As a Pug I am often associated with some of the least flattering stigmas of dogs. I am often cited as having “little dog syndrome” or being the spoiled, obese family pet of choice. I feel I am often misunderstood and seen as a small chuck of dog to feed and cuddle with. Don’t get me wrong I enjoy those things as much as any other dog. But my dream owner is not someone who just feeds me and tells me to lie down next to them. There are a few other things I need from an owner in order for me to be the best friend I possibly can to them.
Owner that walks but doesn’t run
I may be genetically disposed to being fat but I actually do enjoy exploring the world and smelling different things. We Pugs are very free-spirited and curious dogs. While we definitely don’t like to fetch and exercise as much as some other dogs we do understand that exercise keeps us healthy but we are not racing in the Olympics anytime soon so an owner that likes small strolls but not 6 mile runs is much preferred.
Owner that guards my space as I guard them
We like meeting your friends, we like getting to know their dog friends. But understand that we are very small dogs with little we can achieve in the grand scheme of things and as such we are very territorial. Don’t let your friends bigger dogs eat from our dish or lay in our bed without our consent. We promise to warningly bark at anyone we don’t know entering your area, all we ask is that you do the same for any dog entering ours.
Owner that’s patient enough to clean our faces
We know we all have wrinkly faces that make us look like old puppies. A lot of people think this is our cutest feature aside from us scurrying around with many small baby steps to move our furry fat bodies. What many people don’t realize is that a lot of gunk gets stuck in between our wrinkles. When we are rubbing our faces in the carpet it’s because we are trying to get a nagging itch out of there. We don’t like to admit but we can’t get it out ourselves and need your help. Taking a q-tip to our faces and getting out all of the itchy gunk in between our wrinkles is like giving us a bath. We tend to think we can manage without it and try to fight you every step of the way but we love and appreciate you for doing after it’s done.
Owner that cuddles with us
We are built like extra soft throw pillows for a reason. We like to cuddle with our owners, feel free to do this often and for long durations until we need to be let outside to do our business.
Hopefully this will give you a better idea as to how to love and care for other members of my kin. We may be small in whole but in our seemingly overweight torso is a big heart with a lot of love for our amazing owners.
Featured Image Credit – Sad Pug by DodosD (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
