Daily Exercise & Grooming

[Pumper]

Hi All,

We are thinking about getting a Pug, but I have a couple questions about exercise and grooming:

1) Is 15 minutes a day an adequate amount of time for exercise (a walk around the neighbourhood)?

2) How often should you brush a Pug?

3) Do you need to clean a Pug's wrinkles every day?


I want to make sure that if we do get a Pug, it will be as healthy and happy as possible :)

[Tinker's mom]

We take two 15-30 minute walks depending upon the weather. They can't tolerate heat & humidity. We also play inside several hours each day. I think pugs are as active or not as you are. I don't brush everyday, I clean wrinkles every other but Tinker is pretty neat about her eating.

[Hellas]

Hi,
Cudos to you for asking questions and wanting to make your future pug happy! Personally, I think every adult dog, including pugs, should get at least one hour of excercise per day. It is very important for their cardiovascular health and also for their mental well being. Our two pugs get daily 1-1,5 hour walks on the beach or in the woods on top of the potty breaks. In the summer when it's hot, we take the walks early in the morning or late at night and always bring water.

I suggest that before you consider bringing a pug into your home, read a really good book about dogs' natural needs. Remember that even a small pug is a descendant of wolves. All dogs should be allowed to run and to use their body for climbing, jumping and balancing. They should be allowed to work with their nose. They need physical and mental challanges and the occasional adventure.

If those needs are not met, it is a perfect breeding ground for all sorts of behavioural problems. When people complain about their dog behaving badly, they very often have a frustrated dog who doesn't know what to do with its pent up energy. I think pugs especially are often misunderstood this way because people expect them to be really lazy. Often, they're not at all. Many pugs have oodles of energy and love to run, play and explore. They often excel at dog agility and obedience.

So my advice is this, unless you're able to commit to at least 1-1,5 hours per day to your dog, don't bring one into your home. I'm saying this not to be harsh, but to save you from problems.

As for your other two questions: You don't need to brush a pug that often. Fawn pugs tend to shed more than blacks. We use a furminator once in a while during shedding season. Apart from that, I rarely brush my pugs. The nose wrinkle should be checked daily and cleaned if needed.

[Snifter]

If you have more than one pug AND they run around and chase each other at home then you can get away with a 30 min walk per day provided that you vary the route and make sure they are moving along and not standing still sniffing. If you have a single pug you really need to do an hour a day. (The walking does the owner good, too!) However if you are not tiring them out with physical exercise (which is actually quite hard to do, even with a pug) you need to be spending plenty of time (in short bursts initially, especially when they are pups) training them. They need mental exercise as well as physical.

I rarely brush the pugs - if you brush daily you need to make sure you are using a brush that is not too harsh or the skin may get irritated. During the shedding season (usually twice a year) a furminator once or twice a week is helpful.

I check the nose wrinkles and wipe as necessary. Snifter's gets a bit much and is usually wiped daily with a kleenex. Toddy's rarely gets dirty.

You need to start training the pug early to have its nails clipped or ground with a dremel. Most pugs hate this. Ears generally need to be cleaned twice a month or more often if you have a pug prone to ear issues. You need to get used to putting eye lubricant in - most pugs need this at some point or other and as their eyes are so prone to injury it is a good idea to have them used to having stuff put in their eyes in case you ever need to apply actual meds.

Pugs are not particularly high maintenance dogs compared to some but you can't just expect the pug to amuse itself like, say, a cat. Pugs need the company of their owners. You need to invest quite a lot of time one way or another (and usually quite a lot of money too!). Of course they are totally worth it.

[Pumper]

The Pug would be out a lot of the day on smaller walks (around the grocery store, doing errands, etc.), which would probably equal to at least 30 minutes of exercise, and then we would do one 15-20 minute walk around the neighbourhood. Does a Pug need more than this?

[Snifter]

The Pug would be out a lot of the day on smaller walks (around the grocery store, doing errands, etc.), which would probably equal to at least 30 minutes of exercise, and then we would do one 15-20 minute walk around the neighbourhood. Does a Pug need more than this?

Possibly not but you do need to have at least 20 mins of sustained activity provided the weather is not too hot. To some extent it will depend on the pug - if you get a very "busy" pug then you will need to exercise or train more or deal with the consequences of boredom.

Do they allow dogs in your grocery stores? They don't here unless they are assistance dogs.

What kind of schedule do you have in mind for the pug? Your questions seem to indicate that you might be a bit pressured for time. Do you have a safely fenced yard where the pug can run around?

