Top 9 Pet Insurance Plans For Pugs (2022)

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Pugs are funny little dogs with a chronically worried look thanks to their wrinkly brow. Don’t worry, though; your Pug isn’t fretting. Your furry bestie is just chronically cute! And beyond those adorable faces, Pugs are playful snuggle bugs who love their families. But while Pugs are great dogs with a friendly temperament, these small pups tend to suffer from a host of health problems, many of the issues due to their flat faces, making them one of the brachycephalic dog breeds. The short-nosed Pug we know today wasn’t always the breed standard. Over time, their faces flattened, and their health problems increased.

And because Pugs are prone to so many health issues, we’ve selected just a handful of their more common problems to give you an idea of how much your furry little one could make big bills. But with the assurance of a pet insurance plan tailored just to your Pug’s needs, you won’t have to worry if an emergency or illness suddenly strikes. To help you find the best pet insurance plan for your Pug, we’ve created a free and easy-to-use quote comparison tool to simplify your life.

Compare The Top 9 Pet Insurance Plans for Your Pug Using our Free No-Obligation Quote Tool below

The simplest way to compare pet insurance prices is to use our tool below. The comparison tool will show you quotes from the top 9 pet insurance carriers, including Trupanion, Pets Best, Lemonade, ManyPets, FIGO, HealthyPaws, Prudent Pet, Spot, and Embrace pet insurance.

How Much Does Pet Insurance for a Pug Cost?

Below are some sample pet insurance plans for a 1-year-old male Pug using the zip code 75001 (Texas) as an example.

• Pets Best – $40.99 per month
• Embrace – $35.77 per month
• Healthy Paws – $30.72 per month
• ManyPets – $37.48 per month

Ultimately, your plan’s premium will depend on several factors, including your dog’s age, size, and breed, as well as where you live. The costs will also flux depending on what type of coverage your plan has and if it will help with Pug-specific health problems. Let’s get more into those medical conditions and how much you can expect to pay to treat them.

Common Health Problems Associated With Pugs

Pug Dog Encephalitis (PDE)

Also called Necrotizing meningoencephalitis (NME), PDE is an inflammatory disease of the central nervous system that causes neurological issues, as well as pain and fatigue. As PDE progresses over time, the condition is fatal, but treatments are available to help maintain quality of life. This genetic disease kills 1.2% of Pugs.

RELATED: 3 Things All Pug Owners Should Know

Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome (BOAS)

Because Pugs have such flat faces, they can struggle with extreme breathing difficulties due to narrow nostrils, nasal bone deformities, an oversized soft palate, and even a narrow esophagus. If your Pug breathes loudly, loses its breath while eating, or doesn’t have any stamina, it could be suffering from BOAS. Severe obstruction to the airways can cause dogs to collapse from over-exertion or overheating.

Eye Problems

Because Pugs are one of the brachycephalic breeds, their bulgy eyes tend to experience many eye issues, such as Brachycephalic ocular syndrome, cherry eye, pigmentary keratitis, and globe prolapse, among others.

• Pugs with Brachycephalic ocular syndrome basically can’t close their eyelids over their bulging eyes because of shallow eye orbits and connective tissue problems.
• Cherry eye occurs when the third eyelid becomes inflamed and bulges from the corner of the eye.
• Pigmentary keratitis occurs when melanin deposits on the eye’s surface and creates a brown film. These deposits occur due to chronic inflammation of the eye.
• Globe prolapse is the technical term for when a dog’s eye pops out of its socket. And because Pugs have prominent eyeballs, they can be subject to this emergency health problem.

Hip Dysplasia

Simply put, hip dysplasia occurs when the ball-and-socket joint in a dog’s hip doesn’t form correctly and eventually leads to pain and decreased mobility. This Pug health problem plagues many breeds, and once diagnosed, the genetic condition will require lifelong care and management by a veterinarian.

