Raising and training a pug: how to teach a dog proper behavior and commands + how to toilet train a puppy

The Pug is a breed of decorative dog, which is distinguished by its friendliness and mischievous character.

Despite their cheerful disposition, pugs are very balanced, and are also very attached and devoted to their owner.

By nature, the pug is a very lazy animal that does not mind sleeping and does so several times a day.

Balance is the main difference between pugs and other dog breeds.

The pug should not be fat or thin, it should be stocky and have well-developed muscles.

In the article we will talk about such an issue as raising and training a pug.

Are Pugs Trainable?

Pugs have excellent memory and well-developed intelligence, so they are easy to train and train. A pet that understands and follows all the necessary commands from an early age makes life easier not only for its owners, but also for itself.

Pugs should be trained as soon as they appear in the house - usually puppies are 6-8 months old. It is important to remember that after a year, pugs become slower, and it becomes more difficult to force them to follow commands.

Where to start?

The training of a pug should begin with the fact that it must get comfortable and get used to its owners. You need to teach him to respond only to his nickname; to do this, you need to call him by name as often as possible, encourage and pet the animal.

The pet must have and know a place intended for rest. feed your pug from a bowl - the slightest indulgence threatens that the food will be scattered throughout the house.

Read more about pug grooming requirements here.

Expert opinion

Kozhevin Semyon Kirillovich

Expert dog handler.

Any breed of dog must be trained and educated, regardless of whether it is a decorative dog or not. However, it is important to remember that proper reinforcement is one of the most important elements of training. At the same time, to avoid overfeeding, the treat should be divided into several parts. In addition to treats, it is important to use praise after each correctly executed command.

How to toilet train?

It is equally important to accustom your pet to a litter box at a very early age, since due to their physiological characteristics, pugs relieve themselves quite often. At an older age, the dog can be trained to go outside to the toilet.

However, it happens that an adult dog relieves himself in the wrong place.

To avoid this, you need to follow some recommendations:

• when the pug puppy is still very small, he should be accustomed to a diaper, which must be laid in a specially designated place;
• as mentioned earlier, pugs are very loyal animals and dote on their owners, so they will try to make the owner pay attention to them once again. In this regard, during training, you should praise your pet after each trip to the toilet in the right place and somehow reward him for this;
• If a pug needs to be punished, then the most correct remedy is to completely ignore the dog. If a dog shits in the wrong place, then immediately after this offense you need to tell it: “You can’t!” - and move away from the pet, pretending that it is not there. Due to the strong attachment, the dog will very soon become bored with this behavior of the owner and understand that he did the wrong thing. It should be noted that it is necessary to punish immediately after the offense, and if the punishment follows some time later, then the dog simply will not understand what it has done wrong and why it is being punished;
• You can’t shout at pugs and poke his face in the place where he shitted, since this is a rather smart animal that will immediately understand that such offenses can be committed in a place where no one will find anything;
• When the pug is already old enough, it should be gradually accustomed to walking. In order to teach a dog to go to the toilet outside, you need to walk him after the pet wakes up in the morning, after each feeding and after playing. Gradually, the number of walks should be reduced to 2-3 per day.

Interesting Facts

Having finally made a decision on whether to get a pug, let's study interesting facts about them.

1. The ancient Chinese saw the image of a hieroglyph in the folds on the forehead of a small dog and therefore treated it as a higher being with a divine mark.
2. A cute dog named Fortuna belonged to Josephine Bonaparte. The French Empress loved her funny pug and did a lot to breed the breed.
3. It is worth remembering an interesting fact that funny snub-nosed dogs became the heroes of popular blockbusters - “Men in Black -1” and “Kingsman: The Secret Service”.
4. Daria Dontsova often mentions friendly, funny kids in her detective stories. She is the happy owner of super pugs - Feni, Kapa, ​​Musi and Fira.

Would you like to get yourself a pug?

How to teach a puppy commands?

When teaching a puppy some skills, you should constantly praise him and reward him for correctly executed commands. If your pet does something wrong the first time, you need to be patient and repeat commands until their execution becomes automatic.

You need to teach a puppy to follow commands gradually, that is, you cannot start learning another command until the pet learns to carry out one command well.

IMPORTANT!

All training should be carried out in a playful way. Under no circumstances should you show your pet any negative feelings in case of frequent mistakes, and especially under no circumstances should you raise your voice at the dog.

Correct behavior on the street

Pugs, regardless of whether they are a puppy or an adult dog, are very trusting animals. On the street, a dog can approach anyone who beckons it, so it is very important to teach a pug from childhood to respond only to its name. It is important that from childhood a pug can distinguish its owners from strangers.