[Hellas]

The Pug would be out a lot of the day on smaller walks (around the grocery store, doing errands, etc.), which would probably equal to at least 30 minutes of exercise, and then we would do one 15-20 minute walk around the neighbourhood. Does a Pug need more than this?

Dogs, like humans, need real excercise where their heart rate goes up. Perhaps not every day, but at least a couple of times a week, your pug (when an adult) would need to get a good workout. By that I mean a long walk in the woods, dog agility or similar.

Short walks around the block, to the store etc, won't get the heart rate up. Also, it's not very exciting or challenging for the pug. All pugs are different, but mine would frankly be bored with a schedule like that and would, undoubtedly, start entertaining themselves with mischief at home.

As snifter said, all dogs need mental challenges. It's not just about moving the limbs. So you will need to find ways of doing that. Also, you will need to devote time to obedience training daily for the first year or so. Pugs are not difficult to teach, but dog training is a time consuming process.

Personally, I would never leave a pug tied outside a store. They are very easy to steal since they are so trusting and also small enough to just carry away. I know people who have had their pugs stolen this way and it's just too heartbreaking for words. I won't even leave mine unsupervised in my backyard for this reason.

[Snifter]

Personally, I would never leave a pug tied outside a store. They are very easy to steal since they are so trusting and also small enough to just carry away. I know people who have had their pugs stolen this way and it's just too heartbreaking for words. I won't even leave mine unsupervised in my backyard for this reason.

Absolutely! I even hate having to get petrol if the pugs are in the car, though of course I lock it when going to pay and only use petrol stations and pumps where my car is in my sight at all times. Unfortunately because of the high price of pugs they can be a target for thieves.

[Pumper]

Possibly not but you do need to have at least 20 mins of sustained activity provided the weather is not too hot. To some extent it will depend on the pug - if you get a very "busy" pug then you will need to exercise or train more or deal with the consequences of boredom.

Do they allow dogs in your grocery stores? They don't here unless they are assistance dogs.

What kind of schedule do you have in mind for the pug? Your questions seem to indicate that you might be a bit pressured for time. Do you have a safely fenced yard where the pug can run around?

I believe they do allow dogs but I need to double-check. I do a ton of errands during the day, and many of them I would be able to bring the Pug to. This will definitely give the Pug some exercise and new areas and people to explore. However, I don't know if I would have time to do an actual walk with the Pug more than once or twice a day for 15 minutes each.

[Hellas]

I believe they do allow dogs but I need to double-check. I do a ton of errands during the day, and many of them I would be able to bring the Pug to. This will definitely give the Pug some exercise and new areas and people to explore. However, I don't know if I would have time to do an actual walk with the Pug more than once or twice a day for 15 minutes each.

At least here, dogs are never allowed where food is being prepared or sold.

It sounds to me as if you don't really have much time to devote to a dog. I wonder if you might be underestimating the impact of bringing a puppy into a home. I was very well prepared when we got our first puppy, and I was still completely overwhelmed the first couple of months. I never dreamed it would be so much work. Puppies are exhausting. Before making a decision, please consider this for your own and the puppy's sake.
- Puppies need to be constantly monitored for their own safety. They try to eat and chew everything, including poisonous plants, rocks and power chords. This phase may not pass until the dog is 6 months or more.
- Housebreaking is not difficult, but it does take a prolonged and dedicated effort. If you don't devote time to it the first few months, it is likely to fail. Small puppies don't do their business on command, so you have take time and patiently wait for them to pee and poop. Usually, they like to go in the same spot and will be afraid to go where an another dog has been, so you can't expect the puppy to do it's business while you're doing errands.
-Small puppies can't be left alone, even for half an hour. It's unnatural for a dog to be alone so it needs to be taught, gradually. If this is not done properly, the dog may suffer permanent separation anxiety which is horrible for the dog and no fun for the owners as it is often connected with indoor peeing, barking and/or destructive behaviour.
- Small puppies don't know how to walk on a leash. This has to be taught and never forced. It is not feasible to bring a small puppy on errands, because he won't walk on the leash like a grown dog. The puppy will suddenly sit down and refuse to move. It will play with pinecones/leaves/pieces of paper etc that it finds. It will get tired. It will try to eat stuff off the ground.
- Obedience training is time consuming. If you aren't very experienced with puppies, you need to take a weekly obedience class when the puppy is about 4 months. The class is for socialising the puppy and for you to learn how to train him. The training takes place at home, daily. As with all learning, repetition is key.

Do these things fit into your life?

I've already answered your question about the walks. If you want a happy and contented adult dog, it will need more than what you're suggesting, at least a couple times a week. All dogs deserved to run on a beach or a forest floor once in a while.