Usually a four-legged friend appears in the owner’s house with his eyes open, but there are different situations. A domestic dog produces offspring or a kitten will be picked up on the street. In this case, it is important for a person to know all the stages of development of his four-legged friend in order to monitor the correct development in the first months of life.
Features of development
Despite appearances, a newborn puppy is not as helpless as it seems. Little dogs immediately smell and feel warmth. From the moment of birth until the opening of the eyes, the baby goes through a vegetative period, which is characterized by active growth. At this stage, it is possible to distinguish a weak representative from a strong one. More developed pets are the first to reach their mother's nipples, push their brothers aside, and gain weight faster.
The period from the day the chicks eyes open to the appearance of hearing is called awakening. On days 15-17, puppies of large and medium breeds try to stand on their paws. The next stage of development, adaptation, lasts until one month of age. But a lot depends on the dog’s breed, maintenance, feeding, and mother’s health.
Relationship between a dog's age and human years
Are you wondering how old your four-legged friend will be, in human age? To get the equivalent human age of a pet, you just need to multiply it by 7 or 6. This is approximately the case. Compare: dogs reach adulthood already at the age of two, when people need 18 years to do this. At 18 months, the dog will feel as fresh and cheerful as a person at 20.
On average, a dog lives up to 12 years. The figure depends on the breed, quality of life, genetics and other factors. Converted to human years, this would be approximately 64-77 years. When a dog turns 16, he feels like a full-fledged 90-year-old inhabitant of our planet.
There is another version. To obtain a dog's age similar to a human's, the multipliers must be gradually changed. For example, when a puppy is 2 months old, we multiply its age by 7, we get 14 human years. But upon reaching the age of six months, the puppy jumps sharply in development and its age is already equal to 5-6 human years, since the multiplication coefficient immediately changes to 10. 1 year is equal to 15 human years.
Why do puppies have their eyes closed?
Closing the eyelids at birth protects little dogs from environmental influences. Dogs are predators by nature. When hunting, their especially valuable qualities are hearing and vision. That is why almost all representatives of this branch of the animal world are born blind and deaf. In this way, nature protects the most important elements of the health of the offspring.
Another reason is the birth of puppies not fully mature. This is due to the hunting purpose of dogs. Their ancestors led an active lifestyle during pregnancy. Heavy and large offspring could interfere with the process, so children were born in large numbers, but not mature.
Rehabilitation after cataract surgery
Treatment of cataracts by surgery is painless, and new technologies have made it less traumatic and safe. Thanks to these qualities, the rehabilitation period has been significantly reduced and is quite comfortable for patients. The restoration of visual acuity and clarity occurs almost immediately after the operation.
Despite all the advantages, doctors at the Lege Artis clinic strongly recommend following a number of rules and recommendations throughout the entire rehabilitation period after cataract surgery. Following the recommendations allows, for example, to protect the cornea of the eye, avoid displacement of the implanted lens, infection, etc.
Some patients experience the following clinical signs after surgery:
- Painful sensations in the operated eye - the occurrence of pain syndrome is explained by the very fact of surgical intervention. No matter how carefully the doctor acts, tissue structures are affected during the operation, which is why unpleasant and painful sensations persist for some time. You can get rid of them by using eye drops prescribed by your doctor;
- Itching and severe tearing of the operated eye - such symptoms appear as a result of irritation, which also cannot be avoided during the operation. Such clinical signs are especially often present in the postoperative period after cataract removal. In most cases, special drops can eliminate such symptoms, but in order for them to be prescribed to you, you should tell your doctor about the unpleasant sensations;
- Redness in the eye - hyperemia occurs as a result of dilation of the conjunctival vessels. Such symptoms are not dangerous and do not pose a threat; a similar effect occurs in people from ordinary fatigue and sleep disturbances;
- After cataract removal, the eye sees poorly or there is complete blindness - this can happen with concomitant pathologies of the retina, optic nerve or other structures of the visual organs. However, remember that mild blurred vision or fogging may be present in the initial stages of the postoperative period. Minor visual defects will soon disappear as soon as the swelling of the cornea caused by surgical manipulations resolves.
At what age do puppies' eyes open?
Development in children does not occur in parallel. Puppies in the same litter begin to see and hear at different times. This is due to the characteristics of individual development. In many ways, the day when the puppies' eyes open depends on the due date. Post-term babies often begin to see and hear earlier.
