Tiberius the Pug Dog :: Pug Safety 101 ::

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Keeping Pugs Safe
© 2002 Susan Beyer

These are some bits of wisdom I've discovered or re-learned
over the past 4 years, since Tiberius became a member of our family.

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Consider any pug as a perpetual two-year old child and you'll know the ways to protect them.
Rule of thumb: take the same kind of safety precautions for your pug that you would for a small child.
The motto is Up and Away.

As for children, do a safety check for obvious hazards
in your house. Get down on the floor at pug eye-level
to see what they see and the potential dangers that are within reach.

Most of this is common sense but a few items are things I never would have thought of until I heard about some real tragedies that occured in 2002.
Sadly, nothing on the list is "made-up out of thin air".
All eventualities mentioned have happened this year.

These are two fundamental safety precautions.

1. Keep your pug away from extreme temperatures.

Some form of air conditioning is almost mandatory for a pug during hot weather.
This includes the car if you like to take trips during High Summer.
In the summer the heat can and will kill a pug susceptible because of old age, breathing difficulties or over-weight.
But healthy, younger pugs can also succumb.
How hot is too hot outside for a pug?
You know your dog best but our pug starts getting uncomfortable if the temperature goes above 24 degrees C, around 74 degrees F, especially if he tries to run around.
Inside a car, even with the windows open, the temprature can climb to 20 degrees higher than that.

2. Do not over-vaccinate your pug.

Be extremely cautious about the Lepto or Bortadella portions of "routine" vaccinations.Parvo vaccines can also cause bad reactions.
In most places, these are elective vaccines, not mandatory.
Unless your local regs say otherwise, you can refuse them.
In my own opinion they may be completely unnecessary risks to your pug's immediate and future health.
Tiberius does not get these shots.

You can ask your vet to do a "titre (teeter) test" to measure the level of vaccine still present in the pug's system.

See [our poll ] for some eye-opening stats about pugs and vaccines.

Edited :: November 26, 2002

Pug Safety 101

Use common, protective sense.
Put every and anything you don't want your pug to get at Up and Away.
Make sure closet/cabinet doors are fully and tightly closed, or better still: locked.

Keep all medications out of reach; this includes keeping purses, backpacks, suitcases, etc, up off the floor out of pug's reach at all times. Pugs are fast (when they want to be...) and can grab something that can kill them in the blink of an eye. Make sure any Visitors to the house follow this procedure too.
Young pugs do best and are safest if they are crated when no-one's home. If your older pug is too curious and liable to "get into things", crate him or her while you're out, or confine the pug to a safe, secure, comfortable area of the house.
Make dangerous areas - steep stairs, cluttered workshops, crafts rooms, electrical cords - off-limits by barricading them or correcting the dangeorous situation if possible. For instance, an animal can strangle itself while browsing amid the jumble of wires beneath a computer desk, especially when no-one's home.
Take care with discarded food containers. Plastic bags are obvious but empty ice cream cartons pose a great suffocation risk too. Given the chance, a pug will go after food containers, especially when no-one's home to stop them. It might seem funny to see a pug with it's head stuck into an empty bucket of Pralines & Cream, unless you come home and find they've stopped breathing...
No chocolate for dogs. Ever. Any dog. It's toxic to them so why even give them "a little bit"? In this case, what they don't know won't hurt them.
On outdoor jaunts, know your dog and the things that trigger it to act irrationally. Skateboards? Roller bladers? A particular breed? Squirrels, cars, the sound of hammering? Whatever it is that might cause your pug to go ballistic, be prepared and try to avoid the trigger events. Cross the street, go another way, etc. If unavoidable try "Sit! Stay!" and restrain your dog as necessary. Then re-assure the pug.
Use a safety restraint on the pug's harness while in the car. A dog that's allowed to jump around in the car, into the front seat for instance, can put everyone in jeopardy.

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