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PUG EYE POP OUT - WHAT TO DO!

momopug2000

Pug Eye Pop Out - What To Do And How To Stop It


Pug’s damaging their eyes is the scariest thing that can happen to a pug owner. One moment everything is fine and the next your pug’s eye is inside out, red and angry as heck, and it looks like something from a scary Halloween movie! It’s super scary but you should know this happens to pug eyes and there are things you can do to help!

NOTE: We have learned from experience that “When pug eyes are in question, go to the vet first and ask questions later!” So please, if your pug is having any eye trouble, go to the vet immediately. 


We will look at everything regarding Ocular Proptosis or the “Pug eye pop”. We investigated:

  • WHAT IS PUG EYE POP OUT? OCULAR PROPTOSIS

  • HOW COMMON IS PUG EYE POP OUT?

  • WHAT CAUSES PUG EYE POP OUT

  • WHAT TO DO IF YOUR PUG’S EYE POPS OUT

  • HOW MUCH DOES PROPTOSIS - PUG EYE POP - COST

  • HOW TO PREVENT PUG EYE POP

  • AND HOW TO CLEAN YOUR PUG’S EYES

WHAT IS PUG EYE POP OUT? OCULAR PROPTOSIS

When your pug’s eye pops out it’s called proptosis. (NOTE: don’t let this article scare you, if a pug owner acts quickly enough, the eye can be reattached!) The definition of proptosis is the forward displacement of the eyeball beyond the eyelid. So your pug’s eyelid will be essentially dangling from the eye socket. This is crazy injury is not as unusual as we would like. Pugs eyes can pop out when the pressure on the eyelid causes the eyeball (or globe) to “pop” out of its socket. This is a problem in brachycephalic breeds (aka your favorite short snouted pug!) because they have shallow eye-sockets with bulging eyes. 

HOW COMMON IS PUG EYE POP OUT?

Though most vets will see many one-eyed pugs in their lifetime, however, the average pug will never have proptosis. Proptosis is more common in pugs than we would like, but it isn’t as common as pugs pooping inside. That said, eye pop out for pugs is possible at any time in their life so if you are a pug owner you should be prepared just in case this happens! 

Some people think that pug’s eyes will pop out more frequently when they are old. There is no proof that old pugs eyes pop out more frequently than young pugs. Though it might make sense that their eye muscles will grow lax with age, many old pugs go their whole lives without having their eyes pop out. 

WHAT CAUSES PUG EYE POP OUT

  • Skin is pulled too hard around the face

  • Trauma - rough housing or simply knocking into something

  • Using a dog collar instead of a good quality pug harness

  • Excessive scratching

So many dogs with big bulging eyes suffer from having eye pop out! Pugs, french bulldogs, and boston terriers, Chihuahua, Pekingese, and Shih-Tzu’s all suffer from their eyes popping right out of their head! Proptosis (eye popping out) can happen during trauma or just normal play. If your pug is just horsing around, their eye could pop out without too much pressure. It can happen quite suddenly as one pug owner described “I saw it like slow motion, my pug was running to their food and bumped into my kitchen island. The next thing I know, his eye popped out!”

Luckily, most of the time this looks a lot worse than it is. The pug’s eye can be saved if the owner acts quickly enough. In one study of dogs whose eyes popped out (proptosis), over 27 percent of affected dogs had their eyes put back in and vision restored. 

WHAT TO DO IF YOUR PUG’S EYE POPS OUT

  1. Remain calm

  2. Call your local vet

  3. Can you pop your pug’s eye back in yourself? No, its VET time.

  4. You can cover the eye that is sticking out of the socket with wet gauze (use saline solution)
    IF YOU DO THIS, DO NOT REMOVE THE GAUZE YOURSELF. IT CAN CAUSE THE EYE TO GO OUT FURTHER. 

  5. Go to the animal emergency room immediately. (ideally have a friend drive while you hold your pug to make sure they don’t damage themselves further.)

BELOW IS A VIDEO TO WALK YOU THROUGH THE PROCESS SHOWING
HOW A TRAINED VET TREATS PUG EYE POP - PROPTOSIS

HOW MUCH DOES PROPTOSIS - PUG EYE POP - COST

The amount for a typical pug eye surgery very greatly. It can be anywhere from $500-$4000 and is very likely to cost over $1000 dollars. Our pug momo had her eye removed and the removal surgery alone cost $1600. That’s a lot of dog treats! This is why pet health insurance is so important! (our favorite is TruPanion)

HOW TO PREVENT PUG EYE POP

You can’t keep your pug on a golden pillow their whole life. They will need to go out, play, rough house with other dogs, get snuggled, eventually! So here is a list of preventative measure any pug owner should take:

  1. Step one get pet insurance. This way you know your covered financially and money isn’t part of any decision making process. Many policies can be had for 25$-50$ a month. This comes in hand because pug surgery is super expensive. When Momo had her eye trouble, the surgery for the eye removal alone was $1600!  Pet insurance will help you have peace of mind that if your pug’s eye pops out, you will be covered and can do whatever it takes to make your fur baby healthy again. Our favorite insurance right now is TruPanion. They are pretty good with payouts and easy to communicate with.

