Pug Life Magazine

Welcome to the pug life

What to Expect as a Pug Owner

Pugs are sweet dogs that enjoy being part of a family. This is most likely one of the many reasons you chose to become a pet parent to a pug. Before you bring your pug home, you will want to prepare for living life with this breed. There are a variety of adjustments you may have to make, as well as getting use to the quirks that pugs bring to your life.

Snort, Grunt, Honk Shoe, Snnnnnort

Your pug has a short nose passage that creates snorting, snoring and grunting noises to appear from time to time. Since your pug will want to be by your side all day and night, you will want to feel assured that you can tolerate these noises. If you are sensitive to snoring, try getting yourself a pair of ear plugs so that you feel comfortable and get a good night’s rest.

Hair, Hair Everywhere!

Pugs shed their hair all year and frequently. You will want to get use to seeing your furniture and clothes having pug fur on them for your pugs entire lifetime. Brushing your pug frequently will help prevent the fur from building up on the furniture. However, you will still want to invest in a good quality vacuum cleaner and plenty of lint brushes to help keep your home and clothes free from your pugs fur.

Nom Nom Nom

Pugs always appear to be hungry. If their dreams would come true they would eat all day and night. As a pet parent you will want to be strong and limit your pug’s treats as well as provide scheduled feeding times. This will help prevent your pug from becoming overweight and developing health issues. If you feel concerned about the proper amount of food to feed your pug, consult with the veterinarian to assure you are providing the correct amount for your pug’s age and stage of life.

Let's Play

Pugs love to play with toys. Be prepared to purchase a variety of high quality toys. They don’t have to be fancy or expensive, but the toys do have to be durable. Pugs love to chew on their toys with a strong grip. It is also wise to provide a variety of toys such as ropes, squeak toys and balls. The toys that you are able to hide treats inside of are especially entertaining for pugs.

Shadow Pup

A large adjustment you will have to make is that your pug wants to spend all day, every day by your side. They are loyal and devoted to their owners. You will want to feel assured that you can handle having a shadow next to you at all times. When you do need to leave the house, you will want to provide a safe place within your home for your pug to stay. It could be a crate, soft bed or gated off area with lots of toys to entertain him or her. Be prepared to welcome a pug into your life by using the above list as guide to becoming a pet parent to a pug.

Training &

Breed Information

Pug puppies are much loved for their cute monkey like face which is distinctive for its wrinkly appearance and ever changing expression. Plus they have those lovely big round eyes that peer up at you.

The other distinctive feature of the pug is their tail which curls up tightly above their backs.

When given proper nutrition and exercise a pug puppy is a well balanced, muscular and powerful little package. They have a short but glossy double coat which comes in black and various shades of fawn. Pugs do shed so it's important to brush your pug every few days in order to minimize the shedding. A pug's mask and ears are most often black.

A healthy and fully grown pug stands at between 10 to 14 inches tall at the shoulder and weighs about 15 to 20 pounds. They are a beautiful sight.

Pug puppies are considered a toy dog breed - but don't be fooled! A pug puppy is a whole lot of dog in a small package. Pugs are chock-full of clownish personality, mischievous character and playful spunk. Pugs are also highly affectionate people oriented dogs who crave human companionship. And of course they are one of the cutest of all dogbreeds!

Appearance & Size

Pug Puppy Training

Let's be honest here - Pug puppies are not the easiest dogs to train. They have a stubborn independent streak and can be strong-willed little beasts. When training your pug puppy it is important that you start as early as possible. As soon as your puppy arrives home you should begin establishing desirable behavior habits while at the same time preventing problem behaviors before they arise.

Pugs respond best to positive, gentle and reward based training methods- the key is to make training sessions enjoyable and worthwhile for your Pug puppy. Use plenty of encouragement, praise and repetition in your training and try to focus on reinforcing desirable behavior rather than punishing what you consider to be bad behavior. Always be fair, consistent and show proper guidance to your Pug and he/she will respond brilliantly.

Some of the more common training issues Pug owners encounter are:

Pug house training or potty training is one of the first issues you will need to get right. It should be said that pugs are not the easiest dogs to house train. They have a small bladder and "accidents" are common place. My advice would be to pick out a proven pug house training schedule and follow it with consistency and patience. Your goal is to prevent as many house training "accidents" as possible and always reward desirable eliminations. Many pug owners favor the use of a crate in the house training process.
Your pug puppy will need to be taught proper household etiquette right from day one. This includes such things as chew toy training, keeping off the furniture and preventing food stealing. It's always better to prevent these behaviors from arising rather than trying to rectify established problem behaviors.
Pug puppy socialization is also a must. Your pug breeder will begin this process, then it is up to you to continue it as soon as your puppy arrives home. Puppy socialization helps to shape your dog into a well respected, sound and trusted member of society.
All the basic obedience training commands such as sit, down, heel, stay, come and stand are easily learned by a pug puppy. These commands should be taught to all dogs for their physical and mental stimulation and also for safety reasons. The "come" command is a particularly important one for pug puppies - it may save your dog's life one day.
Pug puppies grow to be a strong powerful little package. Therefore it is essential to train your pug to walk nicely on a loose leash.

Most importantly remember to have fun in your training sessions. Keep them short, intense and make them rewarding for your pug. You'll find that time spent training your pug is time well spent - it's where you will develop and strengthen the close bond you will enjoy with your pug puppy.