Liz Palika
Author, pet expert and dog trainer
 
Liz Palika, pet expert, author, dog trainer

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Pugs

by Liz Palika

  • Facts about your Pug's personality and behavior traits.

  • Training tips for your sometimes stubborn Pug.

  • Play and exercise routines for your Pug – and you!

You're no idiot, of course. You know Pugs are cute dogs, with their stocky little bodies and happy go-lucky expressions. But these dogs were bred to be companions and can be stubborn if try to get them to do something they don't want to do! The Complete Idiot's Guide to Pugs shows you how you and your pug can enjoy each other and still follow some house rules.

Table of Contents

Part 1: Is a Pug Your Perfect Dog?
1. Owning a Pug is a Partnership
2. What Makes a Pug a Pug?
3. Finding the Pug for You

Part 2: There's a Puppy in the House!
4. Prior Planning for your Pug is Everything
5. Establishing Household Rules
6. Housetraining your Pug
7. The Social Pug
8. Have Fun with your Pug

Part 3: The Healthy Pug
9. Grooming Your Pug
10. Filling Your Pug's Tummy
11. Keeping Your Pug Healthy with Your Vet's Help
12. Potential Pug Health Problems 13.Emergency First Aid

Part 4: The Gentleman (and Lady!) Pug
14. You are Your Pug's Teacher
15. The Eight Basic Obedience Commands
16. Pugs will Make Mistakes
17. Understanding Pug Behavior

Appendixes
A. Doggy Dictionary
B. Pugs on the internet

Introduction

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Pugs is not like most of the other dog books you've read. Most breed books are written by judges, exhibitors and fanciers of that particular breed and will tell you in no uncertain terms how wonderful their breed is You'll see photos of winning show dogs, awesome stud dogs, and famous breeders who made the breed so popular.

I am not a Pug breeder, nor am I a conformation judge specialiazing in Pugs. Rather, I am a dog obedience instructor. I see more than 700 dogs and their owners each year in my classes, with two or three dozen of those being Pugs. Many of those new dog owners did a lot of research before adding a new dog to their family, yet at some point they discovered their new dog isn't quite what their research showed it to be. They really didn't know as much about their breed as they thought.

This book will take a realistic look at Pugs, their good points, and some of their less-than-good points. I'll talk about what makes a Pug a wonderful companion and a few of those things that can make living with a Pug a little more of a challenge. You might find a pug sounds exactly like the right dog for you, or you might decide that a Pug isn't quite what you are looking for. If that's the case, great! It's much better to find out before you bring home a new dog and everyone gets attached to him.

Once you decide to add a Pug to your family, Part 2 will help you get ready for your new family member. You'll find out how to pug-proof your house and yard and what landscaping plants might be dangerous. You'll also learn why household rules are important and how to begin establishing them. I'll also talk about housetraining –– one of the breed's challenges –– and how to go about housetraining simply and effectively.

Liz Palika
© 2012 Liz Palika, LLC Website design by Terry Albert