Any Pug Owners Out There????

[Mahnahmahnah]

Oh - I almost forgot - sorry new to posting

My one pug had extra teeth - never had em removed because the vet said it wasn't necessary - but he has the WORST breath now He was adopted and has lots of "issues" and can't deal with vet trips(adopted trough vet) so I am up in the air now about it.

They can get hip displasia(sp?), and my girl constantly gets her "knee" out of joint from running up and down the stairs like a maniac. My 10 yr old also has a short larynx and breathes really heavy. He can't handle heat at all, and the other two get bad when it's really hot, too. Just don't leave them out too long.

 

[RUDisney]

Puggles was almost 12 when she passed. She went downhill over the course of a summer. She was filling up with fluid. The morning that we put her down, the vet removed 750ml of fluid from her 17lb body. We thought that would buy us a few months before it would have to be done again, but by that night, she was full of fluid again and it was time to let her go.

Prancer was just at the ER vet with pneumonia. The vet didn't want to listen to me about me believing that her coughing was pneumonia. She was breathing very heavy and he told me that my dog was a "ticking timebomb." When I asked him to explain, he asked me if anyone had ever told me that she had bracheacyphalic disease. I told him, "not in so many words, but she is a pug, duh." He told me that he trachea was collapsing and that she'd need surgery. I should leave her overnight to consult with the surgeon in the morning. The next day, the surgeon and the vet who was on the day shift told me that she had pneumonia and no trachea issues. Ha! Just as I thought! $800 and a 10-day supply of clavamox later and she's fine.

I mentioned before that she has bad eyes. She has dry eye and pigmentary keratitis (PK). Pugs are prone to these eye problems, especially when they have large, bulging eyes. Prancer didn't grow into her eyes until after she was a year old, so she never fully closed them to sleep. Even now, at 10 yo, she sleeps with her eyes slightly open out of habit, hence the dry eyes. She is blind because of the PK but gets around very well.

Prancer is also allergic to almost everything in commercially available dog food. Until I found Azmira's barley, beef and mushroom kibble, I had developed my own dog food recipe that was nutritionally balanced for her.

Mahnahmahnah, check out http://www.azmira.com. It is a holistic company that has wonderful products that work very well. They may have something to help with the hair loss. I know that they make special things for joint health. I used their anti-yeast/anti-fungal drops on Puggles and Kidneyflo on Puggles and they both worked amazingly well. They will talk to you about your concerns and recommend things that you can try.

 

[Terry36]

 

[Mahnahmahnah]

I will try that holistic site-thanks so much!
As far as the hair loss, they said he will need blood workup if the shampoo doesn't work, it could be an autoimmune type thing? The hair is in small clumps with skin attached to it. I thought originally it was nerves as we have a baby now, and they are no longer the "baby". Our pugs sleep in bed w/us, and I cook for them so they are very spoiled

I too, want to hear more pug info

Looks like we are all "pugiphiles"

 

[RUDisney]

What types of things are you cooking for your pug? One thing that I learned when coming up with Prancer's kibble recipe was that dogs don't metabolize cooked meat as well as they do raw meat. They won't get salmanella like we would from eating raw meats. Even a raw egg is a good treat now and then. I'm not saying to not give cooked meat, just that raw is better.

Also, if you're feeding kibble and meat, you should feed them separately because they digest differently. I would feed Prancer 1/2 cup of kibble in the morning and 1/2 cup of raw beef at night when she was on my special diet.

 

[Mahnahmahnah]

Since my pugs are on diets now - they are a teensy bit overweight the vet told me to give either green beans(which they hated and wouldn't touch) or to give them ground turkey and rice. So, I cook rice with some chicken boullion and add cooked ground turkey. Doctored up w/ a little garlic of course! They love this and it makes my feeding easier. I mix this w/ the crunchy food.I also will give eggs for a little variety.My adopted pug gets diarreah sometimes and they don't know why. So that's why I do the rice w/ the turkey.


Here's my downfall - They love people food and everyone always feeds them. When I have a family gathering, they get to eat all the snacks the kids accidentally "drop on the floor". Now I have begging pugs. All three sit at my feet while I cook! And when we grill - forgettaboutit! There is no changing it now.

 

[RUDisney]

Puggles was my begger. She'd stand behind me when I cooked in case something would "drop." She was fast about retrieving anything that got to the floor, too. By the end, I'd have to crate her when we ate. We didn't really feed her from the table, but she knew we had food there and she'd bark and bark. Prancer couldn't care less about people food even though she gets a treat once in a while.

