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Breed guide · Dogs
She grumbles like an old man when I move her off the sofa. I've had her breathing looked at.
Last updated 12 October 2026
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What they brought with them.
Tap a card to see what is going on.
At home
Room to room all day, and a flat refusal to go out to the loo alone.
What's going onPugs were bred to be company, and they take it literally. Wanting you near is normal. Panic when you leave is something else, and worth a conversation with your vet.
At home
A few minutes out, they sit down on the pavement and look at you.
What's going onIt looks like sulking. Often they are out of breath. Let them stop, carry them home if you need to, and tell your vet if it keeps happening.
At home
Snoring through the night, snorting when excited, a groan every time they lie down.
What's going onIt is part of why people love them. It is also air squeezing through a narrow airway, so if the noise grows louder over the months, film it for your vet.
At home
Up on their back legs at the first rustle of the treat bag.
What's going onPugs learn fast when food is involved, which makes training easy and weight hard. Pay them with pieces of their own dinner.
At home
Nose first into every bush on the walk, and straight into the big dogs' games.
What's going onA Pug's eyes sit further forward than most dogs'. A swipe from a bigger dog or a scramble through a hedge can scratch one or push it forward. Keep their games with dogs their own size.
At home
Belly down on the cold kitchen floor, back legs stretched out behind.
What's going onThey are pushing heat out through their belly. If they sleep sitting up, or with their chin propped high, they may be working to keep their airway open. Film it and show your vet.
The bit nobody tells you.
Their brief
Built for: Company and a lap, never a job.
In Dubai: Company in a flat, which suits them.
Their cooling
Built for: Panting, through a very short nose.
In Dubai: A summer that runs from May to September.
Their walk
Built for: Keen at the door, then out of breath.
In Dubai: Walks ended by their breathing, long before their enthusiasm.
The snoring, the grumbling and the flop on the cold floor are their body managing that gap.
You cannot change their face. You can plan their day around it, and the ten things below are how.
Your plan is built around their breed: the health risks for a Pug at every age, and the care that goes with each one.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Ten things that make their life better.
Heat is the thing their body handles worst, and heatstroke can come on during an ordinary walk.
Every age, most of all puppies and from 7 years
Why
Heat is the thing their body handles worst, and heatstroke can come on during an ordinary walk.
What to do
From May to September, walk before sunrise and after dark only, and keep it short. When they sit down, let them. Put the back of your hand on the pavement for five seconds: if you cannot keep it there, they cannot walk on it. Carry water. Never leave them in the car, even with the engine running.
Pugs are highly prone to obesity, and extra weight makes every breathing problem worse.
Every age, most of all 2 to 7 years
Why
Pugs are highly prone to obesity, and extra weight makes every breathing problem worse.
What to do
Weigh them every month and write it down. Measure meals with a cup and take every treat out of that amount. From above you should see a waist, and you should feel their ribs without pressing. Ignore the face at the table.
A collar pulls on their throat, the part of them that already struggles.
Every age
Why
A collar pulls on their throat, the part of them that already struggles.
What to do
Use a harness that sits across their chest, not their throat. Keep a collar for their tag if you like, and never clip the lead to it. Refit the harness as they grow, and again if their weight changes.
They will play on after their airway has had enough, and rough play with bigger dogs puts their eyes at risk.
Every age, most of all under 2 years
Why
They will play on after their airway has had enough, and rough play with bigger dogs puts their eyes at risk.
What to do
Two or three minutes of play, then a rest. Stop while they still want more, and before their breathing gets loud. Keep them away from boisterous big dogs, and choose games that keep their face out of bushes.
Snoring and sleeping propped up are easy to laugh at, and easy to miss as signs that their airway is working too hard.
Every age, evaluation by 18 months
Why
Snoring and sleeping propped up are easy to laugh at, and easy to miss as signs that their airway is working too hard.
What to do
One night, film two minutes of them asleep, sound on. Watch for pauses in their breathing, waking with a start, or sleeping with their chin propped up. Show the video to your vet. Their BOAS (flat-faced breathing difficulty) evaluation is due by 18 months, because corrective surgery can make a real difference to how they breathe.
Many Pugs swim badly. Their nose is short, their front end is heavy, and they tire fast.
Every age, most of all puppies and from 7 years
Why
Many Pugs swim badly. Their nose is short, their front end is heavy, and they tire fast.
What to do
Fence the pool, or keep the gate to it shut. Near water, on a boat or at the beach, put them in a dog life jacket with a handle and keep hold of it. Save fetch for the garden.
Lying flat on the tiles is how they get heat out. In a warm room, they have nowhere left to put it.
Every age, more so every year from 7
Why
Lying flat on the tiles is how they get heat out. In a warm room, they have nowhere left to put it.
