PUG EYES

Pug eyes. Tell me about them.

We've had plenty of problems with ulcers. The number one piece of advice is to get them to the vet THE INSTANT you suspect something may be wrong. If they start squinting a little this is a telltale sign that something is wrong, but is still at the early stages.

Eye issues can turn very bad, very quick so a "wait and see" approach is totally the wrong one.

Here's a decent photo of PK (Pigmentary Keratitis) on Toby's eyes:

Christy, that's an excellent example of PK. I wish it weren't Toby though!

I have some good pics of Nells' eyes too. I'll have to find them tomorrow. She had bad ulcers that went untreated when she was a puppy so her eyes have been pretty bad ever since we got her. Luckily, once we got the ulcers under control, that she had when we got her, we haven't really had any issues. The only ulcer Lucy ever had was from a hair growing under her eyelid.

Snifter&Toddy wrote:Eye issues can turn very bad, very quick so a "wait and see" approach is totally the wrong one.

Very, VERY true! We have a friend who is a very experienced pug owner & unfortunately, one of her pugs lost an eye because she didn't get her to the eye dogtor quickly enough.

Aside from ulcers & PK, there are cataracts & glaucoma that we deal with. Buster has both - he sees the opthamologist every three months for pressure checks & is on two different eye meds daily. His cataracts developed at an early age & were most likely due to poor breeding (he was purchased at Petland store before we adopted him through rescue). The glaucoma started a couple of years ago. Pugsy is 99% blind now due to cataracts (sometimes she can make out shapes/shadows), but hers are age related.

I agree with getting to the doctor ASAP if there is any indication of eye trouble.

Toby is one handsome boy!!

I'm bumping this up to talk about treatments for the various eye issues.

I suspected that Mr ButterballBob could not see that well in certain light. The vet said today that he has several small ulcers in his right eye and significant PK in the same eye. Enough so that she gave me the option of being referred to an eye specialist. Of course I took the option, might as well get the relationship started.

Until we get there, BBBob is on meds for the ulcers.

aw, poor Toby. Yeah ..pug health problems are no joke. Well, for any dog really, but pugs just seem super prone to many health problems. Poor lil doggies!

akc0104 wrote:I'm bumping this up to talk about treatments for the various eye issues.

I suspected that Mr ButterballBob could not see that well in certain light. The vet said today that he has several small ulcers in his right eye and significant PK in the same eye. Enough so that she gave me the option of being referred to an eye specialist. Of course I took the option, might as well get the relationship started.

Until we get there, BBBob is on meds for the ulcers.

Aw, poo. And good that you're going to the eye dogtor. The best thing I ever did for Penny's eyes was go to the specialists in Ohio and then here in Reno. Hugs to you and BBBob.

Several of our rescue pugs have pk. Our vets around here (incl specialists) reccomend optimune drops followed with a tear gel several times per day.
That keeps most of them in check, maybe with slight improvement. One, our first rescue, is very nearly blind, and all the specialist could tell us this week was to up the dosage to 2% cyclosporine. optimune is .2%

DOES ANYONE KNOW OF A BETTER OR ADDITIONNAL REMEDY. I think at his age, doing surgey to remove the layers on the cornea is not viable, as it seems there is too much danger of rupture.

Any info will be appreciated.

Joan

PUGSMUM wrote:Several of our rescue pugs have pk. Our vets around here (incl specialists) reccomend optimune drops followed with a tear gel several times per day.
That keeps most of them in check, maybe with slight improvement. One, our first rescue, is very nearly blind, and all the specialist could tell us this week was to up the dosage to 2% cyclosporine. optimune is .2%

DOES ANYONE KNOW OF A BETTER OR ADDITIONNAL REMEDY. I think at his age, doing surgey to remove the layers on the cornea is not viable, as it seems there is too much danger of rupture.

Any info will be appreciated.

Joan

Joan,
Most of the eye specialist that I saw in Illinois and Tennessee prescribe Tacrolimus. It not only helps with tear production, but in some cases of PK, it has helped to break up some of the pigment. I thought the optimune was also called Cyclosporine which is the older medication that was mostly prescribed for dry eye and pk.

The vet ophthalmologist at Ohio State U put Penny on Tacrolimus, one drop each eye twice a day. That was 3 years ago, and her PK (which is pretty severe) has not gotten worse, and the pigment on her left cornea has decreased. It seems to be the state-of-the art medication for PK. I also put Genteal gel in her eyes at least every 4 hours.

I had one other pug on tacrolimus 3 yrs ago, and after several months, no improvement. We switched to optimune and one of his eyes cleared right up, and the other did not seem to change one way or the other. Maybe it just depends on the individual. For the lubricant, I use Lubrithal...expensive but works the best for me. I am always hoping that someone will come up with a "miracle drug" and all these eyesight problems will get cleared up.

Of our 9 pugs (8 rescues) I have one blind from being diabetic, and 5 others that have pk and 3 of these have had surgery to tuck their wrinkle, and/or cauterize eyelashes.

