Daily care advice

[mishoga]

I have some questions about caring for my pugs.

1. How often do I clean their ears?

2. How often can you bath then?

3. Approximately how many bowel movements does a puppy 6-12 months go per day? Should they be formed and hard?

4. Do they easily get upset stomachs?

5. Does the breed love to play in water? How to train to stay away from in ground pool

6. About what age can you expect them to hold bowels all through the night until morning?

Thanks

[Snifter]

1. Our vet said not to bother cleaning ears unless they show signs of needing it. Pugs do generally need ear cleaning as they grow. Use a proper ear cleaner designed for dogs. Once every 2 weeks is generally fine for mine. NEVER stick a Qtip down them.
2. I would avoid bathing them unless it is necessary. Mine have not had a bath for coming up to 2 years. They do not smell and their coats are in great condition. If they get muddy I will rinse it off with plain water. If you need to bath make sure you use only shampoos etc designed for dogs. Their skin ph is different to ours so human products, even baby products, are not good for dogs. If you are feeling a need to bath more than once a month due to smelly skin you should consult the vet as the pug could have yeast issues.
3. Can't remember exactly but probably around 4-5 at 6 months, reducing to 2-3 by a year old. They should be formed and firm. If you are constantly getting stools that look more like soft whip ice cream you should review the diet and possibly check for worms.
4. I would not say easily but dogs do vomit more than you might expect. Mostly they are regurgitating food they have eaten too quickly and then they will want to re-eat the food. If that happens, let them and don't worry. If they stop eating, or cannot keep even water down and have diarrhoea then you need to see a vet, especially when a pup is young as it can dehydrate fast.
5. Some pugs like water; most of them have a deadly horror of it and think you are trying to kill them if you try to get them to walk through a puddle. That said if you have an unguarded in ground pool you MUST be with the pug at all times. They can be trained to some extent but even if they won't willingly go in there they could fall in. My Snifter fell in our water feature the other day and he HATES water. Pugs are not generally good swimmers so you must be as careful with a pug as you would with a 2 year old child.
6. It varies from pug to pug and how long you regard as "all through the night". Mine were holding for about 5-6 hours by about 5 months of age and could do 8 hours by about 7 months, if my memory is correct. However there was still the occasional accident.

[Hellas]

Agree with Snifter on all points. Please be careful around water. My pugs can't swim. They do like to play in the water when we go to the beach in the summer, but if they try to swim, they sink. So a pug can easily drown.

[mishoga]

Thank you for all the info.

Yes, my 7 month old boy loves water. I have a cover on the pool but it's one of those loop locs. It sinks down a little when he's on it but I can't keep him off of it and he's constantly drinking the water. I'm terrified what he'll be like once we open the pool. I will never have them out there alone.

I asked about the baths because my boy plays in the pool water then runs around in the gardens, He comes in with dirt at least 6 times a day. And then I have to play "case" (not that I want to) to rub him down. Been using baby wipes to clean him (unscented)

[TNPUGMOMOF2]

Not all pugs sink. Most do, but some can swim!