 

[AnninIowa]

Keeping my pugs at the right weight is so hard! Max is a bit over 20; vet would like him at least 19. Lucy looks so tall and thin, but even she has an extra pound on her. With the weather, it's hard to be consistent with walks as they can't go out when it's too cold or too hot.

As for food, they are both on prescription Science Diet - Max has a low-fat, anti-allergy food and Lucy has a mild food for her tummy. As for treats, they only get Newman's Own Organic treats, or else carrots or apples (cut up small). Of course they are crazy about food and hound us to death when we have any!

As for health, Lucy has only had a very bad reaction to her annual shots, which lead to the prescription food as they thought she was just overall sensitive. Max, however, has everything - skin fold infections in his above-nose flap, ear infections, dry eye; he had to have surgery to pull out his skin folds as they were scratching his eyes. He's has skin infections, so I only use a medicated shampoo. Plus both are barfers! They wolf down their food so fast that at least once a week it comes right back up!!

Oh, well....the problems are worth is as I love them both as though they were my own children!!

I'm not sure how to post pictures, but you can see them both on my MySpace page and www.myspace.com/anneckhart.

 

[Mahnahmahnah]

Hey Ann - if I told you how much my pugs weighed I'd be flamed until I was burnt to a crisp! My DH insists they are not THAT fat. It's my adopted one that has a really bad issue. But he has so many probs emotionally. I think he was abused He's afraid of everything.He's very wierd about eating HIS food. I have to feed him seperate.He's afraid of brooms, mops, loud noises, yelling,etc

Mine also get ear infections - it's just the breed.

They are my furbabies, too. My real baby probably thinks she's a pug!

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

You guys are a wealth of information for me! I admired the pug breed for many years before I finally took the plunge and I'm so happy I did. I thought I did enough homework about their care, but I find I'm still learning quite a bit as I go along. I love everyones pics of their babies! I was so torn on whether to get a fawn colored pug or a black one. They are all sooo cute it was hard to decide.

Daisy is not a destroyer either (at least not yet anyway). When we were at the vet we were told she is 13 pounds, but she is very tall/leggy and seems thin...the vet said she is fine for her age. We've noticed that Daisy doesn't quite close her eyes all the way when sleeping too, so I guess I need to watch her for eye problems as time goes on. We don't feed her much in the way of people food, although she whines and whelps every night when we are sitting down to dinner. I know the smell must drive her crazy. We did notice that the type of food we fed her directly affected her coat. When we were feeding her Iams (I think that was the brand), she had terrible dandruff-which looks hideous on a black pug! We ran into a lady at the pet store that does pug rescues and she guided us to a different brand and we haven't had any problems since then, so I guess she knew what she was talking about.

 

[RUDisney]

Max, however, has everything - skin fold infections in his above-nose flap, ear infections, dry eye; he had to have surgery to pull out his skin folds as they were scratching his eyes. He's has skin infections, so I only use a medicated shampoo. Plus both are barfers! They wolf down their food so fast that at least once a week it comes right back up!!

I found that Puggles' issues with her nose roll were caused by wheat. The wheat that was in her original food, Flint River Ranch, was feeding the yeast in her body and causing issues in her nose roll. I switched her to a lamb and rice kibble and her problems went away. That could be part of Max's problems with his nose roll.

 

[Terry36]

I am thinking about getting a pug but it seems they are high maintenance. Am I wrong?

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

I am thinking about getting a pug but it seems they are high maintenance. Am I wrong?

They are high maintenece IMO for certain things. You definitely have to watch with their skin folds and be diligent about cleaning them. Like any dog I think they have their own health issues that are specific to the breed. They dont' do well with temperature extremes so you have to be good about not leaving them out in the heat or cold for too long (basically enough time to go to the bathroom). Those beautiful bulgy eyes can be a source of problems...I was told by the breeder they can get eye colds.

I've also heard, and its been my experience with my own pug, that they require A LOT of attention-these are not the type of dog you can leave alone all day. I mean, I guess you could, but you'd probably have a very unhappy pug unless they had another dog with them? I take mine to work with me or on errands and I was never that type of person to do that with my other dogs. My Daisy requires a lot of TLC, but is a great companion. I just didn't realize how much time she truly required as opposed to my Lhasa...who does fine on his own and is not clingy (or at least not as much).

