Health of Pug dogs in the UK: disorder predispositions and protections

Abstract

Background Pugs are a brachycephalic dog breed that has become phenomenally popular over recent decades. However, there is growing concern about serious health and welfare issues in the breed. To augment the evidence-base on the comparative health of Pugs, this study aimed to compare the odds of common disorders between Pugs and all remaining dogs under primary veterinary care in the UK during 2016. A cross-sectional study design of VetCompass clinical records was used to estimate the one-year (2016) period prevalence for the disorders most commonly diagnosed in Pugs and non-Pugs. Risk factor analysis applied multivariable logistic regression modelling methods to compare the odds of 40 common disorders between Pugs and non-Pugs. Results From a study population of 905,544 dogs, the analysis included random samples of 4308 Pugs and 21,835 non-Pugs. Pugs were younger (2.36 years, range 0.07–16.24 vs 4.44 years, range 0.01–20.46, p < 0.001) and lighter (8.95 kg, range 5.00–13.60 vs. 14.07 kg, range 1.41–85.00, p < 0.001) than non-Pugs. Pugs had 1.86 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.72 to 2.01) times the adjusted odds of diagnosis with ≥1 disorder than non-Pugs. Pugs had significantly increased adjusted odds for 23/40 (57.5%) common disorders. These included: brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (odds ratio [OR] 53.92; 95% CI 36.22 to 80.28), stenotic nares (OR 51.25; 95% CI 24.93 to 105.37) and corneal ulceration (OR 13.01; 95% CI 10.50 to 16.11). Conversely, Pugs had significantly reduced adjusted odds of 7/40 (17.5%) common disorders compared to non-Pugs. These included: heart murmur (OR 0.23; 95% 0.13 to 0.14), lipoma (OR 0.24; 95% CI 0.11 to 0.55) and aggression (OR 0.31; 95% CI 0.21 to 0.47). Conclusions The current study highlights that predispositions outnumber protections between Pugs and non-Pugs for common disorders, suggesting some critical health welfare challenges to overcome for Pugs. Highly differing heath profiles between Pugs and other dogs in the UK suggest that the Pug has diverged substantially from mainstream dog breeds and can no longer be considered as a typical dog from a health perspective.

The pandemic of ocular surface disease in brachycephalic dogs: The brachycephalic ocular syndrome

“…Veterinarians in the mid to late 20th century described how brachycephalic dogs had a high incidence of ocular problems, such as progressive corneal pigmentation and nasal fold trichiasis 64–68 . Further evidence supporting the link between ocular surface disease and brachycephaly has increased in the years that followed, and specific problems, such as DED, corneal ulceration, pigmentary keratitis, medial entropion of the lower eyelid, and prolapsed gland of the third eyelid, are known to occur more often in the eyes of dogs of brachycephalic breeds compared with non‐brachycephalic breeds 5,48,69,70 …”

“…A majority of studies of ocular surface diseases in dogs are based on referral populations (i.e., specialty care population), 5,21,39,48,72,73,96,104 and few studies focus on general practice populations, [69][70][71]100,105 while very few also include show-animals. 22,79 There are inherent biases with the use of first-line practice data, but there are also biases in the exclusive use of referral cases, as described previously.…”

The Brachycephalic Paradox: The Relationship Between Attitudes, Personality, Knowledge of Health Problems, and Dog-Human Eye Contact

“…Compared to this common knowledge, owners of brachycephalic breeds often rate their dogs as very healthy, even healthier than other dogs of their breed (Packer et al, 2019), despite these dogs being much more burdened with health problems compared to the average dog population. The pug, for example, can no longer be considered a typical dog in terms of its health (O'Neill et al, 2022). Owners of brachycephalic breeds are often rst-time dog owners and may have never had a dog during their childhood (Packer et al, 2017).…”

Rising ownership of brachycephalic dogs: what can we do to intervene?

“…However, there is also little doubt that pedigree dogs are predisposed to health issues related both to their breed standards 1 and their within-breed reduction in genetic diversity. 2 Many of these health issues are associated with craniofacial morphology, with brachycephalic dogs being orders of magnitude more likely to suffer from problems such as brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS), 3,4 heatstroke 5 and ocular disorders. 6 As a result, some, including professional bodies such as the British Veterinary Association, are now attempting to reduce demand for brachycephalic dogs and encourage a review of standards for these breeds, 7 whose wellbeing is compromised as a sole consequence of human desires.…”