Pug Care



Looking for the basics in Pug care? From Pug coat care to Pug face wrinkle care, we’ve got you covered. And here’s some good news – Pugs are relatively easy to care for compared with other dog breeds and you can cover most of it with just a few minutes per month!

(bonus tip: if you’re looking for expert advice on house training your Pug, go check out the 2 FREE videos on how to potty train a Pug fast and easy)

Pug Coat Care

Let’s start care of your Pug with the fur. Brush your Pug with a brush that has stainless steel bristles once a week. This will help cut down on the fur in the house as well as keep your Pug looking neat. But don’t expect miracles – Pugs shed a ton! In the summer, when we brush our fawn Pug, it looks like he’s smoking as the fur is flying off.

Some folks brush their Pug everyday because it helps reduce the amount of fur in the house. Pugs usually enjoy being brushed and many look forward to it. Simply brush in the direction the fur grows without pressing down too hard on the brush. Use smooth, even and gentle strokes.

As far as bathing goes, a lot of folks like to bath their Pugs every other week to once per month. The choice is yours based on how active your Pug is. Personally, we do every other week in the summer and once per month in the winter.

Pug Face Wrinkle Care

Here’s one of the critical components of Pug care. The folds and crinkles on a Pug’s face are magnets for gook! This stuff gets in there because Pugs spend a lot of time with their face in their food bowl, outside in the grass, etc. Plus, the face wrinkles collect a cocktail of dried tears and mucous…yum!

Clean those facial folds to make sure they don’t develop any infections or fungus. We’ve had a couple infections with our fawn Pug, and while it’s not a big deal to fix (non-prescription pads from the vet did the trick), you’re best approach is to not let it happen in the first place. Since all that gook makes a Pug smell a bit “yucky”, you’ve got extra motivation to clean the wrinkles regularly.

Cleaning the facial folds is easy if you’ve got a cooperative dog. Our black Pug is a bit of a baby when it comes to this…he constantly turns his face around to avoid the wipes! Best advice is to start cleaning the folds when they’re a puppy so they get used to it.

You’ll need a baby wipe that’s non-alcoholic / non-scented. Hold the Pug firmly and gently run the wipe in the folds above the nose and below the eyes. Continue until the wipe is clean after running through the wrinkles. Finally, apply a very thin layer of Vaseline inside the fold above the nose the give some protection and healing to this sensitive area. I’d recommend doing this once per week or once every other week at the latest.

Pug Toe Nails

Pugs nails grow fast and you’ll quickly find your Pug has some awfully sharp nails. This can be no fun if your Pug is a jumper or you have small children in the house.

There are a few options to trim the Pug’s nails. You can clip ‘em, you can Dremel ‘em (a Dremel is a small power tool that has a sander attachment) or you can punt this task to a professional groomer or vet (see, there’s an easy way out!). Clippers are less hassle but you run the risk of cutting the toe’s vein if you’re not too careful.

One of the best times to trim nails this is when your Pug is deeply asleep. They won’t put up much of a struggle and they tend to be very relaxed. To avoid cutting too far down on the nail, clip just the curved part of the nail.

A Pug needs their nails trimmed every two to three weeks. There’s more than an occasional scratch to you if you don’t do this…Pug nails that grow too long can cause bleeding and breakdown of the pasterns on the paws, which will cause your Pug pain when walking.

Pug Ears

Use a baby wipe or a damp cloth. Gently wipe clean only the areas of the ear that you can see….don’t go too deep! Think what it would be like for somebody to do the same thing to you and that will help you measure the depth correctly. Clean the ears as frequently as they appear dirty. Our fawn gets dirty ears and needs cleaning once per month, while our black Pug hardly ever needs ear cleaning.

Pug Teeth

Pugs need their teeth brushed just like humans! There are two options – have your vet do it (easy answer!) or try it yourself. Again, it’s best to start this when they’re puppies to make it a habit.

Buy a dog toothbrush (they make them special) and dog toothpaste from your pet shop, and go to work like you were brushing the teeth of a small child. I know it sounds strange, but it’s a pretty easy task and some Pugs even look forward to it! Check with your vet on how often to do this, but I tend to do this every 2 to 3 months for my Pugs.

