Pug Dog Breed Info
The Pug is one of the ancient Chinese dog breeds. It is a friendly dog breed that will be suitable for all families.
The pugs are adored all over the world, especially in Asian countries like India and the Philippines and it has become extremely popular in the last decade, most especially in the US.
One reason for this might be the squishy face, which is filled with wrinkles, combined with a pressed nose.
The pug dog breed has physical characteristics unlike any other dog breed which makes it distinct and a lovable personality as well.
How you can take care of this breed is not much different from other breeds but there are things to know about pugs.
Characteristics of the Pugs
This dog breed is small and compact. The most attractive feature of the pugs is the small nose and the pressed-back face.
Pug dogs come in different sizes like a teacup, micro teacup, and toy and colors like black, white, silver, chocolate, fawn, brindle, apricot, and others.
In some parts of the world, they are even considered a toy breed.
The pug dogs generally have a curly tail completing their look. The eyes of this dog breed are large and they pop out.
These characteristics present in a significantly adult pug with a large head make them stand out and will make it your excellent companion.
However, it’s not that easy to find or identify original pug puppies. A simple trick to tell if a pug is purebred is to contact a local breeder who has been breeding pugs for some time.
There you’ll be able to check the eyes, feel the breath of the pup, interact with the mother and ask questions from the seller.
Since pugs occupy less space, they are the perfect choice for people living in apartments.
They will not serve well as watchdogs or guard dogs but can be adored for their cuteness.
People who are looking to own their first dog pet can always choose a pug. While they are short and cute, they are known to have a stubborn nature.
It is not easy to please a pug and they will show quite a bit of a temper when they are displeased.
You should give proper pug puppy care and training. It is also important to control your home heating system to have the ideal room temperature of about 70°, this depends on the season.
To care for your pugs during summer, maintain a temperature of not more than 75° or less for puppies to avoid heat stroke because they are sensitive to heat and humidity.
During winter, a temperature that is more than 70° is considered too much and too cold and your pugs should be clothed at this time.
While these dogs might not be aggressive, they sure love to get a lot of attention.
They often use their temper to gain some attention from their owner. However, they can be easily trained at a young age.
The pug dog breed is an excellent choice for families with children. Since they often crave attention, being around children is something that they love.
Pug Dog weight and sizes
A full-grown pug size is in the range of 15 to 18 pounds.
On average, a healthy adult pug can be between 6.0 and 9.0kg.
At 12 weeks, pugs should weigh at least 5 pounds since they accelerate growth from this stage while at 6 months, they should weigh between 8 to 12 pounds or 3.8 to 6kg.
At one year when a male pug starts mating, the weight would be stabilized and it’s not likely going to surpass 9.5kg unless there’s a problem.
The female should start conceiving at 9 months and weighs an average of 11 pounds at this stage.
Breeding
While going into breeding for pugs as a beginner, it’s important to understand the breeding basics like the best age to breed male and female, making a good tie, and others.
To mate a pug dog for the first time, the owner should look for certain aspects of the mating dog. This will ensure that the resultant puppies will be of a high breed.
Always look for a dog that has wider nostrils as this will ensure easy airflow.
The weight and size of the dog should be considered. Since the body can be a little heavy, the legs should be of the correct width to support the weight.
Avoid the breeds which have a larger eye that is starting to pop out.
Feeding and Caring for Pugs
When it comes to the Pug dog breed, feeding them dry dog food is the ideal choice.
You can also offer wet food for one, two, and up to three months old pug puppies.
The puppy should be given more food to support its growth.
There are raw dog food recipes suitable for pugs and here, you can find your dog’s favorite food among them.
As pugs grow, they tend to get lazy and you may need to reduce the quantity of food accordingly to burn down fewer calories.
In the period of eight to twelve weeks old, give the puppy half a cup of the pet dog food. Distribute it throughout the day.
When they reach around four to six months, reduce the quantity to one-fourth of a cup.
After this stage, increase the quantity a bit but reduce the frequency of the diet.
During this period, you can start feeding your pug dog breed with homemade foods, fruits, and vegetables to balance their diets.
Your pug can eat cooked eggs, corn, chicken, white and wheat bread, and fruits like bananas, carrots, broccoli, steamed lettuce, blueberries, and apples without the skin.
All these should be in moderate quantity and not be given to them every day but be interchanged to bring varieties to the dog’s diet.
For the list of foods, fruits, and vegetables your pug can eat and if you can feed your pet with cucumber, cheese, dates, Jack fruit, and jello, you can check our dog owner guide on homemade dog foods.
Nonetheless, you should avoid feeding pugs with chocolate, grapes, garlic, kale, avocado, onion, jelly, too many nuts, ice cream, or salty and surgery snacks.
Pug Dog Health Issues
Due to its compact nose structure, this dog breed is often seen with respiratory issues.
Most dogs face breathing difficulties. Even while doing normal exercise, you can notice the dogs catching for their breadth.
Make sure the dog does not gain weight to avoid complications in this condition.
Also, maintaining the ideal temperature for the pug is essential during warm climates.
Since their eyes are popping out and wide in most cases, they are easily affected by eye infections.
They often hurt themselves by rubbing their eyes and damaging their pupils. Irritation and pain will follow in these cases.
Since this dog breed has a lot of wrinkles in the skin, they have to be kept clean. If not, dirt will get trapped in the wrinkles and cause irritation and infection.
Some believed that pugs do have a lot of health problems but this can’t be Justified since other dog breeds have health challenges too, especially when old.
Besides stomach issue which is not only common to pugs, canine hip dysplasia (CHD) and necrotizing meningoencephalitis which is commonly referred to as seizure, encephalitis, or inflammation of the brain are also common to old pugs like those who reach between 15 to 20 years.
Your pug can have seizures even while sleeping when old and starts showing symptoms like low appetite, problems with breathing, intolerance, changes in gum and mouth, etc.
How to buy Pug dog breed
It is important to buy pugs from the local breeders with papers and ensure he sells full breed to you.
However, depending on your choice, you can get affordable pug puppies and adults for sale online.
Cheap pugs for sale without papers are listed on OLX and Cartimar at 1,000 Indian rupees, a little more or less for Indians in Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Punjab, Chennai, and others.
Most people from Cebu, Isabela, or Manila in the Philippines wanting to buy pug at a cheap price do visit Cartimar to make their orders.
If you can’t afford newborn pug puppies, you can try free pug for adoption if there are centers near you.
For people in America, we found more quality breeders from Missouri City since most we chatted with are from Columbia, Lebanon, and Springfield.
A few other pug breeders are from Nebraska, Branson, Abilene Kansas, Houston, and a few other cities.
While you can get a pug at an average price of about $1,000, it could be as much as $3,000 or more if the dog has a high pedigree, is vaccinated, and have papers.