Obesity and Diabetes

While being chubby itself won’t put your dog in the vet’s office, complications of obesity, like diabetes, heart disease, and joint problems, can. And Pugs run a higher risk for diabetes than other breeds. But keeping your Pug trim with diet and exercise could help keep diabetes at bay. If your dog is showing any symptoms of diabetes, make an appointment with the vet as untreated diabetes can lead to poor life quality and eventually death.

RELATED: 7 Signs Your Dog Definitely Needs More Exercise

Typical Costs Of Treating Health Issues In Pugs and How Pet Insurance Can Help

Taking your dog to the vet for annual visits is a bill you expect. But when the vet discovers a problem or the onset of an illness suddenly knocks your Pug off its paws, medical bills can stack up fast. With the right pet insurance plan for your Pug, you’ll be financially ready to deal with any bills, leaving you to concentrate on your best friend’s recovery.

Check out how pet insurance can help with the costs of these Pug health issues:

• Pug Dog Encephalitis (PDE) Costs: To diagnose PDE, the vet will turn to expensive scans, tissue biopsies, and even a spinal tap. Just the diagnostics alone could cost $8,500 or more. While there is no cure, this painful condition can be managed with anticonvulsants and steroids, which can get pricey depending on how often your dog needs them. Having pet insurance can help you cover the cost of diagnosis and afford the expensive prescriptions that provide supportive care.
• Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome (BOAS) Costs: Diagnostics for BOAS can involve expensive scans, with X-rays running around $200, CT scans averaging $1,000, and MRIs that can set you back up to $5000 depending on where you live. Once diagnosed, Pugs with severe BOAS often require surgery to reconstruct the soft palate and nasal deformities. Depending on the severity, these procedures can start at $200 and climb to almost $3,000.
• Eye Problem Treatment Costs: The cost for surgeries on the eyelids can start at more than $400 to repair cherry eye and range to $1,200 to correct Brachycephalic ocular syndrome. In the case of Pigmentary keratitis, many cases can be treated with monthly prescriptions, but severe cases may require surgery that can cost $1,000 or more. Globe prolapses are treated as emergencies, so on top of surgical costs that can cost $1,000 – $2000, you could be looking at the higher prices of emergency care. And when it comes to emergencies, pet insurance can help protect your bank account from disaster.
• Hip Dysplasia Costs: To manage hip dysplasia in Pugs, your pup may be prescribed medications to help with pain and degeneration. The cost of these monthly medications can add up over years of managing hip dysplasia. However, certain pet insurance plans will help you find relief from monthly prescription costs. And once the hip or hips reach a certain point of degeneration, the right plan can soften the financial blow a $2,000 – $7,000 surgery will run.
• Diabetes Treatment Costs: If your Pug develops an obesity complication like diabetes, your pup might need insulin injections. The average cost of an insulin prescription for a small dog can range from $500 to almost $1,000 per year. But with the extensive array of choices in pet insurance plans, you can find one that helps cover the cost of prescriptions, allowing you to save on that all-important insulin.

What Is Pet Health Insurance, And Why Do I Need It For My Pug?

Pet health insurance works very similarly to human health insurance. Your policy quote will range in monthly price, depending on your dog’s breed, age, and where you live. Typically, you’ll spend around $15-$72 per month as a pet parent.

Pet insurance is mainly about peace of mind, knowing you won’t be totally overwhelmed in case of an emergency. Enrolling even when your dog is young and healthy will ensure you have plenty of coverage when they need expensive medical care later. If you choose a plan more suited to your dog’s particular breed, you’ll be more prepared when something happens later on in their life.

Some plans cover accidents and illnesses, while others only cover accidents. Certain plans do cover breed-specific illnesses, and others do not. It all depends on what type of coverage you choose. With our free pet insurance comparison tool, you can get quotes from multiple insurance companies with no obligation to commit.

Whatever plan you choose, you’ll feel better knowing you can take care of your dog when they need you most. Plus, you won’t have to suddenly shell out thousands of dollars. Learn more about how pet insurance works here.

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