Pug Nutrition and Health Issues

These are big issues beyond the scope of general Pug care, so we’ll cover them in a separate article.

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44 Responses to “Pug Care”

  • Joan Cox:

    I had not heard of the ‘face wrinkle care’ for my pug. Thanks
    for the info.

  • Tim Pena:

    thanks for the info, I love dogs and I really want to have one
    at home.

  • Brian Weston:

    This article provides a detailed info about Pug care. Nice info
    and well explained. Great

  • David Lee:

    Thanks for the info. I’m getting a pug pretty soon so this
    really helps out a lot. I had no clue that they required so much
    work. I guess I’ll just have to put forth a lot of effort! What are
    good names for a pug?

  • Ashley Gilson:

    thanx this information was really helpful

  • Gary Noel:

    I AM DINESH FROM INDIA. YOUR ADVICE IS VERY EASY TO UNDERSTAND.
    THE PEOPLE LIKE ME ARE NOT HAVE A CAPABILITY TO BUY SO CALLED BOOKS
    ON PUG. IT IS VERY ESSENTIAL INFORMATION WHICH YOU GIVE. THANKS A
    LOT.

  • Beverly Nichols:

    Hey! Wow. I love Pugs, but have never owned one. I am totally
    blown away that your pugs have let you brush their teeth. Our
    Dalmation is a rescue dog, so we had him from 3 years. Now, he is
    totally obstinate when I even try to LOOK at his teeth let alone
    scrub them. The only way is for the vet to clean them under
    anaestheic and my goodness, doesn’t his mouth give bad breath
    unless they are kept clean!

  • Victoria Luis:

    thanx for da info i am gettin a pug soon so it is a lot of help
    to know about the animal ur gonna get thanx again i really think
    pugs are cute a lot of pepole tink dare ugly they are not though i
    am goin to name mine princess

  • Stephanie Carlisle:

    I love dogs but i basically like pugs. they are so cute. their
    face is like they are wearing mack. i have not buy a pug or dog but
    i really like them. my friends uncle has a pug, it is very cute.
    its name is ROMEW.

  • Lynn Krantz:

    Brushing teeth?? That was supurb, thanks a lot!!!

  • Jacqueline Romero:

    I LOVE Pugs!!!!!! Can theyt breath ok cause my pug sometimes has
    trouble breathing & it scares me!!!:(

  • Richard Dunn:

    I need big big big help with my baby puggy!! if you can help me
    with training my baby pug to not run away from me or to teach her
    how to not, pee or poo in our house please contact me at my e-mail
    : kwess1998@msn.com

  • Darrell Pool:

    I go to pick up my first pug today, a little boy & this was
    the most helpful info. Thank you so much!

  • Dennis King:

    I have my first pug. this is my husbands second. he always told
    me that they were stubborn, but i thought he was being over
    dramatic about it. well. our tanzie,(short for tanzanite) is a very
    loving pug. she is very bright and will do any thing I ask as long
    as i have a treat. She will go to the bathroom in the house if we
    are not paying attention to her. if we do pay attention, she will
    run around and yap loudly, running circles aroung the coffee table
    or couch, showing us that she needs to go outside. I have read the
    articles but i am still pulling out my hair everytime my husband
    says”i told you so” yet he agrees, we would never trade her for any
    other pet. help.

  • Juanita Cannon:

    I will certainly use the potty training tips that you placed on
    this page. It’s amazing how easy it should be, and it’s even more
    amazing how difficult it is for the pet to adapt.

  • Lee Fernandez:

    about clipping your dogs nails, is it okay to use a normal human
    clipper, or are there dog clippers?

  • James Layton:

    Great information, especially about the dental care. I see so
    many small dogs with bad teeth:( It’s smelly and ultimately painful
    for the dog.

  • Daniel Olivares:

    hey do yall know how they got their name

  • Raymond Holmes:

    Thanks for this informative article.Great job.Keep up the good
    work.

