pug losing an eye??

I just read here about 2 pugs playing and one losing an eye. I have a puppy and a 2 and 1/2 year old and they are always going at each other. I am so worried... vickie

It can happen. I always supervise play between any dogs, not just my pugs. And pugs tend to use their paws to play so I'm doubly careful.

The bigger risk, I think, is with bigger dogs playing with a smaller dog. An eye injury can happen very fast without the bigger dog ever meaning to do harm.

great thanks. i will be very vigilant. Maybe i should limit them because the puppy (rocco) just lunges at lucy and sometimes she gets mad at him. thanks

vicpap31 wrote:great thanks. i will be very vigilant. Maybe i should limit them because the puppy (rocco) just lunges at lucy and sometimes she gets mad at him. thanks

Well, some of what Lucy is doing is teaching manners. Most adult dogs will put up with quite a bit and then will begin to let the pup know what they will and will not tolerate. I wouldn't leave them together unsupervised for the time being.

You guys are really very smart on this breed. Lucy is starting to teach rocco some manners just as you stated!!!! I was starting to worry for awhile. I do not leave them unsupervised when they are together and when i go to work rocco is penned off in the kitchen and lucy takes her favorite spot on the couch. She will not let him take her treats anymore or her spot on the couch and he is learning. I love it. thanks for your help.... vickie

vicpap31 wrote:You guys are really very smart on this breed. Lucy is starting to teach rocco some manners just as you stated!!!! I was starting to worry for awhile. I do not leave them unsupervised when they are together and when i go to work rocco is penned off in the kitchen and lucy takes her favorite spot on the couch. She will not let him take her treats anymore or her spot on the couch and he is learning. I love it. thanks for your help.... vickie

Hee hee. Well, I'd be in sad shape if after having dogs for 40 years and pugs for the last 8, I hadn't learned a thing or two.

Just thanks for being here for us newbies who so love their pugs and have thousands of questions. vickie

The big thing to remember with eyes is if you notice anything out of the ordinary like squinting, discharge of any color (even extra tears), the eye being bloodshot or has a blue tint, the dog rubbing extra, the eye looking saggy/droopy, bring the dog in to the vet right away. It also doesn't hurt to look if you have a veterinary opthomolist in your area incase you run into some issues. Like Blanche said, pay attention but don't get too over freaked out. Not all eye injuries/infections lead to removing the eye.

Funny i asked my vet about some discharge coming out of lucys eye and he said pugs just have watery eyes and sometimes there is discharge. he didn't seem alarmed.

Some pugs do. In fact, more commonly is an issue where pugs will stop producing tears (the common name is dry eye).

If you have the money to visit a specialist, (around here a regular vet office call is about $40-$55 where a visit to the opthomologist is $152 but covers some basic tests), it's never a bad idea, in my opinion. I think specialists usually go off of referrals, but if you want to just go in as a precautionary measure I can't imagine they'd say no. They have a greater knowledge of what to look for in eyes (anything from size/color of the optic nerve to how the eyelids roll in or out).

I'm sure many pugs do produce more tears than others and it's not a problem at all. All dogs are different.

Vicky:
I get a tear production test done on ALL my permanent pugs because dry eye is so common in pugs. It's called the Schirmer tear test and well worth doing. Range is from 0 to 25 (I think) and anything over 17 is considered pretty good. If you don't want to get the test done, then I'd get some good quality eye lubricant at your local drug store and start using it. I do it for all my pugs (those who have eyes) even if their tear tests were good--but I'm a paranoid freak about eyes.

I don't mess around with eyes and if your vet doesn't know pugs and their eye issues well, he/she could be underestimating a problem. I'd be inclined to ask for the tear test to be done.

And pugs are prone to distichia and entropion which can also cause goopy eyes and discharge.

Your normal vet should be able to do the tear test at a relatively low cost (they use specialized pieces of paper to measure the dog's tear productions). I have to echo what Blanche said. A good vet who has experience with pugs is worth the time and money to find.