Pigmentary Keratitis in Pugs

Pigmentary keratitis is a pigmentation of the cornea.  This condition is fairly common in Pugs because they have a medical condition called entropion, in which their eyes protrude out.

Most owners will see a brown discolorization of their pug’s eye.  This condition can interfere with their ability to see and can be painful.

Basically what happens is that in response to chronic irritation melanin is produced by melanocytes in the lining of the cornea.  This is a protective mechanism of the eye.

Some medical tests your veterinarian might perform on your pug include:

Schrimer Test
Fluorescein staining for corneal ulceration
Opthalmic exam
Examine eyelids

This is a fairly common in brachycephalic breeds like the pug.

Treatment  is focused on correcting the underlying cause, but in the case of the pug the cause is due to their breeding, so this condition is mostly just managed and not cured.

If your pug does have this eye condition it is a good idea to use photographs to monitor changes over time.

So if you do have a brown spot in your pug’s eye it is likely pigmentary keratitis.