I will admit I haven't been the best pug owner. Macho is about a year, neutered and an absolute nightmare. He is sorta crate trained. He keeps waking up between 2am and 3 to go out. I think he honestly likes sleeping outside better. He has a dog house with beds and a heating pad. He whines for 30 plus minutes in the crate before going to sleep. He's semi aggressive....or just noisy/growls when playing with my kids and our other dog typically is not malicious thats why I say noisy. I just don't think he is a fit for our family and its sad and disappointing. I failed him. None of kids really like to play with him bc he's too much and doesn't have manners. I thought pugs were lazy? Lol where's my little couch potatoes? Any advice?

Hi. The majority of my travel is by bike, and I'd like to be able to safely (and enjoyably) transport my pug. Does anyone have any better recommendations than 'in a rucksack, lead connector linked to the bag, with the top of the bag undone'?

I'm thinking either specific backpacks, bike mounts combined with goggles, anything better.

Thanks in advance!

So I got my pug around 3 months ago and over time I noticed she has extremely bad anxiety. I think she spent most of her life up to this point alone so she is terrified of everything. I don’t know what to do to help calm her and make her feel comfortable instead of scared all the time. I would love and help or advice.

Is it the dog or the breeder?

I got an older puppy from a local breeder a few months ago. She was four months old when I brought her home and is now eight months.

Looking back, I wish I had paid more attention to the breeder’s setup. The dogs were kept outside, and the inside of the house was a complete mess—dirty and chaotic. That should have been a red flag.

One thing that stood out was the pimple-like bumps all over her face. The husband and wife each gave me different explanations, but it turned out they weren’t truthful. The bumps were actually severe flea bites. I never imagined I’d get a flea-infested puppy from a breeder.

On top of that, she’s incredibly skittish. I assumed she’d warm up with time, but even after months of love and care, she’s afraid of everything and prefers being alone.

Don’t get me wrong—I love her and treat her like part of the family, but I’m frustrated because I feel the breeder didn’t do their part in raising a well-adjusted pup.

What kind of training do you recommend to help her feel more confident and improve her behavior?

*I edited because everyone was focusing on one part

Hello, so my pug Teddy, chases the reflections that bounce off our south facing patio door. Its getting to be that if we let her out she stands whining at the last point the relection was, she won't do her business, and stands there for ages. Any tips to stop this or even anything I can put on the door please?

Long time Reddit reader, first time poster.

I’m at my wits end with our pug (5 F, fixed) and am willing to be judged/possibly berated by strangers on the internet in the hopes of some advice. I want to preface this by saying I love my dog SO much, she is our baby (we are millennial DINKS). After writing this out I want to make that clear at the top lol.

We rescued our girl at 7 weeks. Because she’s not from a breeder she wasn’t socialized like most puppies are aka picked up consistently. From day 1, no fear. BIG personality, stubborn, tenacious, but goofy and lovable (the classic pug). Def thinks of herself as an alpha. As a puppy/adolescent she REALLY tested our patience, and our walker’s, and our multiple trainers lol.

Even though she is stubborn/strong willed we’ve always been so lucky to get the some of the stereotypical pug qualities, like being gentle with other dogs, very gentle with puppies, and babies, incredible recall, and very good at being a guest.

Fast forward…she’s now 5. Over the last year, she’s developed some serious on-leash aggression. We’ve been trying to train out of it, but honestly my husband and I have not prioritized it as we should. That’s 1000% on us.

Over the last two months, she has become extremely territorial now in her home. We’ve always been the host house, so a lot of people and dogs in this house, and it’s never been a problem before. And all of a sudden dogs shes known her whole life/grown up with, she snaps at, growls at, lunges at. People walk in the door and the hair on her back goes up and she’s barking her head off. Her recall has massively regressed to the point where we no longer take her off leash. She also clearly gets so frustrated and angry with us when we’re eating or have something she wants, she does that high-pitch demand yelp and stomps her feet. Tonight was the last straw when I was eating dinner she got so mad she parkour’d/pushed herself off my thighs in a FIT of rage. Anyone else experience a tantrum like this??

I need to get her to the vet, unfortunately the earliest appointment I could get her was for mid Dec. I’m thinking she might need some Prozac, wondering if the root of this is anxiety, and we’re going to have to do some behavioral training, but does anyone here have any ideas or advice in the meantime?? I’m seriously at a freaking loss.