This is interesting: Table of daily food intake depending on the age of the puppy
Normally, the time for epiphany is 10-15 days. The process takes place over several days. A small gap appears in the corner of the eyes. Then the eyelids gradually open. The dog begins to fully see the world in a month.
Parents' mistakes
Let's get acquainted with the main mistakes that parents can make:
Avoiding an answer. Yes, a child’s question can take you by surprise. It is acceptable to postpone the conversation if you are completely unprepared for it - it is better to think and provide a short answer than to remain silent, hesitate, be horrified, or become nervous. The child should not feel that he asked something forbidden. But he must get an answer to his question.
Sex specificity. Sex education issues should be dealt with by a parent of the same sex as the child. Preschool children are already aware of their gender identity, so they will experience much greater comfort when talking with a parent of the same gender.
Excessive details. You cannot provide a child with information that he cannot understand. Anatomical details are completely unnecessary for now. Let’s imagine a situation: a girl in a kindergarten group competently tells other children that she has a uterus, and the boy Petya has a penis and testicles. It sounds both scary and indecent. And the reason for this is the parents’ detailed story about how children are born. In addition, it is unpleasant for children to hear about the physiology of men and women; they begin to realize with horror that something similar will happen to them. Such childhood trauma can have a very negative impact on personality development and the ability to build relationships with the opposite sex.
Rush. Conversations on sexual topics with children under 2 years of age are prohibited. In the future, you should not impose your explanations on the child if he does not have any questions as such. The principle is simple: the child asked, the parent answered without paying special attention. For example: why is the grass green? - because the sun warms her; where the babies come from? - from my mother's tummy. It is clear that both answers are incomplete, but not a single parent would think of telling their child the features of the photosynthesis process. How is the question about children different from the rest?
Difficult answer. Some parents do not go into detail about the anatomy, but still overload their children with information, telling them that the birth of a child can be difficult, painful, he may be born on his own, or perhaps the doctor will have to make an incision for the mother. All this is unnecessary. It is enough that the baby knows that he came from the tummy because mom and dad love each other.
Ignoring the topic. Some parents believe that they are very lucky and the child does not ask awkward questions. But this does not mean that the topic should not be given due attention. We can say that the task of mothers and fathers, on the contrary, is becoming more complicated, since they will need to be even more tactful and delicate.
Inattention to topics of sexual abuse We know that some adults can be dangerous to children, so it is unacceptable to simply turn a blind eye
You should tell your child that no one has the right to touch his body, and that it is important not to communicate with strangers on the street, even if they seem very polite and offer sweets. It is necessary to teach the child to trust his parents, be sure to tell him that one of the adults tried to touch him
However, in this case too, unnecessary information and details are unacceptable.
A conversation about where children come from is not a punishment for shy parents, but an opportunity to warn a child against life’s mistakes and difficulties. There is no need to be afraid of conversations. The main thing is to prepare correctly, formulate phrases in advance, avoiding excessive frankness and not being ashamed of the question itself. The emphasis should be placed not on physiology, but on feelings.
Puppy development
Small pets begin to crawl after they open their eyes. At this time, they and their mother need to be placed in a separate enclosure, since the dogs fulfill their natural needs outside the place intended for their keeping.
Expert opinion
Anna Abramenko
An avid dog lover. Experience in veterinary medicine since 2009.
Ask a Question
Healthy puppies begin to walk at approximately 20 days of age. If the baby has not started walking by 30 days, you should contact a specialist.
Lack of hearing is more difficult to control. When a dog does not respond to sounds at the age of a month, this is a reason to go to the veterinarian.
The first liquid complementary foods should be introduced 2 weeks after the date of birth. Puppies can be given nutritious food when their baby teeth appear.
Interesting article: Changing teeth in puppies: at what age do puppies change their baby teeth
Expert opinion
Anna Abramenko
An avid dog lover. Experience in veterinary medicine since 2009.
Ask a Question
From the age of one month, the dog can already be instilled with basic concepts and begin to educate it.
Cause for concern
The following disorders should cause concern during the period of eye eruption in puppies:
- The dog's eyes did not open 3 weeks after birth,
- there is severe lacrimation,
- the eyelids of the kitten or the conjunctiva of the eyes are inflamed,
- the puppy's eyes fester.