By nature, pugs are very friendly and cheerful dogs who love to frolic outside. Therefore, if there are small children in the house, then everyone needs to go outside together. The pug will be able to run and play with the children.

NOTE!

We should not forget that dogs are social creatures, so there is no need to prohibit them from running and frolicking with their fellow tribesmen in places specially designated for this.

Among other things, the pug must be trained to:

• harness;
• collar;
• leash;
• muzzle

This will make walking with your pet much easier and safer.

How to choose a puppy?

Having figured out why a pug is, let’s move on to an equally unimportant aspect, choosing a puppy. Experienced dog breeders do not recommend adopting adult dogs, but rather train your pet from puppyhood. To choose the right future pupil, you should first visit several exhibitions and read reviews from the owners. The safest way to buy a pug is through a kennel (there are more than 100 of them in Russia) or from trusted breeders.

When purchasing a dog, you need to make sure of its health. The puppy must have:

• shiny, bald-free coat;
• a small number of folds;
• elastic belly;
• clean eyes and ears;
• white teeth and no odor from the mouth.

It is not advisable to take a baby under 3 months of age. He will need special care and frequent feeding. Young animals that are 8-9 months old are more prepared for independent living.

Basic command training

In order to teach a pug to follow the owner’s commands as quickly and effectively as possible, you should follow the following very simple rules:

• training should take place in a place where nothing could distract the dog from the process;
• Pug training should be done at least twice a day, preferably before meals;
• new commands need to be taught to the dog at the very beginning of training; when the dog understands the new command, then all previously learned skills can be repeated;
• you cannot overload your pet - it is enough to repeat new commands 3-4 times per lesson;
• Every correctly executed command must be rewarded with praise or a treat.

During training, the dog should be taught the following basic commands:

• “Don’t delay!” . This command is performed during walks, as soon as the dog begins to pull the leash forward or to the side, you need to sharply pull it back and say “Don’t pull!”;
• "It is forbidden!" . This command is honed with the help of your pet’s favorite treats - you need to put a piece of treat in your hand and give it to the dog, the next piece needs to be held in your fist and when the animal tries to unclench its fist and take food, you need to sharply command “No!”, in this case the command is also suitable "Ugh!". After several repetitions, you need to put the treat on your open palm; if the dog tries to take it away, then you need to sharply squeeze your palm and repeat the command again. This command, like all others, needs to be honed daily;
• "Sit!" . This skill should be taught to the pet using finely chopped treats, a piece of which is first brought to the dog’s nose, and then slowly rises up; as soon as the animal sits down and begins to reach for the treat, you need to command “Sit!” In some cases, the animal does not immediately understand what is required of it and cannot carry out the command, then the owner must help his pet. To do this, you need to lightly press down the pet’s croup and give a command in this position;
• "Lie!" . This skill is based on the base of the previous command, but differs in that the treat does not need to be raised, but lowered, gradually bringing it to the front paws. After the dog reaches for a treat, you need to command “Lie down!” If the command is not understood, then you need to help the pet by slightly pressing on the withers and repeating the command again;
• "To me!" . This command should be repeated quite often, usually this happens during a game or while treating the pet to some kind of treat;
• "Near!" . The skill is practiced during walks, with the dog owner holding a treat in one hand, which should encourage the pet to walk hand in hand with the owner. As the dog executes the command accurately, the treat can be gradually removed and the skill can be completed automatically;
• "Place!" . To hone this skill, the dog is placed on its bedding or mattress, after which the command “Place!” is given, and then the command “Come!” After the pet has approached the owner, he must send him back to his place, giving the appropriate command for this.

How to stop biting?

Pugs can bite for several reasons, so before you stop your dog from biting, you need to find out the exact reason:

• One of the simplest and fairly common reasons for a pug puppy to bite is teething. In this case, it is enough to simply buy the animal a toothbrush or just a rubber toy. As soon as the puppy tries to bite the owner, you need to slip him a toy and thereby distract his attention. Usually, just a few such manipulations are enough for the animal to stop biting;
• Many puppies perceive biting as part of a game and do not understand that they are causing pain to their owner. When playing with their fellow tribesmen, if they are in pain, they begin to whine or squeal. The owner can simply withdraw his hand, turn around and leave, or simply yell at the pet. As a result, he does not understand what he did wrong and why the owner began to behave this way. In order for the puppy to understand what he has done wrong and to stop behaving this way, you need to yelp after each bite and move away from the dog. After some time, the pet will understand what’s going on and stop biting, but you need to remember that only a small puppy can be weaned from biting with this behavior - up to 6 months; such actions will not have the desired effect on an older dog;
• It’s not uncommon for an older dog to start biting out of a desire to show its superiority over its owner, as if to say that it is she, not he, who is in charge. In this case, you need to grab it by the withers, press it to the floor and fix it in this position, say in a firm tone: “You can’t!”, then move away and not pay any attention to the animal for half an hour or an hour. After several such procedures, the pet will understand that he was wrong and will stop biting.

