Pugs Are Not Cute

Pugs are not cute

Pugs are not cute. Pugs are malformed, inbred, sick animals that should never have existed.

(Above: pug and wolf skulls. Note the shallow eye sockets, crowded, protruding teeth, and short snout in the pug.)

Dogs pant to cool themselves. As pugs have practically no snouts, they have trouble cooling their bodies and they can suffer from organ failure as a result.

Pugs are often unable to breathe properly due to their short snouts and compact breathing passages. This inhibits their ability to do things that dogs like best - running, chasing things, playing.

Pugs suffer from a mangled jaw from which their teeth grow in all directions.

Because of the distorted shape of their skulls, their eyes commonly pop out of their heads. 60% of prolapsed eyes become blind. Eyes put back in the skull are prone to infection and the dog may need treatment for the rest of their life.

Their eyes are also prone to swelling painfully, becoming scratched, and being irritated by their eyelashes.

When excited, pugs are prone to getting fluid stuck in their throats, making them choke or gasp for breath. This is given the cutesy nick name “reverse sneezing”. [video]

As it can be difficult for pugs to exercise, they are prone to obesity.

Some pugs are born with their nostrils pinched almost shut, making it impossible for them to live without an operation.

The wrinkles on their faces will become infected without constant, careful cleaning by their caretaker.

About 64% of pugs suffer from hip dysplasia (malformed hip sockets) which causes crippling lameness and painful arthritis.

Pugs have a genetic weakness to demodectic mange (a pretty nasty skin condition caused by mites).

Their curled tail makes them susceptible to hemivertibrae - misshapen backbones which cause spine bending and instability, neurological disorders, back leg paralysis, incontinence, and pain.

Pugs are so inbred that a study of ten thousand pugs in the UK had the genetic makeup of only 50 individuals. Inbreeding means that defective genes are more likely to be expressed and passed on to offspring.

Necrotizing meningoencephalitis (brain swelling) is common among pugs. Dogs with this condition usually die within a few weeks. 

I am so sick of seeing pugs being celebrated. Their small, squashed skulls, facial wrinkles, curled tails, and protruding eyes are actually valued when these characteristics are a cruelty in themselves.

Pugs are charming, sweet, funny little souls and they don’t deserve the bodies humanity has designed for them.

Stop celebrating pugs. Stop buying pugs.