OT, Tell me about Pugs!

SkagSig40

SkagSig40

Joined
Feb 1, 2001
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N2S, I know you love Pugs and I like them and I'm thinking about getting one also. Do you have any advice you could give me? Do they have many health problems? Are they chewers, diggers, any special needs? It will be a friend for my chocolate Lab which is a great dog but this time I'm looking for a smaller more calm dog. Will a Pug do ok with a Labrador on a day to day basis? Thanks for the help!:D
 
Chris -
Had one for about five years. They can be aggressive around dogs of the same gender, and have many traits of terriers (fun loving, playful and stubborn as a rock). Some may have respiratory problems, and they can get kidney stones (which was what took ours). Their only oriental trait that I recall was "All your lap are MINE!!!"
 
Friend of mine has a Pug and it has some respiratory problems. It breathes kind of raspy, and snores like a log when it sleeps. It also seems to have pretty bad gas.
Other than that its a friendly little dog. :rolleyes:
Of course he used to smoke in his house and I'm sure that didn't help. (the owner, not the dog):p
 
N2S, I know you love Pugs and I like them and I'm thinking about getting one also. Do you have any advice you could give me? Do they have many health problems? Are they chewers, diggers, any special needs? It will be a friend for my chocolate Lab which is a great dog but this time I'm looking for a smaller more calm dog. Will a Pug do ok with a Labrador on a day to day basis?
Click to expand...

The wife got us into pugs a few years ago. At the time, my total experience with pugs had been gather from watching Bandit on Johnny Quest (that was the 1960s cartoon series).

Lets see:
1) Do they have many heath problems?
The big buggy eyes can make them a little more prone to eye
injury. We had one puppy injure itself several years ago while
it was first adjusting to its' crate. It hasn't been a big
problem, just something you have to be sensitive to. This is not
a breed of dog you want to pull through a briar patch on a
leash. :)

They also have flat faces. Like all flat faced dogs they can
overheat in hot weather and tend to snore (and make all sorts of
odd sounds) regularly. You can also expect your vet to try to
sell you pallet surgery. I haven't done that to any of the
dogs. It tends to be painful for the dog, and the owners wallet,
and I believe the dogs are doing fine without it.

2) Are they chewers, diggers, any special needs?
A bored dog of any breed will tend to entertain itself in often
destructive ways. Remember they didn't take your couch apart,
they just found some good materials to build a nest. Just cage
them or secure them when you are not at home and everything will
be fine.

Pugs do well as indoor dogs they don't need a great deal of room
and as they get a little older (1-1/2 - 2 years old) they tend to
spend most of their day lounging. Perferably on their owners.
They are very strong solid little dogs. They are perfect for
kids and toddlers, since they are solid enough to be handled
roughly.

They do shedd so regular brushing is something you may want to
do. Otherwise they are not particularly agressive. How they
survived in the wild is a mystery.

3) It will be a friend for my chocolate Lab which is a great dog but this time I'm looking for a smaller more calm dog.

Dogs aren't as sensitive to size as we are. We had a 5 week old
puppy (all of about 5 inches tall and two pounds on wobbly legs)
go up to a 70 lb Chow Chow and bark at it until the Chow moved
out of its way - it did. The big thing is to find a dog with a
good personality match. If your dog is an alpha male, you would
be better off by avoiding another strong male. In this case
though the size and age difference will be big enough so that
things would settle down very quickly.

We also had a pug puppy (15 lbs) chase a young labrador (110 lbs)
around for while. This went on for about 5 minutes until the pug
got winded and the lab decided that perhaps he didn't really need
to run. At that point the Lab chased the pug around for couple
of more minutes until the pug stopped a sandbox to dig a hole and
bury its head. (pugs are not very bright but they are
funny).

If you are going to get one try to find a dog that has been privately bred. We are getting rid of four puppies now and each one looks better then the example we usually find at pet stores.

Here is a photo of the little guy who took on the chow chow.

n2s
 

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We have a 6 month old male pug and a 4 year old female lab. They are the best of friends and play together very well. In fact, they look like one big puppy and one small puppy playing together. The pug also gets along well with our female 16 year old mongrel and our female cat
Pugs definitely think they're big dogs and don't seem at all intimidated by other breeds -- ours sounds very brave barking at the neighbor's rotweiler on the other side of the fence.
N2S is right on all counts: some chance of breathing difficulty, have to be careful of the eyes but otherwise tough and stout, very affectionate, lots of personality in a small package.
 
Thank you for all the good info! As soon as my last 3 14 hour days are over I'll read a little more on them! Please feel free to post anything more on them!

Anyone know about Bassett hounds? Kind of thinking about them also.:D :rolleyes: :p
 
pug.gif

...still say they have a face only a mother could love
 
Skag, you asked about Basset Hounds...I just bought my wife one for Christmas, something she has always wanted. Bassets tend to be a very laid back breed, which is another way of saying they are pretty lazy as dogs go. They aren't particularly aggressive, and are good with kids.

On the subject of Pugs, I tend to be a little biased. My father-in-law has one that he is insanely attached to. He and my mother-in-law don't brush the dog like they should, so dog hair is all over every piece of furniture in the house. With its flat face and squashed, ugly, unfunctional nose, it makes wheezing, snorting sounds when it breathes. It likes to scratch its butt on the carpet, the same carpet my kids play on when they visit their grandparents. It stinks.

I have deeply offended my father-in-law a time or two by evicting the nasty little mutt from my lap in a fairly brusque and decisive manner. The dog sleeps with him.

Did I mention that it stinks and makes funny noises when it breathes?

Anyway, I don't care much for Pugs, but I could be biased...you be the judge.;)

Now on the subject of dogs, I'd much prefer to talk about the most noble canines on the planet, a variety unique to America--the great American Bluetick Coonhound.:)
 
Hi, I'm usually a lurker, checking in daily for years now. I had to comment on the pugs though. My mother had two of these from puppyhood to the time they passed into the Spirit World from old age. They are sweet dogs, but I gotta say this...they snore. Yes, those little doggies can cut some logs. It's not a loud kind of snoring, actually it is pretty cute.

Hey, this is the HI forum! You might want to consider an Irish Wolf Hound as a lap dog. :D

good luck.
 
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