What to do
Keep their room air-conditioned from May to September. Leave them a tiled spot or a cooling mat, and water in two places. If they always end up on the same cold patch of floor, move their bed next to it.
The folds on their face trap moisture and infection, and their eyes sit so far forward that they injure easily.
Every age, ears most of all from 4 years
Why
The folds on their face trap moisture and infection, and their eyes sit so far forward that they injure easily.
What to do
Every day, wipe their facial folds with a vet-approved antiseptic wipe, then dry them properly. Once a month, clean their ears with a vet ear cleaner. If they squint, rub an eye or it starts to weep, contact your vet the same day. Pug eyes can get worse quickly. Daily fold care and monthly ear cleaning are in your plan.
Some Pugs have misshapen bones in the spine, and arthritis is a risk from 7.
Every age, most of all from 4 years
Why
Some Pugs have misshapen bones in the spine, and arthritis is a risk from 7.
What to do
Put a ramp or step up to the sofa and bed, and lift them down with one hand under the chest and one under the back end. If their back legs wobble, or they stop wanting to jump or climb, tell your vet. A spinal x-ray at four to five years is in your plan, to work out how active they can safely be.
They will do anything for food, which is useful, and risky in a dog who needs to stay lean.
Every age, easiest under 2 years
Why
They will do anything for food, which is useful, and risky in a dog who needs to stay lean.
What to do
Two or three minutes, indoors in the cool, paid with pieces of their dinner. Stop while they are still getting it right. Teach them early to have their face wiped and their eyes looked at. They will need both for life.
Four of these are in your plan. The rest you can do at home.
Join the founding families. AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199.
Their health, at every age.
How old are they?
Their age
the first six months
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
6 months to 2 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
2 to 4 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
4 to 7 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
7 to 10 years
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Their age
10 years and over
What to watch for
The care that goes with it
Breed predispositions indicate an increased risk rather than certainty of disease. What is right for them always comes from their own history and an evaluation.
Before they come home.
Types of Pug
There is one Pug: small, square and solid, with a short face and a curled tail. What varies is how they breathe. Careful breeders have their dogs' breathing graded on a scale from 0 (no signs) to 3 (severe), and breed from the dogs who breathe best. A "mini" Pug is a seller's word, not a separate type.
Colours
Pugs come in soft fawn, warm apricot or pale silver, each with a black mask and velvet-black ears, or in black from nose to tail. Lighter Pugs often have a dark thumb mark on the forehead and a black line running down the back.
The first six months
Their full vaccination course, microchip and Dubai Municipality registration come first, with a baseline BOAS screening of their breathing. Keep play to a few minutes at a time and indoors in summer, because puppies overheat fastest.
Puppy health, 0 to 6 months
Getting home ready
Give them an air-conditioned room with a tiled spot or a cooling mat, and water in two places. Put a ramp up to the sofa and bed, buy a harness rather than a collar, and gate off any way to the pool.
Ten things that make their life better
Before you commit
Ask the breeder how both parents breathe, and whether their breathing has been formally graded. Ask about their eyes and their backs too. The answers shape a Pug's whole life.
Before the clinics open
AED 1,999 of essential care for AED 199. No payment now.
For a new puppy: First 30 days with a new puppy · Puppy vaccinations in the UAE · Heatstroke in dogs
When it is not behaviour.
They'll keep grumbling about the sofa. If the grumble turns into a fight for breath, contact your vet now.
Before they were yours.
Before the 1500s
In China, wealthy households and the imperial court kept short-faced lap dogs, and the Pug descends from them. They were never bred for a job.
What they still carryA dog made for company. Their need to be with you starts here.
1500s to 1700s
Dutch traders brought Pugs from China to Europe, where they became a court dog, closely linked with the Dutch House of Orange.
What they still carryThe comedian who lives for an audience.
The 1800s
By the 1800s Pugs were in the British show ring, and the American Kennel Club recognised the breed in 1885.
What they still carryA breed defined by how it looks: the wrinkles, the curled tail, the short face.
2019
The Kennel Club and the University of Cambridge began grading how well Pugs, French Bulldogs and Bulldogs breathe, from 0 (no signs) to 3 (severe).
What they still carryPugs whose breathing varies a great deal from one dog to the next.
Today
In the UAE a Pug lives in a flat or a villa, as company, in a city where summer runs from May to September.
What they still carryA dog who handles heat badly, which is why their day is planned around the cool.
The ones you type at midnight.
If the Pug suits you, so might these.
PekingeseThe same kind of dog: another flat-faced lap dog from imperial China, under a much heavier coat.
French BulldogThe other short-nosed favourite, with bat ears, a short coat and a love of a cool room.
Boston TerrierThe same affectionate, easy-going and quiet nature, on longer legs, with a sleek black and white coat.
Cavalier King Charles SpanielA similar small size and a soft spot for a sofa and company, in a gentle spaniel with a longer nose and a silky coat.
