Prevalences of Known and Presumed Inherited Eye Diseases in Pugs in Germany.

Pugs commonly suffer multiple concurrent inherited ocular diseases, with entropion and pigmentary keratopathy most prevalent.

This retrospective study examined the prevalence and distribution of presumed inherited eye diseases in 294 pugs evaluated through the German panel of the European Eye Scheme programme. Ophthalmic findings were analyzed to identify disease frequencies and potential risk factors including age and sex. Entropion was the most prevalent condition (72.4%), followed by pigmentary keratopathy (36.7%), macroblepharon (24.8%), distichiasis (20.1%), and non-congenital hereditary cataract (12.2%). When categorized anatomically, 81.3% of pugs had at least one adnexal disorder and 41.5% had at least one corneal disorder, underscoring the high burden of ocular disease in this brachycephalic breed. Multivariable linear probability models and correlation analyses revealed that increasing age was significantly associated with higher probability of pigmentary keratopathy, keratoconjunctivitis sicca, and hereditary cataract. No significant association between sex and any ocular condition was identified. These findings highlight that adnexal and corneal diseases are extremely common in German pugs and likely reflect breed-specific conformational predispositions. The authors emphasize the need for continued ophthalmic screening programs, prospective studies to better characterize inheritance patterns, and targeted breeding strategies to improve ocular welfare in this breed. Clinicians should maintain a high index of suspicion for multiple concurrent ocular conditions when examining pugs, particularly in older individuals.

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