Puppies are born deaf, blind, toothless, and without the full use of their sense of smell. Their eyes open around 10 to 14 days old, with eyesight fully developing at about 7 weeks.
The first sense that puppies develop is touch. Their mother's licking and nuzzling stimulate this sense, which remains important throughout their lives.
While litters often consist of genetically unique puppies, identical twin puppies have been recorded, with the first confirmed case in South Africa in 2016.
Puppies have baby teeth that they lose, making way for adult teeth around 4 months of age.
The color of a puppy's coat may change as they grow, with some breeds, like Dalmatians, developing their famous spots later.
Worldwide, around 1.2 million puppies are born each day, outnumbering human baby births by about threefold.
Healthy puppies typically double their birth weight within the first week of life.
Puppies are considered adults when they reach a year old, although the timing varies by breed. Smaller dogs mature faster than larger breeds.
The largest recorded puppy litter consisted of 24 puppies born via Caesarean section by a Neapolitan mastiff named Tia in the UK in 2004.
In rare cases, puppies can be born with a greenish hue due to a green bile pigment mixing with the amniotic fluid. This unusual color usually fades after a few weeks.
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