Pug Puppy Eyes

[55kiddos]

I am getting a pug pup for the first time and wonder about their eyes. I notice some have what is often referred to as "inverted cross-eyes", or basically eyes that point outward more than forward facing. The pup I'm getting has this appearance. I have read different opinions on whether or not they get better as pup gets older. Some say they will always be this way, others say they get better, still others say you can do exercises to help strengthen the eye muscles. At her vet check, he said that they may or may not get better, but it does not affect their vision at all. I've also read this is a case of "bad breeding", but I'm already committed to this pup, so looking for a different breeder is not an option at this point. Any thoughts on this?

[Littlegirl]

When I look at baby pictures of Sophie she usually has one eye out of wack... As she got older I guess it got better since I don't notice it anymore in pictures. I really didn't notice when she was younger either, just when I looked at pictures.

I think this is pretty common, but I am no where near the authority on this. Im sure someone like Lisa will break it down into terms I will have to look up on Google.

[Cheryl7777]

I don't know much about the eye thing either. I just wanted to say congratulations on you new Pug baby and welcome to the Village. We have some very knowledgeable Pug people on this site who will be able to tell you more I'm sure.

[Tinker's mom]

Hello & to the village! Glad you found us. I don't have any advice but I'm sure someone else on here will have more knowledge.

[Rugbysmom]

Rugby went thru a stage in her puppyhood where she had what I called "googly eyes!" I've seen lots of pictures of Pug puppies that have them, too--I just thought it was a stage they go through & that they outgrow it. Rugby did!

[Wally 'n' Leto]

Wally has one wall-eye (not the reason for his name). It was much worse as a puppy but has improved as he aged. It still turns out when he's tired, and we find at those times he is a little more hesitant when it comes to jumping etc but other than that there's no real difference. It definitely doesn't slow Wally down, unless you can compare tired and not-tired performance in agility. I have spoken to a friend who has the same problem (the proper name for it is strabismus) and she says that when the eye turns out when she's tired or not concentrating on keeping them aligned it is very hard to judge distances, but she has developed (as presumably the dogs do too) coping strategies that work well for the most part (except she has an unfortunate tendency to accidentally break dishes by smacking them against the faucet -- not a problem for your puppy!!). I have heard that exercises work well for some people with strabismus, but I don't know how you would get a dog to participate in them - they have to do with focusing and following a moving object through a series of directions.

[shaynapug]

LOL....I co owned one that was really bad! She finished her championship cuz she was so nice otherwise!!!!

It happens!!!

[Snifter]

I wouldn't worry about it.

[55kiddos]

this is a picture of the pup. Other than the eyes being a bit "off", she is such a wonderful little girl. Looked up strabismus, and it does say this can sometimes be a symptom of more serious, underlying conditions. Any thoughts? Have any of your pups had this "look" as a pup. She is about 7 weeks old in this picture. I don't worry too much about it, but my husband is a bit more concerned than I am.

[Snifter]

Snifter at 9 weeks:



Snifter at (I think) about 9 months