Note: we’ve raised her since a puppy, so we’ve gone through puppy training, and additional 1:1 training over the years. We’ve followed all the puppy training rules when it comes to: ignore bad behavior, redirecting reactive behavior, positive re-enforcement, time outs, etc. Now that she’s an adult, I’m a little more confused - do we just do them again? Like is it all the same training basically?

I called to make my girl an appt to get spayed. They said they recommend doing stenotic nares surgery on her to help with her breathing under anesthesia. Is this really necessary or a way for them to make extra money?

Update: I added pictures of her to my account

I have a 2 year old puggle. He is a wonderful silly little fellow. He is pretty quiet, let's out a lot of pug grumbles but not much else. Kind of like a cat purring. Anyways I've been told by his groomer, daycare and a friend who sometimes watches him that he'll sometimes sit down, put his head straight into the air and let out a big beagle howl. I've never seen it and noone has caught it on film yet but it makes me giggle to think of him stopping what he is doing, letting out a long howl and then resuming what he was doing.

Hi everyone!

I’m super excited to share that I’m getting a pug puppy soon! As a first-time dog owner, I want to make sure I’m fully prepared to provide her with the best care possible. I’d love to hear your tips and recommendations on the following:

1. Training: What are the best methods for training a pug, especially for house training? Can pugs be easily potty trained at home? What techniques have worked for you?

2. Nutrition: What type of food do you recommend for a pug puppy? Are there specific brands or ingredients to look for?

3. Grooming: Any grooming tips specific to pugs? How often should I bathe her, and what products do you recommend?

4. Health Care: What are the essential vet check-ups or vaccinations I should be aware of? Any common health issues I should monitor?

5. Socialization and Exercise: How can I ensure my pug is well-socialized? What’s the right amount of exercise for a puppy?

6. General Advice: Any other tips for a first-time pug owner? What do you wish you knew before bringing your pug home?

Thank you in advance for your help! 🐾

Hello everyone!

I am seeking help regarding a recent diagnosis of PM for my 5 year old male pug.

As background, about a year ago my pug began walking funny (with a waddle) and having accidents in the house (poop only).

X-rays were performed and two vet opinions are leaning towards PM. I haven't gone to the neurologist yet as it will cost over 3K and my vet didn't necessarily think we needed to rush (absent more significant increases in symptoms).

My vet appeared positive about Edgar's current condition despite us thinking he has PM because Edgar, my pug, still walks over a mile daily; he is at a very healthy weight with great diet regime; his affected paw only exhibits a delayed reaction time; his sphincter muscles are still within the 'normal' range (and he's still arching when going #2); he's not in ANY pain; his #2 is still normal rather than liquid/diarrhea; and there has not been an increase in symptoms for a year. (EDIT: Within the past month, i started tracking his accidents and created a general schedule of when he needs to be taken out. Upon following this potty regime, he’s had little to no accidents in the house!)

With that in mind, I'm hoping to get some insight if anyone's pug lived a normal lifespan with this condition and/or if their pugs condition never progressed? Really any information on how i can care for him would be helpful. He's so young and full of life and energy... I'm so sad and scared.

This girl KNOWS where she is supposed to go potty. 85% of the time, she goes out the doggy door and goes outside. And then there’s the other 15% of the time when she can’t be bothered to go outside and just pops a squat right in whatever room she is in. Why?? She is 1.5 yo, we have had her since she was 4 months, potty training took a long time and at this point we know she KNOWS where to go so why does she still just pee or poop wherever she feels like it sometimes?? Is she being lazy? Can dogs have adhd? Any suggestions or advice for behavioral modification methods would be appreciated!

Hi, my pug is 6 years old and he licks his paws almost all the time, he doesn’t go on walks very often but that’s only because when I try to take him he just stops and gets out of breath kinda quick, me and my brother have been saying about the paw licking to my mum all the time but she just says that’s because he’s bored and that he’s fine. I’m really worried and maybe I’m just overthinking this but please let me know if you have any advice. Thanks.

Good morning, does anyone know what I can give to my pug so that his hair doesn't fall out so much?

