Jump to content
REGISTER NOW! IPFD Virtual Dog Health Forum: 3rd – 4th June 2025
JUST PUBLISHED ‒ Moving from information and collaboration to action: Report from the 5th International Dog Health Workshop in Helsinki, June 2024

Pug - DogWellNet Resources

Ann Milligan

By Ann Milligan

This page contains links to DWN's and our Partner's & Collaborator's resources, research and reports that pertain to management of health and welfare issues in Pugs.

The pug is a brachycephalic breed. Breathing issues, spinal (hemivertebrae & screw tails) as well as several ocular issues can impact the quality and length of life in the Pug breed.  Locomotor concerns (hip and patella defects) are also recognized issues.

Obesity, reproductive (whelping) issues and thermoregulation ( heat intolerance ) are important management concerns.

Breed Conformation and Welfare Issues

FECAVA International Resources:

Healthy Breeding: Brachycephalic issues: shared resources

Ocular Syndrome

BOAS

Hemivertebrae in Pugs

The Evolution of Petface

Pug Myelopathy References

Pug_Myelopathy_References final 04.28.21_Smiler.docx

The document contains references to research on French Bulldogs as well as Pugs.

The Kennel Club and University of Cambridge's Respiratory Function Grading Scheme

UK:KC: Pugs: Category 3 Breed Watch

Points of concern for special attention by judges

  • Dogs showing respiratory distress including difficulty in breathing or laboured breathing
  • Excessive nasal folds
  • Excessively prominent eyes
  • Hair loss or scarring from previous dermatitis
  • Incomplete blink
  • Pinched nostrils
  • Significantly overweight
  • Signs of dermatitis in skin folds
  • Sore eyes due to damage or poor eyelid conformation
  • Unsound movement

Sweden: SKK: Breed Specific Instructions: BSI

Pug – brachycephalic and small molossoïd breed

Areas of risk are:

1. Breathing problems: Forced breathing with pronounced snoring sounds due to short muzzle, pinched nostrils, narrow respiratory channels (insufficient room in pharyngeal cavities and airways) and/or short and open rib cage with short ribs and sternal bone. Obesity/overweight. See Appendix 2.

2. Face: Overly short muzzle with improper dentition, excessive loose skin, and hair on a nose wrinkle disturbing the function of the eyes as well as the nose. The standard does in fact not ask for a nose wrinkle – neither unbroken nor broken.

3. Eyes: Protruding eyes, which increase the risk of eye injuries. See Appendix 3.

Look for sound breathing, sound skin and eyes, the formation of the rib cage, and the size and weight. The standard mentions the ideal weight to be 6,3-8,1 kg. The standard calls for: “Muzzle: relatively short”

BSI - Nordic Kennel Clubs 2018 (second edition)

France (SCC)

 

DWN Articles and Blogs

The LIFE file has rates of most common and highest risk causes of death.
The VC file has rates of most common and highest risk conditions requiring veterinary care.
  • A walking test developed for brachycephalic dog breeds will be adopted by the FinnishPug Dog Club. The Club has included the test in their requirements for breeding dogs. The requirement of passing the walking test will come into force when tests can be carried out all over Finland. The Finnish...
  • IPFD has an ongoing role to report on international activities for health and welfare for dogs and to serve as an information hub. Issues with brachycephalic dogs continue to be at the forefront of health efforts by many stakeholders. Our partners at the Swedish Kennel Club have recently...
  • ...They state that their goal is to identify "the most resilient dogs among thepug population in order to establish the healthiest possible pool of dogs for breeding". Pug fitness test Germany 2019.pdf The new effort in German exemplifies several important approaches: It has been de...
  • Internationaler Klub für Französische Bulldoggen e.V. (IKFB) feature article and video; breeding soundness tests - French Bulldogs
  • The attached paper describes a preliminary study done at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of The University of Helsinki at the request of and in collaboration with The FinnishPug Club. The study aimed to determine whether aspects of clinical history and symptoms or other evaluations could diffe...

  • Assessment of welfare in brachycephalic dogs

     

    ...breeding age French Bulldogs andPugs , using owner questionnaire, physical examination and walk tests Authors: Aromaa, M; Lilja-Maula, L; Rajamäki, MM Source: Animal Welfare, Volume 28, Number 3, August 2019, pp. 287-298(12) Publisher: Universities Federation for Animal Welfare DOI: http...
  • ...there has been a lot of focus of health and welfare issues in brachycephalics and in the spring information aboutPugs in the Netherlands. The situation of government regulations on dog breeding is a complex one, and without appropriate inclusion of all relevant stakeholders, we cannot be sure tha...

Videos

 

RESEARCH

O’Neill, D.G., Sahota, J., Brodbelt, D.C. et al. Health of Pug dogs in the UK: disorder predispositions and protections. Canine Med Genet 9, 4 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40575-022-00117-6

De Decker, S., Packer, R., Cappello, R., Harcourt-Brown, T. R., Rohdin, C., Gomes, S. A., Bergknut, N., Shaw, T. A., Lowrie, M., & Gutierrez-Quintana, R. (2019). Comparison of signalment and computed tomography findings in French Bulldogs, Pugs, and English Bulldogs with and without clinical signs associated with thoracic hemivertebra. Journal of veterinary internal medicine, 33(5), 2151–2159. https://doi.org/10.1111/jvim.15556

O’Neill, D.G., Darwent, E.C., Church, D.B. et al. Demography and health of Pugs under primary veterinary care in England. Canine Genet Epidemiol 3, 5 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40575-016-0035-z

Pegram et al. (2021) “Frequency, breed predisposition and demographic risk factors for overweight status in dogs in the UK” Journal of Small Animal Practice.  DOI: 10.1111/jsap.13325. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jsap.13325

Dan G O'Neill, Aoife M O'Sullivan, Erin A Manson, David B Church, Paul D McGreevy, Amanda K Boag, Dave C Brodbelt, Canine dystocia in 50 UK first‐opinion emergency care veterinary practices: clinical management and outcomes, Veterinary Record, 10.1136/vr.104944, 184, 13, (409-409), (2019). https://bvajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1136/vr.104108

O’Neill, D.G., Pegram, C., Crocker, P. et al. Unravelling the health status of brachycephalic dogs in the UK using multivariable analysis. Sci Rep 10, 17251 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-73088-y

Great expectations, inconvenient truths, and the paradoxes of the dog-owner relationship for owners of brachycephalic dogs
Packer RMA, O’Neill DG, Fletcher F, Farnworth MJ (2019) Great expectations, inconvenient truths, and the paradoxes of the dog-owner relationship for owners of brachycephalic dogs. PLOS ONE 14(7): e0219918. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0219918

Rohdin, C., Jäderlund, K.H., Ljungvall, I., Lindblad-Toh, K. and Häggström, J. (2018), High prevalence of gait abnormalities in pugs. Veterinary Record, 182: 167-167. https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.104510 https://bvajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1136/vr.104510

ONGOING Research

Pug Dog Club of America:  Pug Dog Encephalitis (PDE) Genetics Research Project - University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine

See: https://www.pugdogclubofamerica.com/uploads/7/4/8/2/74828213/protocol_for_pde_necropsy_donations_uga_updates_5.27.20.pdf

See more ongoing Research info at PDCA: https://www.pugdogclubofamerica.com/pug-health-research.html

pughealth&welfare-important.jpg

  • Report

    • User Feedback

    Recommended Comments

    There are no comments to display.

    Please sign in to comment

    You will be able to leave a comment after signing in

    Sign In Now

    Important Information

    By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.

    I accept