If such symptoms are detected, the puppy must be taken to the veterinarian. He will examine the baby and find out the cause of the illness. In case of inflammation (blepharitis or conjunctivitis), the veterinarian will prescribe eye washes with freshly brewed warm tea, a decoction of chamomile, calendula, St. John's wort or Furacilin solution. If necessary, your puppy may be prescribed antibacterial and anti-inflammatory eye drops. For dogs, ophthalmic drugs Tsiprovet, Gentaline, Ophthalmostop, Trixie are used.
Sometimes, when examining a puppy, a congenital pathology is revealed, such as fusion of the eyelids, when the edges of the upper and lower eyelids are connected by a thin strip of skin. Dog breeds with folds on the muzzle are prone to this pathology: sharpeis, pugs, bulldogs, mastiffs, bloodhounds.
Eyelid fusion is considered physiological if it disappears on its own at the age of two weeks. If the puppy's eyelids do not separate after reaching this age, surgery may be required. The animal's eyelids are anesthetized with novocaine and carefully dissected along the fusion line. And to prevent them from connecting again, the eyelids are lubricated with boric vaseline for several days.
In any case, even if the puppies have received their sight in due time, and their eyes look quite healthy, at first, during the period of adaptation of the organ of vision, the puppies should be protected from too bright light. The muscles of the eyelids of canine cubs are still poorly developed and cannot effectively protect the eyeballs from negative influences, and the lacrimal glands are not yet able to secrete a sufficient amount of fluid necessary to flush the surface of the eyes and prevent the cornea from drying out.
- Until what age is a dog considered a puppy?
- False pregnancy (pregnancy) in dogs
- Dog pregnancy in detail by day
Possible problems
The reasons why puppies' eyes do not open can be:
- conjunctivitis;
- microbes getting into the gap between the eyelids;
- accumulation of specks and dirt on eyelashes.
The main symptom of eye problems is purulent discharge. To avoid further complications, it is necessary to treat these areas with one of these products:
- chamomile infusion;
- strong tea;
- furatsilin solution;
- antibiotic drops.
If the eyelids are fused, you should contact a veterinary clinic; surgery may be necessary. While there is no purulent discharge, you can try wiping your eyes daily with warm water.
What to do
Until the third week there is nothing to worry about, even if the whole litter is already learning to focus their eyes, and one is late and does not open his eyelids.
This is normal, it depends solely on personal characteristics.
The simplest option: the eyelids are simply stuck together due to dirt or dust. They just need a little help to open up. For this use:
- Warm water. It should be slightly warmer than body temperature and clean: preferably distilled, but you can just boil it.
- Chamomile decoction. Buy chamomile flowers at the pharmacy and brew the bag in boiling water for half an hour. Then let it cool.
- Miramestin. And other antiseptics that do not burn.
It is enough to wipe the baby’s eyes with all the ingredients six times a day. Dip a cotton pad into the composition, gently, slowly, so as not to harm, sweep over the eyelids.
It is strictly forbidden to use burning compounds, iodine and saline solutions.
Within two days of such therapy, the result should be visible. If it is not there and thin slits do not appear in the corners of the eyes, this means that something has gone wrong and you need to contact a veterinarian.
Most likely, the eyelids have either rolled up (this often happens in dogs that are covered with folds of skin), or have become very stuck together, or have begun to grow together. The doctor will separate them from each other in just half an hour - this operation does not require general anesthesia and is not considered dangerous.
If the baby develops conjunctivitis, which is obvious from the swelling of the eyelids and yellow pus appearing in the corners, you need to wipe his eyes with strong tea (you can even use a tea bag instead of a cotton pad) or the same antiseptics.
Puppy care
After opening, the dog begins to see after 2 weeks. At this time, special care is required for her. First of all, you should protect her eyes from bright light. Besides:
- If your pet is afraid to open his eyelids because of pain, it is enough to treat them with antiseptic solutions. This must be done until the dog fully recovers his sight.
- At first, when the eyes begin to open, it is worth rinsing. But the veterinarian prescribes medications for this.
This is interesting: Feeding frequency and daily food intake for dogs
In addition to vision, it is important to provide general care, which includes actions such as:
- tail docking, as required by the standard;
- deworming at 2 weeks;
- first vaccination.
Newborn puppies have blue eyes. The shade becomes natural later.
A whitish tone of the iris is a sign of vision problems.
How to choose?
