Down syndrome or 21 trisomies is a lifelong disorder! This genomics-based disorder can cause mild to severe physical and developmental difficulties. In Down syndrome, one extra chromosome is present at birth, resulting in mental and physical problems. It is more common in humans than animals.

People or animals may have intellectual impairment, abnormal appearance, malformed organs, bad eyesight (cataract), poor hearing (tinnitus), impaired comprehension (dyslexia), and other diseases that may be caused by Down syndrome.

Do Pugs have Down syndrome?

Numerous human ailments may affect dogs, including diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, and even cancer. When it comes to Pugs, the small limbs and flat features of pugs might lead one to believe that they have the same traits as the human form of Down syndrome.

A pug with Down syndrome can’t be diagnosed because the disorder isn’t possible to be diagnosed in dogs. That doesn’t imply Pug doesn’t have this syndrome, only which it’s hard to know for sure at this point.

 Pugs & Down syndrome:

It is essential to understand that dogs can’t apply human rules since their chromosomes are different. Although dogs’ cells have 39 pairs of chromosomes apiece (totaling a whopping 80), no research has shown that they can be affected by trisomy 21, a rare genetic disorder. Still, there is no guarantee that genetics cannot be changed and chromosomal abnormalities can’t occur.

The brachycephalic syndrome in pugs is a genetic disease comparable to human Down syndrome. However, it is not called “Down syndrome” since it does not occur on chromosome 21. Down syndrome is quite rare in pugs, but they do tend to have a flat face. The most worrying thing about this is that pugs tend to have respiratory problems throughout their lives and ear infections, heart abnormalities, and spinal deformities, which are all indications of brachycephaly.

 Conclusion:

Till today, it is hard to say whether pugs or any other dog suffer from Down syndrome or not. Pugs exhibit a number of physical and intellectual characteristics comparable to the basic Down syndrome symptoms found in people.

It is important to note that this condition affects 1 in every 800 live births in people, but in pugs, it appears to be a breed-specific issue. Unlike humans, pugs are intentionally inbred to preserve desirable characteristics, such as Down syndrome. You can get more information about Pugs & Down syndrome here.