  • William Robinson:

    your information gives a better knowledge to maintain our pug
    properly…thanks for your good information…i have a black
    pug..if u hve any other good info plz reply me on
    brar_rupana@yahoo.co.in thanks…have a nice time….tc..

  • Claribel Crain:

    Are baby wipes better for wrinkle cleaning than a baby wash
    cloth and warm water?

  • Donna Aaron:

    i am bhanwar brar from india…

  • Rachel Nadeau:

    I didn’t know that a stainless steel bristle brush was
    recommended. Thanks for the information.

  • Jenny Dennis:

    i hv a 3 months old pug, im feeding him twice a day on 2 full
    soup spoon, is that ok ?? or should i increase it to 3 scoope or
    what??? tq

  • Maggie Peterson:

    i have fallen in love with the pugs all the more……

  • Louise Phillips:

    i clean my pugs nose and ear daily and i find it keeps the smell
    away. its still alittle gross but not bad at all. i use baby wipes,
    non sented.

  • Patricia Mcclure:

    hi i am vaibhav from india pug is very cute very cute and
    loveble dog you should have to look after one thing that you should
    not touch under his eyes you should be carefull about it

  • Jennifer Bryan:

    Cannot believe it brush their teeth,clean their ears with wipes
    that is really cute reminds me of babies.That is a beautiful and
    cute pug u have in the picture.

  • Pansy Horowitz:

    i found this sight very helpful.. i have a 9 week old pug.I have
    never owned a pug befor so i needed to know everything i could to
    care for my baby. thanks

  • Michael Gibbs:

    hi, i was wondering if fixing my one year old pug will be
    painful to him?

  • Dora Steel:

    thanks for the information because im getting one and i realy
    needed some help!!! there the best dogs ever!!!

  • Phillip Davis:

    Useful information, provides with the detailed information of
    the basic of pug caring.

  • Ruby Rodriguez:

    I have a pug and he is the cutest thing in the world.but he is
    really hard to take care. my 3 kids help me a whole lot but once i
    read this he has been a little easier to take care of

  • Juan Hart:

    Cute dog. Easy to care for. Now, that’s a winning combination.
    Thanks for all the pug care information. Looks like you covered all
    the basics.

  • Shelly Skaggs:

    Very helpful information. Thank you. A+++ Your pug is so
    cute.

  • Edna Hunter:

    we’ll take care of our black pug just like u do

  • Amber Laws:

    I created a great product to help dry, crusty, yukky Pug Noses.
    I am sharing here, not blatantly selling – hahaha! We also support
    rescue!

  • Felton Jones:

    Dried tears and mucous…..o.k. i get i’ll make sure to get into
    those folds reeeeeeally good

  • Karla Green:

    I just got my pug last week. He’s nine weeks old. He is so cute.
    Your web site is very helpful…especially the house training
    section. He is a lot of work but it’s so worth it. Thanks a
    million.

  • Robin Adams:

    Wow, I did’nt imagine this could be so detailed!

  • Christopher Dale:

    HELP WE FOUND A HOMELESS PUG IN PHILA DID ALL P-WORK 3 VET
    VISITS AROUND 7 WE LIVE IN THE WOODS TICKS !!!!!!!!!!!! MY OTHER
    ANIMALS r use to the deal with taking them off but DEDE NOWAY ,
    FRONT LINE WILL NOT KILL ALL HELP

  • George Macdonald:

    OUR BLACK PUG IS AROUND 15 MONTHS OLD…WHEN SHE COMES BACK IN
    FROM GOING POTTY SHE HAS A TERRIBLE ODOR FOR AWHILE…WHAT CAN WE
    DO OR IS THIS COMMON

  • Kyle Jones:

    I got my pug as a gift and we all love him. We are a family of 8
    four leggers and 4 two leggers. 3 cats , 3 dogs ,2 turtles and
    myself, my husband and our two sons. We are all loving life and
    living it to the fullest.

  • Helen Nadeau:

    Is it just me or are dremels scarier than clippers even though
    they’re less likely to catch the quick?

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