Only an experienced breeder can understand which puppy needs maintenance. He is required to make the right choice from the entire litter
Attention is paid to those individuals who are in excellent health, active, and fully consistent with the breed in color and other characteristics. Often the owners of the bitch are ready to offer a lot of money for such puppies, since when sold the dog will still cost more than the rest of the puppies in the litter
It is worth saying that the exclusivity of the described individual is always determined by eye. No dog breeder can say with a 100% guarantee that in a few months the chosen dog will turn out to be the best or that pathologies will not emerge.
The initial cost is based on external features. Puppies that appear more active are considered healthier. Characteristics must fully correspond to the breed. Beginners often have to deal with a situation where the owner of a bitch offers a sick puppy as payment. Therefore, it is better to contact a veterinarian so that he can assess the health of the individual.
We must not forget that after the puppies are born, all expenses fall on the shoulders of the owner of the bitch. That is why it is absolutely fair that when a small litter is born, that is, less than five dogs, giving away one is too high a cost for mating. In this case, dog breeders try to pay with money, but not all cable owners like this state of affairs. In this case, an agreement providing for such circumstances could resolve all disputes.
Only a few experienced dog breeders are able to choose the right kitten as payment for mating. First of all, they check the pedigree of the dog, the first one they like is not suitable, personal sympathy is relegated to the background.
Having veterinary knowledge or calling a specialist allows you to determine the presence of birth injuries, pathologies and other abnormalities that may not be noticed by an inexperienced breeder. The dog's playfulness and activity also play a determining role when choosing
It is necessary to take into account the character of the animal, since leadership qualities are evident from the first months
When choosing certain dog breeds, you should pay attention to the following points:
- German Shepherd puppies are not passive; if there are signs of apathy, the dog may have health problems;
- when choosing a Yorkshire terrier, the determining factor should be the coat, which is long in representatives of the breed; there is no undercoat;
- Beagles should have a three-level color, but by two months they become black and white;
- You need to choose a Labrador puppy based on droopy ears, short but dense fur and fatness;
- Canne Corso puppies have black hair, you should choose them based on their bite, but the difficulty is that its final formation occurs only by 8 months;
- Pugs must have a black mark on their forehead; it is usually in the shape of a star or diamond.
Useful tips
Beginning dog owners should know the tricks of raising healthy offspring:
- at first, up to 20-30 days, it is better to keep the offspring in twilight;
- You should not try to open the puppy’s eyes on your own, especially with dirty hands;
- You cannot bathe the baby; the bitch will provide him with hygiene herself.
By the age of one month, purebred puppies receive their first document - a puppy.
Two-day-old puppies look helpless, blind, and deaf. Therefore, initial care for them should be coordinated with a veterinarian. In addition, the breeder should know that pets cannot open their eyelids on their own. Otherwise, their eyes can become infected.
Second period
From the 18th-21st to the 30-35th day - the period of primary conditioned reflex adaptation
. As in the first period, there is an intense daily increase in body weight, including the brain. Puppies become capable of developing conditioned reflexes not only to food stimuli (treats), but also to defensive reinforcement (hand pressure, etc.). However, the rate of formation of conditioned reflexes is still low; multiple repetitions of exercises are required. Puppies periodically move away from their mother, get acquainted with surrounding objects, participate in games with peers, and gain life experience.
Review
A concussion is a sudden but short-term loss of mental function resulting from a blow to the head. This is the most common and least severe type of traumatic brain injury.
The majority of concussions occur in children aged 5–14 years and are most often sustained during sports or falling from a bicycle. Falls and car accidents are the most common causes of concussions among adults. The risk of concussion is higher among people who regularly play competitive, group, and contact sports such as football or hockey.
A concussion may cause confusion or loss of consciousness, memory loss, blurred vision, and slower response to questions. When a brain scan is performed, a diagnosis of concussion is made only when the image shows no abnormalities, such as signs of bleeding or swelling of the brain. The term “mild traumatic brain injury” may sound ominous, but in fact the damage to the brain is minimal and usually does not lead to any permanent complications.
At the same time, research has shown that repeated concussions can lead to long-term decline in mental abilities and provoke dementia. This type of dementia is called chronic traumatic encephalopathy. However, only those who have suffered multiple head injuries, such as boxers, have a significant risk of such a complication. This condition is sometimes called "Boxer's encephalopathy."
In some cases, post-concussion syndrome develops after a concussion, a poorly understood condition in which concussion symptoms do not subside for several weeks or months.