  2. Take your pug to full veterinary checkups to look at their general health and review any special needs they might have.

  3. Stay out of the woods!
    Though it’s not as much of a danger for proptosis, the woods can be super dangerous for a pug. They don’t really know how to close their eyes when running and can easily get poked by a stick or other object!

  4. Learn to care for your pug’s eyes! 
    First, if your pug has any eye problems, contact your vet immediately.
    THE STORY OF MOMO THE ONE-EYED PUG: When our pug Momo was a puppy she played near the woods and had her eye scratched. It was Easter Sunday when we noticed her squinting and a little mark on her eye. Since it was easter we decided to wait and see if it got better. BIG MISTAKE! The next day Momo’s eye was a big green zombie eye mess. It was really scary and sad. We rushed her to the vet, but they said it was too late. We had to then take her to the animal hospital to have her eye removed. In contrast, our second pug Mr’s Pudding was recently squinting in the same eye that Momo was injured in! We thought “Oh no! They're going to call pug social services and take away our pugs!” Luckily, we learned from our first mistake and drove Pudding to the vet IMMEDIATELY! They gave us some topical antibiotics for her eye and in two days it was almost all better. When pug eyes are in question, go to the vet first and ask questions later!

  5. If its bath time or nail clipping time, make sure that shampoo, soap, loose hairs, or stray nail clippings don’t get anywhere near your piggy friend. 

  6. Avoid Smoking in the house. It can really irritate your pug’s eyes.

  7. Use a harness. First of all, you should never use a traditional dog collar for a pug. It can strangle them and collapse their larynx permanently. Straining against a traditional collar can build up enough pressure to make their eye pop out! We love this medium size Puppia Harness, it fits perfect on pugs

  8. Supervise your pug if they are roughhousing and never pull their skin back from their face.

  9. If your pug is scratching their eyes or face, tell them to stop. They can inadvertently injure themselves! 

  10. Clean your pug eyes often to remove debris and any rheum (known as sleepies) or other discharge.  Even bits of food get in there! You can clean your pug’s eyes at least once per day. we recommend this Arava Eye Stain Cleaner. Its all-natural and really works!

HOW TO CLEAN YOUR PUG’S EYES

NOTE: This process is for healthy pug eyes,
do not attempt to do this is your pug’s eye popped out
or has an injury.

  1. Unscented baby wipes, warm washcloths, or a sterile eye cleaning pad. It’s important that this be sterile and your pug be comfortable with it. We avoid using toilet paper because it can crumble, and make sure the baby wipes don’t have any chemicals in them. It’s a good idea to test any cloth you use on your pug on yourself first! You’ll know pretty quickly if you should be using it on your best friend.

  2. Get some treats to motivate your buddy

  3. Moisten whatever cloth you're using. 

  4. Put your puppy on your lap or sit on the floor with them.

  5. Put your arm around your pug and hold them close. Start at the inner corner of the eye and work outward. You are just wiping! Do not push on the eye. Once you have wiped once, use a new piece (or different part ) of cloth to wipe again so that you don’t put the same dirt you wiped back in the pug’s eye! You can use water to clean your pug’s eyes, but we recommend this Arava Eye Stain Cleaner. It’s all-natural and really works!

  6. If you haven’t cleaned your pug’s eyes in a while, you may need to repeat the process to get all the eye dirt out.

  7. Give your pug lots of treats and praise. They just did a fantastic job sitting through some prime time pug salon care! 

  8. Inspect your pug’s eye. Is there excessive squinting, cloudiness, redness? If so, its a good idea to call your vet! 

  9. Don’t worry, as your pug gets used to having their eyes cleaned, this will get easier! 

CONCLUSION

If your pug’s eye pops out, don’t freak out. Take a deep breath and go through our checklist of what do if your pug’s eye pops out. Even though proptosis can happen in pugs, that doesn’t mean you should keep you pug from being active and playing! Pugs need plenty of exercise and fun playtime, so don’t keep them in a gilded cage. have fun with your little guy and be prepared if your pug’s eye pops out! 

In the event that your pug’s eye pops out and their vision can not be restored, don’t worry! Momo has only had one eye from the very beginning and it hasn’t stopped her from stealing hot dogs from children and eating tons of treats! Pugs are the most resilient dog breed and they will rebound right after a surgery!