 

[Terry36]

They are high maintenece IMO for certain things. You definitely have to watch with their skin folds and be diligent about cleaning them. Like any dog I think they have their own health issues that are specific to the breed. They dont' do well with temperature extremes so you have to be good about not leaving them out in the heat or cold for too long (basically enough time to go to the bathroom). Those beautiful bulgy eyes can be a source of problems...I was told by the breeder they can get eye colds.

I've also heard, and its been my experience with my own pug, that they require A LOT of attention-these are not the type of dog you can leave alone all day. I mean, I guess you could, but you'd probably have a very unhappy pug unless they had another dog with them? I take mine to work with me or on errands and I was never that type of person to do that with my other dogs. My Daisy requires a lot of TLC, but is a great companion. I just didn't realize how much time she truly required as opposed to my Lhasa...who does fine on his own and is not clingy (or at least not as much).

Thank you for your honest response. What type of small dog would be good for a 9 y.o.? We are a working family so we are not home that much.

 

[*KeepMovingForward*]

Thank you for your honest response. What type of small dog would be good for a 9 y.o.? We are a working family so we are not home that much.

Lhasa's are awesome with kids...very mild temperment and will play well with children. They have medium-low energy. They don't require lots of exercise and walking, but are great at playing when you want. I can only speak for my Lhasa Apso, but mine almost never barks (which I appreciate immensely), unless someone is on our doorstep or in our yard (and is a stranger). We got our Lhasa, Scooter, when my kids were 7 & 9. Very loving, but good on their own too. We also selected a Lhasa because DS had very severe allergies at the time and Lhasa's are considered an allergy friendly dog. Thankfully DS has outgrown the allergies and is okay with our pug.

We also had a beagle with the kids (also how we found out DS was allergic) and that was an excellent dog for children as well, although very high energy. Sometimes the kids weren't in the mood for playing and our beagle would have none of that.

You might want to check out this website: http://www.selectsmart.com/DOG/
It helps you determine what type of dog would be a good fit for you.

 

[Mahnahmahnah]

Pugs are def high maintenance. And they do require a major amount of attention. Just ask mine- they are soooo mad about the new baby

My DSIL is on her second Lab. I know they are fantastic with kids. They are willing to take a lot of kid punishment. As in kids pulling on them, hugging, riding, stuff like that. My nieces can be pretty rough, and my pugs run and hide when they come over, and when they leave they are like .

I have told my pugs though to get ready for the tea parties and playing dress-up!

 

[Terry36]

y'all are too funny.

Sorry to high jack OP!

 

[RUDisney]

See, I don't look at them as high maintenance. I look at it as a labor of love.

I was working full time and I could come home for lunch until last November. The pugs were crated when we weren't at home. They never suffered any ill-effects from not having a human around during the day, even when they were solo pugs.

Since I've been unemployed, Prancer follows me all around the house. Sometimes, she goes to sleep hard and when she wakes, she comes to find me.

I am the type of person who talks to my animals all the time anyway, so I don't think another type of dog would get any less attention than the pugs do. Heck, my parakeet has a very large vocabulary because I talk to him all the time, too.

As for maintenance, I put drops in Prancer's eyes a couple times a day. The kids feed her in the morning and she goes out at least 4 times per day. She only becomes higher maintenance for me when she has to take pills.

I love that she seeks me out to snuggle at night on the couch.

I don't consider her any higher maintenance, at the moment, than any other dog would be.

 

[Terry36]

Lhasa's are awesome with kids...very mild temperment and will play well with children. They have medium-low energy. They don't require lots of exercise and walking, but are great at playing when you want. I can only speak for my Lhasa Apso, but mine almost never barks (which I appreciate immensely), unless someone is on our doorstep or in our yard (and is a stranger). We got our Lhasa, Scooter, when my kids were 7 & 9. Very loving, but good on their own too. We also selected a Lhasa because DS had very severe allergies at the time and Lhasa's are considered an allergy friendly dog. Thankfully DS has outgrown the allergies and is okay with our pug.

We also had a beagle with the kids (also how we found out DS was allergic) and that was an excellent dog for children as well, although very high energy. Sometimes the kids weren't in the mood for playing and our beagle would have none of that.

You might want to check out this website: http://www.selectsmart.com/DOG/
It helps you determine what type of dog would be a good fit for you.

How often do you get your Lhasa Apso hair groomed?

 

[Mahnahmahnah]

See, I don't look at them as high maintenance. I look at it as a labor of love.

I totally agree with that!

It's just I wouldn't want anyone to geta pug and not realize that they do have personalities and they require more lovin than normal dogs. My adopted pug came from someone who couldn't handle having him as he was too needy and was "accident" prone.