Pug?!

[Stormzythecat]

Just looking for peoples experiences with pug puppies really. I've looked after an older adult pug in the past and know they are mad (in a good way) but we have found a pug boy that seems perfect for us he's 15 weeks,housetrained and doesn't nip,he is kc reg and coming straight from the breeder.

So I suppose what I want to know is are they hard and very hyper as pups? More so than any other puppy I mean. We have had a puppy here we looked after for 2 weeks but that was a shih tzu and very chilled so was fine with young kids.

OP, you haven't answered if parents are scored and health checked and puppy endorsed.

it's up to the individual where they choose to get a dog

Absolutely and not all of us on this thread are trying to encourage you to go for a rescue however I think as puppy buyers we have a responsibility to demand breeders meet the highest ethical standards possible.

As long as people are happy to buy from sub par breeders (from the worst puppy farmers to the top show breeders producing winning dogs at the expense of compromised health) they will continue to exist and dogs will continue to suffer, whether that be because they're churning out puppies in filthy sheds or because their bodies are riddled with entirely preventable health problems.

Yes he's been born but does that mean you want to deal with issues, watch him suffer and pay out godknows what in vet bills. Recently had to listen to a puppy pug scream while having stitches removed from his eye removal op.I have a Boston terrier that I took on as an adult and I'd never have one again for the reasons everyone else has stated. She has no 'serious' health issues but small ones add up- eye, ear and skin infections. Then insurance stops covering all these pre-existing/genetic conditions...

My dogs are both rescues, and yes had them with young children. Right dog, right time and all that. One is a mongrel. No health problems at all with either of them.

Both house trained, no behaviour issues. Rehomed though no fault of their own. One was breed rescue - collie. One was local rescue but had come from abroad (beagle type). I have had puppies in the past and vowed never again.

Puppies are a pita I think.

I think it's so hard to be objective when you've obviously seen him and fallen in love. Also the idea that you can save this little chap must be appealing. It's a common theme that people believe they can start a pup with a clean slate, but if that were true then why do so many get given to rescue?

I think your mind is made up, and you have confirmation bias now to support your decision. I guess getting specific advice about pugs from a more specialist forum might be more helpful to you as I know you weren't asking whether you should rescue an adult or buy a puppy, and that's what this thread has now turned in to.

One more Thought... interesting that the people here with good pugs seem to be a bit 'older'. It seems that these brachycephalic breeds became more popular in the last few years so might not be of such quality now. Just a thought.

Good luck op

Presuming because the OP hasn't answered the question about health tests and endorsements, parents and pup don't have them. In which case, don't buy the puppy. But they will.

I will post in support that "getting a rescue" really isn't that easy.

I spent a year searching. Found loads of dogs, filled in 3 application forms a week. But it's very much a "first come first served" process, and i just never managed to get down to see a dog first. I had lots of appointments to view dogs so i was considered suitable, but 100% of those were cancelled before i got there as "someone's just been in and reserved him, sorry".

So i did end up contacting breeders. I have however picked a non fashionable breed unless it's crossed with a poodle, in which case triple the price which has generally fewer issues.

My friend's pug came from KC registered parents. It's 2 now, and has cost her over £3000 in vets bills. She has insurance too, that's just the excess!!

I am not saying rescue - I think different families suit a rescue rather than a puppy and vice versa.

However please, please, please, only buy a pug from a reputable breeder, who has fully health tested parents. KC registered literally means the last 5 generations are known pedigree (so no outcrossing) but it means nothing about the health, conformation, behaviour of the parents. There is no test for the parents to pass for them to have KC registered puppies, they literally just need to be pedigree - they don't have to be correct size, have normal breed temperament, have had any of the necessary breed health tests or be in anyway healthy, etc.

So by all means get a pug puppy but be strong and don't get one whose parents have not had the full list of health tests the breed should have.

You may think you are saving a puppy who is already alive but you will condemn many more to be bred from non-health tested parents. The more people who are strong and walk away from puppies bred from non-health tested parents, the less puppies will be condemned to a life of easily preventable health problems.

I'm getting a Japanese chin.

That's quite a turnaround in less than 24 hours. Aside from the lack of muzzle (which again, brings the potential for breathing difficulties) they're pretty different breeds.

