How to house train a pug

The pug is a very funny breed of dog. Some people say it’s an ugly dog but yet cannot remove their eyes from the dog. One of my client’s daughter saw Peach my little pug and said “Oh! she is so beautiful” and her mum asked “What is beautiful about this dog”- still staring at the dog. “These kids are watching cartoon too much that is why they will say this dog is beautiful” –the woman remarked. Pugs love to play and also love to rest. Pugs love to stay close to their owner with possible body contact which they enjoy a lot.

Understand the Structure of a Pug

The pug is a very small muscular dog with very short snout. I was walking my dog (Peach) along the street and someone said “See that thing; it looks like a dog the mouth was chopped off”. I could only laugh in my mind. The pug is not a popular breed in Nigeria; some people would see it and think it’s a cat until they take a closer look.

Keeping a Pug

The pug is best kept indoors in a home with good ventilation. They have a very short snout and require the cleanest environment ever so that they do not sneeze too much. Dust is not a friend to pugs at all. Most Nigerians are in the habit of keeping their dogs outdoors and this habit will be detrimental to the health of the dog (pug). Nigerians, even those that love dogs still find themselves forced to send these creatures away from the house due to their spouse or visitor that feel that animals should not live with humans but a small cage at the corner inside the house can help a great deal to restrict the movement of the dog especially when visitors are around.

Potty training

It is very irritating to see your dog “poop” recklessly inside the house therefore training the dog to defecate and urinate at a proper place is very important. Having lived with dogs for a long time I understand that dogs do not like to “poop” or “wee” where they sleep or stay constantly although puppies take a little time to adjust to that ability of dogs.

While training my pug, I had in mind to keep the dog indoors for a long time without bringing her outside so I needed to have her defecate and urinate around the toilet so I wipe her urine with a hand towel and place the same at the door step to the toilet. Because she has a very good sense of smell she located the urine on her own and subsequently went there to urinate. If you use this technique, do not keep that towel or any other similar towel elsewhere because they will do the same to it. After some months I withdrew the towel and she goes to the toilet flour to do her thing there.

I also trained her to defecate and urinate outside but that one came easily because of the principle that they do not like to defecate where they sleep.

Body checks and routine

The pug is a short haired breed and therefore seems not to require regular brushing but it is worthy to note that they shed their hair everyday making the grooming exercise very imperative. They have very bulgy eyes that have some hair stick to it occasionally causing irritation. You will need to use a sterile cotton wool to clean their eyes to remove these hairs and dirt that might go with it. Bathe the dog once or twice a week with good shampoo that is not harsh to the hairs.

Provide a soft bed for the Pug

Pugs love to sleep on a soft bed. It is important to provide one so that the dog will be comfortable while sleeping or the dog might go to lie on your own bed. Soft beds also helps to eliminated ankle scars from hard surfaces which your will observe from many Mastiff breeds sleeping on hard surfaces.

The Pug Snores

Due to their facial conformation, short snout and nasal orifices the pug tends to snore when sleeping it’s important to be mindful of that.

The pug needs exercise

To develop their muscles the pug needs to exercise daily. A small fenced compound is enough for this because they get tired easily. This exercise is important to keep the dog healthy and alert. It also helps their bowel movement and helps them utilize stored fat. The pug has tendency to get fat and sluggish so get them exercise regularly and control their diet to eliminate this.

Training

Pugs, if not trained well might destroy things in the house while playing. It will be nice to buy a toy for the dog. I prefer the tennis ball toy with rope. Most times I give my dog my used tennis balls which she will strip all the green part completely. I also use it to train her because she likes to chase the ball. But while your around talk to the dog. Pugs are very sensitive to the tone of your voice, they know when you are angry and will avoid that.

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