The 4 top causes of death for adult Pugs are:
1) Neurological disorders –
This is the #1 cause of death for the Pug breed (27.4%) . This refers to any disorder affecting the dog’s nervous system. The nervous system includes the brain, spinal cord and nerves.
The most frequently seen and fatal neurological disorder seen with the Pug breed is Pug Dog Encephalitis. This
Pug disease
causes an inflammation of the brain which in turn causes seizures, lethargy and loss of muscle control.
There is much more to learn about this often fatal disease; however research is slow due to the fact that it is breed specific and only affects Pugs.
2) Cancer –
This is the #2 cause of death for the Pug breed (12.5%) . The forms of cancer that most often strike with this breed are: skin tumors, mammary tumors (spaying a female greatly reduces the odds of this developing), testicular tumors (neutering a male eliminates the odds of this developing), mouth cancer and lymphoma.
Skin cancer is the top leading cancer with Pug dogs, 1/3 of all tumors found with the breed are skin tumors. Out of that number, 20% are mast cell tumors. Mast cells are cells that are normally found throughout the body and work to help a dog respond to inflammation and allergies.
With fatal mast cell cancer the most common areas on the body to find tumors are: main body (45%) , hind legs (40%), head or neck (10%). Ten percent are found in other areas and for Pugs diagnosed with this, 11% have tumors in more than one area of the body.