Health test wise both parents should have had their patellas checked (as with many small breeds luxating patella is quite common) and been DNA tested (with at least one of them testing clear) for Gangliosidosis/Sandhoff Disease. The resulting puppies should also have an inbreeding coefficient no higher than the breed average (8.1%) but preferably under 5% and the closer to 0% the better.

They're also fairly rare, usually less than 300 are registered with the KC each year so you may be in for something of a wait. I'd recommend getting in touch with the breed club, they should be able to put you in touch with reputable breeders who are planning litters.

I'd also recommend having a read through the following links:

Guide to buying a puppy

Questions to ask your breeder

Guide to responsible breeding

Understanding the Coefficient of Inbreeding

It's also worth noting that responsible breeders of JCs don't let their puppies go before twelve weeks of age. As with other extremely small and potentially very fragile breeds like Chihuahuas they tend to develop slower than "normal" breeds and just aren't ready to go to new homes at the usual eight weeks.

Why that breed? You need to start considering the need of each breed and what you can provide. Be honest. I love some breeds that need more grooming than I can commit to or more exercise than I want to do. Research the worst traits and issues of certain breeds. Can you live with them? And go meet owners and breeders. Ask questions. See how that breed may fit in your life.

Because I've loved the breed for a very long time and have done slot of research on them over 3 years. The pug was a compromise for my partner but he's happy to let me have my dream breed.
I've found one that has had potential buyers turned down.
An excellent breeder and the pup will be older than 12 weeks when I collect her.

alot.

The "had potential breeders turned down" isn't an uncommon story but isn't always true. How well do you know this person? Never buy a pup off a stranger on the Internet.
I too managed to convince my husband to let me have my dream dog. Had to wait a couple of years to find her. But she was worth it. I would rather have no dog than risk getting one from a puppy farmer.

The seller had turned buyers down as they didn't want her for the right reasons.
She would rather keep her than have her go to a non suitable home.

She is a proper kc breeder not a puppy farm.

This thread is like deja vu , so again KC registration means nothing .

No maybe not but she is a proper breeder. And pups have been checked properly etc.

It's not the pups that need the health checks it's the parents .

She owns them and they are fine.

She owns them and they are fine.

Does she own both parents? Whilst some very excellent breeders do sometimes own (or co-own) both parents it's more common for the breeder to own the bitch but not the stud. Part of responsible breeding is finding the absolute best possible match for a particular bitch taking into account health (both in terms of tests results and researching their lines for signs of conditions which can't be tested for), conformation, temperament and inbreeding levels.

As I said, some very good breeders do indeed own the stud dog who is the best possible match for their bitch (especially if they import) but it's much more common when a breeder owns both for it to simply be convenient (not to mention cheaper) to use their own dog rather than travel and pay to use someone else's.

One of my main concerns would be the COI of the litter. Given the JC has such a small gene pool anyway unless the breeder has been extremely careful to get these two dogs from breeders using very different lines it may well be higher than ideal. If the breeder hasn't already gone through this with you then you can check the COI here on the KC site by inputting the names of the parents. As I said it should be absolutely no higher than 8.1% but less than 5% would be preferable.

I can't understand why people pay thousands for a dog that's basically deformed and unhealthy, it makes absolutely no sense to me.

My sister in law has a pug, from a responsible breeder health checked parents etc. The dog is a lovely little thing but you can't play with it or stroke it too much because if it gets too excited it passes out. How is that acceptable! That dogs are bred and can't be dogs because their confirmation means they can't breathe properly.

Parents need health checks.
KC reg doesn't mean anything about healthy pups. It is no guarantee of anything other than you're not getting a spaniel rather than a Doberman. That's all it means.
A proper breeder? What does that even mean? I could be a proper breeder. I have an unspayed bitch. But how would you tell if my girl was healthy and I had checked the health of the dad? How would you know if I had her churning out puppies every year for profit? How do you know that I would know what I'm doing? (I don't and I won't be breeding!)

You don't want them to own both parents, that suggests they have not actively sought out a good stud and they are just breeding their own pets as an easy money spinner from home. You just want to see mum and the papers telling you that generations of this dogs family have been just as deformed as this puppy.

What does it matter anyway, it's a genetic nightmare and you seemingly don't know much about these things, so it isn't going to go well regardless of how "good" the breeder is.