ArticleCanine medicine and genetics2022
Health of Pug dogs in the UK: disorder predispositions and protections.
Article in Canine medicine and genetics, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 26 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
26 citing papers in PubMed, 40 citations in OpenAlex.
- 'Teleonomes in Tatters': The Welfare Costs of Selecting Dogs for Extreme Phenotypes, and the Case for Change.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2026Article
- Article
- A solution right under our nose? Crossbreeding extreme brachycephalic dogs results in better health outcomes while preserving behavioural profiles and dog-owner relationship quality.Animal welfare (South Mimms, England) · 2026Article
- Lessons from changing soft tissue surgical referral trends for cats and dogs in a UK veterinary university teaching hospital between 2008 and 2018.Companion animal health and genetics · 2025Article
- Demography, common disorders, cause-specific mortality and life expectancy of Ragdoll cats under primary veterinary care during 2019 in the UK.Companion animal health and genetics · 2025Article
- Epidemiology and clinical management of 1072 dogs with diabetes mellitus in a UK diabetes register.Companion animal health and genetics · 2025Article
- Beauty versus the beast: The UK public prefers less-extreme body shapes in brachycephalic dog breeds.The Veterinary record · 2025Article
- Demography and Causes of Mortality of Pugs Under Primary Veterinary Care in Australia.Veterinary sciences · 2025Article
- The Prevalence of Corneal Disorders in Pugs Attending Primary Care Veterinary Practices in Australia.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2025Article
- Conformational eyelid disorders in dogs under primary veterinary care in the UK - Epidemiology and clinical management.PloS one · 2025Article
- A new future for dog breeding.Animal welfare (South Mimms, England) · 2025Review
- Review
- Awareness, experiences, and opinions by owners, breeders, show judges, and veterinarians on canine Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome (BOAS).Canine medicine and genetics · 2024Article
- Ocular Surface Characteristics in Pugs with Pigmentary Keratitis in the Canary Islands, Spain.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2024Article
- English Cocker Spaniels under primary veterinary care in the UK: disorder predispositions and protections.Canine medicine and genetics · 2024Article
- Salivary cortisol measurements in brachycephalic dog breeds as part of a standardized stress test.Frontiers in veterinary science · 2024Article
- Echocardiographic values in healthy Pugs: Effect of body weight, age, and sex.Open veterinary journal · 2023Article
- A Review of Clinical Outcomes, Owner Understanding and Satisfaction following Medial Canthoplasty in Brachycephalic Dogs in a UK Referral Setting (2016-2021).Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2023Article
- Dermatological Problems of Brachycephalic Dogs.Animals : an open access journal from MDPI · 2023Review
- Demography, common disorders and mortality of Boxer dogs under primary veterinary care in the UK.Canine medicine and genetics · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPugs 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.
resultsFrom 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).
conclusionsThe 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.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.