Grooming and care for a Pug: brush, bath, health
Pug : Despite its short coat, the Pug sheds a remarkable amount: brushing with a rubber mitt twice a week keeps it in check. The nose-roll fold needs regular cleaning and drying, and its prominent eyes, prone to corneal ulcers, deserve close attention.
In our shop, for this use: Stainless steel nail clippers for small dogs and puppies (€17.90) · the whole shop
Outside our shipping area? The downloadable practical guide: Raising Your Puppy: The First Six Months (€19)
🩺 This health information is general in nature and does not replace a consultation: at the slightest doubt about your animal’s condition, talk to your vet.
In short: Small dog, 25-30 cm at the withers (6-9 kg), short dense heavy-shedding coat, very short muzzle, moderate energy level. A small, affectionate, food-driven clown made for indoor family life. Despite its short coat it sheds heavily, and its large prominent eyes are prone to corneal ulcers: a grooming mitt and daily eye checks are part of the routine.
Coat care, brush by brush
Plan, for a Pug, on a soft-pin brush, once or twice a week; note that it sheds heavily all year round: a de-shedding tool and a sturdy vacuum are part of the kit. The ritual settles in early, in brief rewarded sessions — the brush then becomes bonding time rather than a chore.
Baths, claws, ears, teeth
A bath every two to three months, or when genuinely dirty, with a dog-pH shampoo — never a human product. On a Pug, the facial folds need wiping several times a week with a soft cloth, then careful drying: trapped moisture feeds dermatitis. Check claws monthly, inspect ears at the same time, and brush teeth two or three times a week.
Health watch-points for the Pug
In the Pug, the documented watch-points are: brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome, corneal ulcers and strong tendency towards obesity. Nothing inevitable, but they steer prevention — and at the first unusual sign, the vet decides, not the shop aisle. Life expectancy sits around 12 to 15 years.
Frequently asked questions
Which brush for a Pug?
For its coat, plan on a soft-pin brush, once or twice a week.
How often should a Pug be bathed?
A quarterly bath is largely enough, exceptional messes aside — and exclusively with canine shampoo, never your own products.
The guides that apply to you
- Basset hound: primary glaucoma, eye screening and the cost of care
Abnormal iridocorneal angle, gonioscopy, glaucoma as an emergency and inherited thrombopathia: the basset hound documented weaknesses and what they cost.
- Saint Bernard: elbow dysplasia is a separate screening from hips
In the Saint Bernard, the anconeal process should fuse by 5 to 6 months. When it does not, the elbow deteriorates. Why elbow radiographs cannot be inferred from hip scores.
- Weimaraner: hypertrophic osteodystrophy in puppies and the vaccination schedule question
A Weimaraner puppy that limps with a fever between 3 and 6 months points to hypertrophic osteodystrophy. What the studies actually show about its immune background and about spacing vaccines.
- Great Dane: spotting wobbler syndrome before the fall
A floaty hind-end gait, worn nails, a stiff neck: in the Great Dane these signs point to cervical spondylomyelopathy. What imaging adds, and why the collar has to go.