Pug prayers to all, Joan

Just as an update on pk: after only 2 weeks on the 2% cyclosporine, Solomon's left eye is nearly half clear, from being completely covered. Absolutely unbelievable. He has been so brave, but when you combine paralysis on the hind limbs with blindness or close to it, it was just too much for him.

Today he was playing in his cart, and toodling around the yard like old times. Prayers are answered every day. Best Christmas present ever. he is my heart dog, and when (if) he goes, so do I.

Joan

Excellent news, Joan. Please give Solomon a hug from me and Penny Lane.

Both of my boys are now on 1% Sandimmune (Cyclosporine)--the eye doc had Wally on Tacrolimus, but I asked if we could switch b/c it had to come from a compounding pharmacy and Wally's PK isn't that bad (neither is Emmet's). He describes both as "mild."

The irony is, this a.m., I knocked the (glass) bottle off the counter onto my tile floor. It was a large bottle that I paid about $50 for, I think, and it was pretty full. Ugh.

Plus, both the eye dr. and my regular vet (and I was JUST at my regular vet) are not close by. I'll can probably get them to call it in to a local vet, but I fear that may be even MORE expensive.

To the Cyclosporine users--are your bottles plastic?

I think they have to be in glass. the tubes (optimune) is only .2%

Eph91 wrote:...To the Cyclosporine users--are your bottles plastic?

We used it for Sherman's eyes. Ours comes in a small tube of .2%- $40 per tube.. I mean it is a TINY 3.5 gram tube...

I just learned that the bottle wasn't $50 (that was the Tacrolimus); it was $87!!!! I smashed $87 on my floor this a.m.... (well, maybe $80; I'd used it for a few days.)

Ugh.

I've put a call in to see if we can go back to Tacrolimus; it's actually less expensive per ml. and it comes in a plastic bottle.

I'm about to start using something called Nu-Eyes for cataracts on my seniors and myself. Anyone tried it? It's an OTC medication that another senior pug owner told me about. I had to order it on line.

www.bionational.com/.../015-canine-cataract-treatment.html?... -

Here's the link.

and yay for solomon!

Hi there! New here to the forum but wanted to ask and share! First of all, I have a very senior Pug, Hop Sing. He's 14 1/2 and he has severe PK. I wanted to let everyone know that a great website www.absolutelypets.com has the BEST OPTIMMUNE price I have found. My vet charged me $40 a tube and I get it there for $25 and very quickly. I've been getting it for a few years now, used to be $23 which was awesome... but $15 a tube savings is amazing.

Unfortunately I was looking for some help for Hops as his eyes have gotten extremely bad lately. I was thinking about the lubricating drops every few hours and I read someone mentioned that, so I am going to try that. I don't think I want to take any more heroic measures with him as he is blind, deaf, arthritic and has some OCD too!!! But I do want to keep him comfortable.... I am going to look into the Tacrolimus someone mentioned.... See what that can do. Thanks for all the great input.

That is a good price for optimune!! If your pug is not responding to the tubes, they are .2%, if your vet will give you a script, you can get 2% (ten times as strong) from a compunding pharmacy, might help your old guy, it did mine!

ah yes the fun times of pug eye issues...

For those who remember us from when buddy was a pup they may remember most of my story

when i picked buddy of from who i thought was a reputable breeder he looks fine...by the next morning he was squinting, and his eye was all gucky... so we take him to my vet, and find out that he has a very deep ulcer, so i spend the next few weeks putting drops and ointment in his eye every 3 hours.. the ulcer clears up but he had some pretty horendous scar tissue..

Since then we have had constant issues with his right eye...due to the severe scaring his actual eyeball is bigger then his left...so of course if he even bumps his face on anything its scratched..i keep the ointment and drops on hand, but am seriously considering requesting my vet remove his eye, but i am nervouse about him having major surgery, and since he can't see anything, and it does not cause him pain anymore ( now even when he gets a scratch its like he has no feeling in the eye)...any advice is the eye removal the best option???

If the eye isn't causing pain, then it's more a matter of what feels best for you. But don't assume it isn't uncomfortable just because he shows no obvious signs of discomfort. Hazel had both eyes removed due to dry eye and she was already blind. When I was at the point of using eye lube every hour to keep her eyes lubricated, I took the eyes out. One in 2006 and the other (which was in the negative numbers on the tear production test by 2009) in 2009. Every time she had an eye removed, her energy improved. She didn't present as having discomfort, but I suspect she had learned to live with it and once it wasn't there anymore, she felt great.

My pom lost an eye this past spring to hypopyon and my shih tzu is also one eyed. I'm a bit of a fan of enucleation in many circumstances. I know it makes us cringe, but I've seen such improvements in my dogs with eyes that either weren't saveable or were no longer functional post enucleation. It gave them better quality of life--both because the eyes weren't bugging them and because I wasn't always hauling them up for drops.