PugMamaBlog

Over the life of my pugs I slowly came to realize that I was not the most organized Pug Mama I could have been. Although I considered myself over the top WACKO about the health and well being of my boys, I can now look back and see so many things I could have done better. I have some regrets and I really wish I had done some things differently. Of course it was a learning process, and I now have gained some insight into what I would do differently, and will do differently for the next little Pug baby that rules my world. For example, how was I to know that letting the boys jump up onto and off of the furniture would, after many years, become a bad habit that would lead to hip and back injuries in their later years? What would I do differently? I would have started them off as puppies using their little doggy stairs to get up on the bed and up onto their favorite chairs. No flying off of the bed with hard landings day in and day out, stressing those little spines and hips. Stairs from DAY ONE! Other examples:

• I would have started brushing their teeth much sooner,a and would have brushed them more consistently. Why? Because Pug teeth are already compromised by being smushed all together into a very small space. A dog with a snout has more room for their teeth. Pug teeth are just malformed somehow and don’t seem made to last. So you really have to keep up the regular brushing.

• I would have started from the beginning putting eye moisturizer into their eyes and been much more consistent about that. Why? Because pugs sleep with their eyes open! Due to the bulgy pug eyeballs, the eyelids do not close all the way. Over the lifetime of a pug, sleeping with the eyes open dries out the cornea, making it thin and prone to injuries. It is very important to moisturize pug eyes every single day of their lives!!!
• I would have started them on a raw food diet instead of dry food and would have given them more natural treats such as veggies, rather than flour biscuits. Why? to be continued