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Mostly nasal problems. It is important that you keep your pug’s nose and jowels clean. They don’t like to have you cleaning through all of their wrinkles, but it is necessary for a healthy pug.
All breeds have medical problems that are often more common in the breed. Some of the ones which pugs are often plagued with are:
Elongated Soft Palate: The soft palate is part of the structure of the nose and mouth. If it is too long, it can block some of the airway to the pug’s lungs and may need surgery.
Pug Dog Encephalitis (PDE): A form of encephalitis which is only seen in pugs and which is almost always fatal.
Eye Problems: Pugs are very susceptible to problems with their eyes including cataracts. Ulcers which can occur from a scratch or injury, dry eye, generalized progressive retinal atrophy, pigmentary kerinitis and other problems.
Entropian: The eyelids roll in, and the eye lashes rub on the surface of the eyes, irritating and causing scratches. If left untreated, in time this can lead to lessening of the eyesight and blindness.
Slipped Stifles (Patellar Dislocation): A dislocating kneecap can be either inherited or caused by an accident. Surgery is required if the problem is severe.
Stenotic Nares: The nostrils of the pug may be too small and/or the cartilage of the nostrils too soft for the dog to breathe through, and on inhaling they can collapse. Treatment requires surgery.
But in spite of the potential medical problems, most pug owners say that pugs are like potato chips, and you can’t just have one, and once you are owned by a pug, you will probably always have one in your life!
As some of the other posters on here have stated, pugs do have breathing problems. I doubt that there are ways to prevent that. Another of their problems though are their eyes. Since a pug’s eyes sort-of “bug-out” of their skull, their eyeballs can get easily scratched. Especially by cats! And since you asked, the easiest way to prevent eye problems would be to keep your pug away from strange cats.
My sister has a pug. Although pugs aren’t for me (I like bigger dogs I can wrestle with outside), I must admit that the guy is quite an amusing little character. Every breed has certain health problems – don’t let that prevent you from owning one! Good luck.
Pugs are known to have mostly eye and respiratory problems. However, the best way to prevent this is to select a very good breeder.
If you properly care for a well-bred pug, so should be able to avoid many health problem associated with pugs. Keep him/her out of extreme temperatures and feed properly so they don’t gain too much weight. You must also pay careful attention to grooming…keep those little wrinkles clean!