Hi all,

I have been posting around Reddit dog threads in the hopes of hearing from people with similar experiences and guidance on questions to ask my vet– somehow I just found this subreddit!

A couple weeks ago my pug started reverse sneezing frequently and a tiny bit of wheezing. It increased to several times a minute the next day but suddenly stopped (she normally does a reverse sneeze once or twice a month that I notice). However the next day she wouldn't really eat until I hand fed her, wasn't drinking much water and refused to walk. She also seemed to have discomfort laying down. The vet did an xray and the radiologist said her heart seemed slightly enlarged on the left side and a bit large overall, so it might be pushing on her trachea which looked a little narrow. However they also said it could be nothing, her lungs looked fine, and ruled out upper and lower airway disease. The vet said if she has another episode we might explore further diagnostics with a cardiologist as she would suspect heart disease. She was prescribed terbutaline which seemed to help.

She is still showing reluctance to eat half the time (but begging as usual for half her meals), and discomfort laying/sleeping. Last week she vomited several times on Wednesday. Vomit was slightly yellow bile, and undigested food. This may be related to me trying to transition her to Zignature Catfish recipe. She seemed to stop having issues until I reintroduced it with chicken and rice so she is back to her old kibble for now. I have noticed a lot more burping and air licking, so I am wondering if this is temporary or if her issues might all be connected to acid reflux. Overall she seems sad, and her tail is constantly uncurled.

I might try giving her a little pepcid, but I would really appreciate hearing from other pug people who have had experience with their dogs having CHF or GERD. I am pushing the vet to give us a referral to see the cardiologist now instead of waiting for her to have worsened symptoms.

Pug just diagnosed with slipped disc in her neck. Suspect she was shaking a toy too vigorously. Never heard of this before - anyone experience this with their pug?

My pug, Iggy, is now about 8 years old. I adopted him at 1 year old and he was the 2nd dog I had at the time. My previous rescue passed away from old age in 2022 and so it's been just Iggy and I since then. Recently, I've been considering getting him a sibling and thinking of changes we might have to make. Any help/considerations/additions to my list?

Gonna have to get more nimble dodging not one, but two, marching Stove Royal Guards when cooking.
More cuddles!
Kennel, two? bigger one? one on top of other?
Beds. Bigger for two, or double selection?
Besties for Iggy
Fur. More vacuum days per week.
Walking: I get the feeling Grumbles don't do herd like behavior and I'll be attempting to control two spastic potatoes.
More activity (good).

I'm excited but cautious! Should I add another?

I’ve been having the toughest time trying to find dog food that doesn’t have chicken, beef, and pork ingredients. Almost everything includes the “main meats”.

I have managed to find wet and dry dog food with lamb and/or fish but my dog doesn’t really like any of it. I feel terrible because I know he gets so hungry, which is why he ends up eating it later. Sometimes he won’t at all.

The Vet said to eliminate the three main meats because my pug had bad chin acne and was licking his paws and itching everywhere so now that I’ve taken those meats out of his diet, his poops are great all the time and he’s not itchy anymore but he does want to scratch his chin and that causes it to bleed so I have to put a cone on him.

Anyway, I kind of rambled so I’m sorry but please suggest something. Thank you in advance.

I just got my pug a day ago and i have been stair training. We have short flights of stairs that she’s been doing well in but she is terrified of our big flight of stairs that lead to the basement. So I want to know what did you guys do?

Hi everyone! I'm looking for recommendations for a BOAS specialist surgeon.

I have two pugs—our first one had soft palate surgery when he was a puppy at our local vet. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the surgery done for our second pug when she was a baby, and now her snoring and breathing have gotten significantly worse. She’s 2 years old, and our vet has advised against doing the surgery at their clinic, recommending we see a specialist instead.

However, the cost is around $7000-8000, which is quite steep for us. We’re based in Sydney—does anyone have any recommendations for a more affordable option?