Why pug. Appearance and character

And so why the pug? Many people’s love for this breed of dog arose after the movie “Men in Black”. This dog had a very charismatic role and I just fell in love with her without knowing any parameters or character traits. And so about the dimensions. An adult has a strong build and is larger in size than other dwarf domestic dogs:

• height for males is 30-35 cm, for females 25-30 cm;
• weight in males is 7-10 kg, in females 5-8 kg.

The body is short, well-built, and its configuration is close to a square (length and height are approximately the same). The wide chest goes into a short neck. The head is spherical, flattened on top. The conformation standard describes two types of ears:

• “roses” with an open ear;
• “buttons” pressed to the head.

The muzzle has a square structure with a pronounced snub nose and symmetrical folds on the forehead. The standard provides for a bridge of the nose up to 1.5 cm wide. Dark, bulging eyes should be set wide apart. Closely spaced eyes, distortion and protruding tongue are considered undesirable defects. You can see what a pug looks like in the next photo.

Limbs are proportional, muscular, of medium length. A short tail should ideally curl twice. The coat is short, lying close to the body. Wide range of colors. The most beautiful color is beige, and the rarest is black.

The main advantages of a pug are its compact size, calm, diligent character and friendly attitude towards others. The dog has very sensitive hearing, so he copes well with the duties of a watchman, barking and barking as soon as he hears extraneous noise. The young animals are distinguished by energetic and active behavior. Pugs love to play, they have almost no aggression and rarely bite.

According to owners, representatives of this breed have two unpleasant characteristics: they snore and fart when they sleep. If your pet is suddenly awakened, he may become frightened by surprise. Also, these dogs are difficult to train and require careful care. Pugs do not like to be left alone at home and miss their owners a lot. Surrounded by loving people, a four-legged pet can live 13-15 years (video from the TSV channel).

How to stop barking?

Before you start weaning your pug from constant barking, you must first determine the reason for such actions:

• The dog may bark loudly while playing or when seeing its owner who has been away for some time. In this case, you don’t need to encourage the dog in any way, but rather try to calm it down, scratch behind the ears or just stroke it, saying kind words;
• in some cases, the dog begins to bark suddenly out of fear of something, then you need to identify the provocateur of the noise and eliminate it. For example, it may be that the doorbell is too loud, in which case you should turn down the volume a little;
• One of the most common reasons that a pug constantly barks is the desire to dominate in front of the owner. In order for the dog to stop behaving this way, you need to grab it by the withers, press its muzzle to the floor and in a tone that does not tolerate any objections, say: “You can’t!” Then release the pet and completely ignore it for some time. If you perform such actions after each animal’s offense, then it will very soon understand how it can behave and how not;
• if none of the above methods help, then you need to consult a veterinarian, perhaps he will recommend some sedatives.

Despite the fact that pugs have already developed a certain character from early childhood, they establish contact with the owner very quickly, as a result of which pug puppies can be taught the necessary skills and commands quite easily.

IMPORTANT!

While the puppy is small, it should be taught to perform only basic commands, and taught to more serious skills when the pet is a little older.

What is the price?

The cost of a pug puppy depends on several factors and will therefore vary markedly. First of all, the price schedule is determined by the class of the animal.

1. Elite babies with pedigree and impeccable appearance are valued at 30-50 thousand rubles. This is a show class intended for participation in exhibitions.
2. Dogs with good external characteristics, which can be used in breeding work, will cost from 20 thousand rubles. This is a breeding class, where the exact price is set based on the characteristics of a particular individual.
3. A representative of the pet class will cost less when purchased: from a private owner for 5 thousand rubles, from a nursery about 15 thousand rubles. Belonging to the pet class means that there are minor defects in its appearance. They usually do not affect health and reproductive functions. However, achieving serious success in breeding offspring from such sires is much more difficult. Most often, pet-class dogs are chosen as a cheerful, amusing companion for spending time with the family.

In some cases, the cost of an animal is influenced by its color. Black pugs are considered the rarest and most valuable.

Fluctuations in price levels may be caused by the geographic location of the seller. The highest price is in the capital, from 250 to 750 dollars. In the south and center of the European region of Russia, prices for a puppy range from 160 to 450 dollars. There is a noticeable price difference, approximately 2 times, when purchasing an animal through a special nursery or from someone else. In addition, a female puppy is usually priced more expensive than a male pug, but in the show class the opposite price distribution is possible. Because males are more attractive than females.