by Ginny
(Key West, FL ,USA)
My uncle owned a parking lot near a major city's baseball park. One cool spring day a man and his son came to leave their car while going to see a game and they left their Pug dog behind in the car.
When my uncle saw the cute, smashed-in faced dog looking forlornly out of the car window, he took him into the house and kept him there until the man and boy returned for their car.
I happened to be visiting my uncle that day and that was when I became a Pug dog lover. Now seventy years old, I have had five different Pugs.
This breed is a perfect small size for people living in city apartments or small houses. They do not require much exercise but they are lively and playful. They are friendly and outgoing, not aggressive, which means they make good family dogs.
Pugs have some health problems to be aware of. They are prone toward dry eye because of their bulging eyes. Also, their short snouts can cause breathing problems if they are overweight, which many tend to be due to their undying appetites.
Pugs are very smart. I adopted one blind female. When I got her home for the first time, it took her less than a half hour before she knew her way around the apartment, could find her water bowl and the doggie door out to the deck to relieve herself.
My experience with the others who were sighted is that they are easy to train, even if they had been used to other households when I adopted them.
Be aware, however, that Pugs shed a huge amount because of what I call their "double" coat, which is soft underneath, with stiffer hairs over the top. I sometimes tell people that my apartment can look like a shaken snow globe when a breeze wafts through it!
I would recommend Pug dogs to anyone who wants a smart, loving, easy-going companion, as long as you have a good vacuum cleaner!