My two pugs have been best buddies since we brought the second one home 7 years ago! And all of the sudden my older pug (who is usually the nice calm one) has been starting fights with the younger one (they are only like 7 months apart) The younger one has been whining and so afraid to go to bed where the older one is. Their dad works from home sometimes and they usually hangout with him in his office and he’s unable to catch them When the fight starts. I’m putting my camera up tomorrow in their room, but if the older one is starting to get aggressive what do I do? 😭 I don’t want them to get hurt

Hello everyone! So when we brought our guy home we got chicken flavored puppy food (the bag she sent home and a higher quality and mixed them while tapering). So, I’d read a lot about pugs and chicken causing them to develop allergies like skin issues and such and that salmon was a better choice for a lot of reasons. So I searched around and there’s not a lot of puppy food that is salmon, luckily what there is available is good quality so I got a bag and transitioned. Because we had so much of the chicken it was a slow steady transition and he ate fine. Now that we’re officially switched over he’s all but refusing to eat his salmon flavored food.

I got a sample bag of another brand but the ingredients are salmon, chicken meal, etc, etc. so a lot of them still have chicken, however he ate the heck out of the sample bag to the point that I used it for treats! Do I hold out and hope he gets used to it or just let him have his way and get him the dang chicken flavor? He’s not losing any weight, I upped his feed amount for his age but now with the new food he eats half as much as before. However, now he begs and goes crazy over people food worse than ever. I have to basically eat off of the kitchen counter to keep him for going berserk and trying to melee attack me for my plate.

TLDR: do other pugs outright hate salmon flavor and how bad is chicken for pugs?

My pug has recently developed loads of lumps on his chin, some have scabbed and others are just large. Anyone know what it is? Any help is appreciated

I’ve tried crate training, taking him outside repeatedly, rationing his food/water intake, puppy pads, etc and he still poops/pees in the house…he’s only a few months old so I’m trying to be patient but it’s definitely frustrating. Any advice?

Haven't had a pug in 20 years. Best treats for training? Best toys? Best food for a puppy.

We have a almost 2yo pseudo hermaphrodite pug who continually scoots. We’ve been to the vet several times for the issue, but still have not found A problem let alone a solution for Madeline’s problem.

No, it is not her anal glands. We have checked & treated for worms. Its not her genetalia, which is what I still suspect it is.

Typically scoots 3-4 x daily. Once done scooting she’ll stop and smell everything. Gross, but dogs. 🤷🏻‍♀️😂 No redness on visual inspection. I do have chlorhexadine swabs for cleaning; if I see any redness or irritation. Aquaphor applied afterwards on her perivulvar skin, again if necessary.

She (we identify Madeline as she because outwardly, she very much looks like a female. She does have a small penis inside of her vagina and had testicular tissue where her ovaries were upon laboratory inspection of those tissues) otherwise is a goofy, mischievous, adorable pug. ❤️

Any thoughts? 💭 She’d love some relief Im sure!

Hi! Not sure if this is a pug thing or just general dog thing but just wanted to check with my fellow pug parent community in case it is a common thing for pugs!!

My baby has been getting some dryness and scabbing under her armpits. Wondering if it’s chafing? Allergies? Something else?

Any recommendations for how to soothe it and prevent it in the future? Thank you!!

Hello everybody so I have a quick question to ask I am just wondering is it normal for puppies to bite each other in the face while they are playing? I have two pugs both three months and one is a male, and the other one is a female, they always like to rough house and they bite each other in the face but they don’t hold on for to long & not to the point where they would both be crying, I tried to make them not do that when they play but they still do it anyway, but I don’t know if it’s normal or not okay

I have a 6 month old baby and the little 4 pound bags of Wellness Small Breed are not lasting long. I switched her to Blue Buffalo chicken and rice but now she's a bit too interested in the poo (like eating it)... What are good options?

Removing crate ? My dog is crate trained when we leave the house . We normally aren’t gone for more than 4 hours at a time. I’m wondering if we could possibly allow her to have free range of the house when we are gone so she could sleep on the bed and be more comfortable. Is there a way to test if this is a good idea ? She’s one year old

So I recently got my Pug DNA results her name is Pickles and I have a quick question. It said on the photo :

“Pickles Appears to be 100% pug” “Pickles's DNA is highly diverse. Pickles's genome analysis shows higher than average genetic diversity when compared with other Pugs. “• All Pugs (Typical range 21% - 29%)” “Pickles 32%” ———————————————————————————

What does it mean by 32%? Does it mean it's just normal or a little rare? They didn't give much information in person when we took her to the vet. They just told us to look at the mail and see the results our self Lol