A word about Pugs

I have a pug dog that is 10 years old. She is fawn with a black face and if I can figure out how to post photos I will get one on here. She is small as she was the runt of the litter. I read a great deal about pugs before I purchased her. It said their temperments were similar to golden retrievers, but clown like and loving. Likes to be a lap dog, enjoys companionship, etc. The part about golden retrievers was a lie for this particular pug. She is FEISTY!

Well, all went well at first. Maddie was very sweet and cuddly and everyone loved her. I took her to obedience training and worked very hard with this little darling. We were living in a huge house at the time (8,000 sq. ft) and she started going potty where ever she could find a spot. I figured she couldn't find a door quick enough because the house was so big, I could barely find a door. So, I gave her a break. I would walk her outside every time she had to go. Eventually I could hook her outside for long periods and she would sit on a rock in the yard. She started barking at other dogs, kids, adults, etc. This was not working very well. One day two german shepherds came walking by with their master and got a little too close for comfort for Maddie and she took after them. Bark, bark, bark, ya, ya, yah! Finally one of the german shepherds couldn't take the noise anymore and put his mouth around her neck and nailed her to the ground. She kept struggling to get free. She has so much skin on her neck that he didn't hurt her, he just wanted to shut her up.

She is quite the escape artist also. You cannot contain this animal. I would chain her up in the back hall because she would not potty train and put her in a kennel at night. Somehow she would manage to get the kennel door open by herself. She was clearly a challenge and I was questioning my sanity after months of dealing with this dog.

Eventually , I moved to a townhouse and she was no better. Smaller house didn't help. She was on a leash on the back porch but continued to bark and pee. She also developed a skin problem that made her smell terrible. This would cost more money to treat the skin problem. Meanwhile on a Christmas eve that year I heard of some puppies that had been abandoned in a box and people were looking for homes for them. I could call the station and apply for one of them. Well, I was selected as a nice person to adopt a puppy (if they only knew my ordeal with the pug they would have thought of me as a saint). My daughter picked this pup up on Christmas morning and brought her home. She is a mix lab and golden retriever. She trained easily and is a great dog. It took her quite a while to shape up the pug, but she finally won. I thought this would help maddie realize that she was a dog and needed to go outside. Well, no, I was wrong again.

I have now moved to a house in a residential neighborhood that I thought would be a good thing for the animals, my son and I. The dogs could run the yarn instead of being tied up when they were outside. I put in an invisible fence and that worked pretty well. As I mentioned before the pug is an escape artist from the get go. One day a dog came by with it's owner and she broke through the barrier and went after the dog. Surprise! So we had to change the settings so she would get a little more of a zap! You will notice that Cally, the lab/retriever, didn't do this, ever!

I did have to get a barking collar for Cally because the neighbor behind me came over and asked me to keep her quiet. I also got a very threatening letter from an unknown neighbor telling me that I should be outside more with my animals because they were acting rude to passersby by barking and charging. I couldn't reply because I don't know who this person was. When I was growing up as a child in my neighborhood, I always had a dog. I've only lived a couple years without a dog in my house. I say this because I don't understand the rules in neighborhoods today. When a friends dog showed up in our yard, when I was a child, we all knew where it belonged and shooed it home. Nobody wrote nasty letters or gave us dirty looks as they walked by. It was no big deal if someone's dog barked as long as it wasn't all night long. We all lived pretty comfortably together, got along, liked each other or at least we knew who to stay away from. We didn't have underground fences and bark colors.

Yesterday, I received another letter from an anonymous neighbor (thus the reason for this blog)telling me that Maddie, the 12" high, 20 lb. pug was becoming too overprotective and for her own good she should be confined to her yard. Apparently, her collar wasn't working and she followed this person and her dog into the street, nipping at their heels. Well, Maddie has an overbite that prevents her from actually biting someone, but she is inimidating. All a person has to do is stop and turn around and say hello and she'll go the other direction or sit for a scratch. She doesn't see or hear anymore so she just follows a shadow. I suggest these people walkon the other side of the street now that they know she might break the barrier and come after them.

I do this all the time, as a courtesy, if I'm walking Cally and know there is a dog coming up, I cross the street to avoid the tugging and barking that might ensue. I don't understand the mentality of a person (with a dog or not) coming by a house that you know the dog is going to bark at you and then become anoyed by it. Most people think my two mutt and Jeff dogs are very funny looking. Thank you very much.

Well, that's my soap box for today. Just had to get that off my chest in a long round about way.