimes difficult to tell the difference between exophthalmos and buphthalmos. A variety of diseases can cause them such as glaucoma blunt trauma cancer infection hemorrhage behind the eye inflammation cysts and more.
You should contact your veterinarian right away if you suspect your dogs eyes have gotten more prominent.
Can one-eyed or blind dogs have a good quality of life?
Blind dogs are hesitant to be adopted by many dog parents. It is also understandable that people are concerned when their pets become blind.
It is possible to live a happy and fulfilling life as a blind dog. Dogs are not as dependent on their eyes as humans so they are able to cope with losing an eye or being born blind much better.
Your dogs environment may require some adjustments on your part as the owner. As part of these adjustments you should fence your yard keep your dog on a leash at all times when you are outside and keep the dogs environment clear of obstacles.
The majority of blind dogs will also require assistance climbing stairs. The good news is that blind dogs adapt so well to their home environment that most people do not even realize they are blind.
Why do dogs growl when you look them in the eye?
When dogs make direct eye contact they are viewed as aggressive. The majority of dogs will break eye contact with us when we stare at them for a long time.
However some dogs will choose to respond to aggression by being aggressive themselves. When meeting a new dog do not look him in the eye.
When you have your own dog its okay because we can bond through it. Do not stare at new dogs when you meet them.
In addition when dogs are already aggressive looking them in the eye will most likely exacerbate the situation.
What are the main eye shapes that dog breeds have?
Although all dogs have round eyes the external appearance can differ from breed to breed.
Dog breeds have four main eye shapes: round oval almond (which can be further separated into thin almond eyes and round almond eyes) diamond-shaped and triangular.
How does a dog’s eyesight differ from a human’s eyesight?
We differ from dogs in six ways with regard to their eyesight:
A dogs visual acuity is roughly 20/75 as mentioned above. Consequently dogs must be much closer to see the same amount of detail as we can from a great distance.
What is the distance? For them to perceive the same amount of detail as we can see from 75 feet away they need to be about 20 feet away.
Even though some dog breeds have more acute vision than others there is still a difference between their vision and ours.
Enhanced sensitivity to motion: Our dogs’ eyes are much more sensitive to moving objects.
Previously they hunted prey in wild conditions before becoming our best friends. As a result their eyes evolved to be extremely sensitive to movement.
Gray blue and yellow are the colors dogs see in the world. Research also suggests that dogs can see ultraviolet light unlike us.
The way dogs view the world is similar to how a person who is red-green colourblind sees it.
Dogs’ field of view differs depending on their breed as it determines where their eyes are located; however their field of view is broader than humans’.
The dogs FOV typically covers 240-degrees (though this can vary depending on the breed) while ours only covers 180-degrees.
A dogs retina has many more rods than ours so it has better low-light vision. Additionally their eyes have a layer called tapetum which reflects light back.
The dogs can see much better in the dark with both of these aids than we can. Dogs have better night vision than humans in low-light situations and at night.
Dogs’ vision is worse in brightly lit conditions: Although they can see better in low-light conditions dogs’ vision in brightly lit conditions is worse than ours. They see the world in a darker manner.
How can I better care for my dog’s eyes?
We’ll discuss some ways you can take better care of your dogs eyes briefly.
You should check your dogs eyes every day to make sure that there are not any problems with his/her eyes. Here are some things you should watch out for:
Make sure that your eyes are clear and that there is no discharge or cloudiness.
Each pupil should be the same size and react to light and your dog should be able to hold his/her eyelids open without showing the third eyelid.
The mucus and crust that build up in dogs’ eyes can cause quite a bit of pain if not cleaned daily. Keep your dogs eyes clean by wiping them often with a damp cloth and using eyedrops made specifically for dogs.
It is important to trim the hair around your dogs eyes: These hairs can scratch your dogs eyes which will cause irritation and injuries. Be sure to trim them regularly.
Its important to protect your dogs eyes when bathing: Even if you use a tearless shampoo it can irritate your dogs eyes.
If you are bathing your dog keep all products away from its eyes. If something gets in your dogs eyes rinse them out as soon as possible.
Do dogs’ eyes grow?
Dogs’ eyes at birth are already a substantial percentage of what their full size will be. Over the course of his/her life your dogs eyes will grow by 20-25%.
You would not notice much of a difference. There you have it the natural explanation for why your dogs eyes grow.
Disease can also cause your dogs eyes to grow bigger as we discussed at the beginning of the section “Why did my dogs eyes grow?”.
Depending on the disease either exophthalmos or buphthalmos can occur. It is important that you take your dog to the veterinarian right away if this occurs.
Amanda (Author)
With over a decade of experience, Amanda is a distinguished dog trainer. Her expertise in canine behavior has transformed countless lives, fostering harmonious human-canine connections. Through compassionate and personalized approaches, she empowers owners to understand and connect with their furry companions, creating a legacy of joyful tails and transformed lives.
Osvaldo Maciel (Content Reviewer)
Osvaldo Maciel, a stalwart in the field with 14 years of experience, is a revered dog trainer. His journey is defined by a profound understanding of canine behavior, shaping unbreakable human-canine bonds. Osvaldo guides owners to connect with their beloved pets, leaving an indelible mark of happiness and transformation. His legacy shines through the countless lives he has touched.
