Teaching Your Pug Dog How To Crawl

Step 1: Teach this behavior on grass or on a carpeted surface.
Place your Pug in a down position. Step in front of him, facing your dog.
Hold a piece of dog biscuit in your right hand. Place your left hand on your dog’s shoulder.
Place the biscuit six inches in front of your dog’s nose. Give the command “Crawl.”
As your dog moves forward to get the biscuit, praise him.
Keep your left hand on the Pug’s shoulder. If he tries to stand up, command “Down.”
Do not allow your dog to get the biscuit. Continue to keep it about six inches in front of his nose while you induce him forward.
After your dog has crawled forward about twelve inches, praise him and allow him to eat a piece of the biscuit.

Practice this step every day. Increase the distance that your dog crawls forward a little each day before you reward him with the food. Be sure to reward him with verbal praise as he is crawling. Do not remove your hand from his shoulder. You want to condition your dog to keep his belly on the ground.

Step 2: When your Pug will crawl for ten feet using step 1, you can now move on to step 2.
Place your dog in a down position.
Step directly in front of your dog, facing him. Do not place your hand on his shoulder. Bend forward slightly toward your dog.
Show him a dog biscuit. Give the command “Crawl” and slowly back up in your tracks.
If your dog follows after you by crawling forward, praise him.
If he attempts to get up from the down position, quickly command “Down.” Then repeat the “Crawl” command.
After your dog has crawled forward for twelve inches, reward him with a piece of biscuit.
Continue backing up, rewarding your dog at one-foot intervals, until you have gone ten feet.

Practice this step every day. Be sure to stand right in front of your dog. As your dog becomes proficient with this step, have him crawl longer distances between rewards. Eventually do not reward your dog until he has crawled the entire ten feet.

Step 3: When your dog will crawl with your hand off his shoulder for ten feet, you are ready for step 3.
Down your Pug dog and tell him to “Stay.”
Go one foot away and turn to face your dog. Hold a dog biscuit in your hand.
Give the command “Crawl.” Simultaneously pat both of your hands, palms open, on your thighs. Your dog will associate this hand patting as a hand signal to crawl.
Back up six inches as your dog begins to crawl toward you. Verbally praise him as he crawls. Continue to pat your thighs and interject the command “Crawl.”
Be sure your dog keeps his belly on the ground. If he starts to stand up, give the command “Down.”
When your dog reaches you, pet him and verbally praise him. Let him have a piece of the biscuit.

Practice this behavior every day. Increase the distance away from your Pug dog in one-foot intervals until he will crawl as far as you want. If you have problems, revert back to a prior step.

Teaching Your Pug A Classic Trick: Roll Over & Play Dead

If you have trouble getting your Pug dog or puppy on her back, it may be helpful to work on the Roll Over and Play Dead exercises. These exercises get her used to the idea of being on her back. As with other tricks, make it a game for her by using a toy or treats. This way, you won’t have to fight her to lay on her back.

A rollover is nothing more than a Down position with a twist to the stand position. To do a Roll Over, first place your dog in a Down position. Once she is down, then see which way her body is curving. If it is curving more to the left, then you want to roll her over on her left side. If she is curved more toward the right, then you want to roll her over on her right side.

Hold a motivator and rotate it near her nose and say “Roll Over.” Rotate her nose until it is stretched over her neck and guide the motivator over a little in the direction that you want her to roll over. This will rotate her shoulders around and bring her on her back. You may need to take a step to the right or left, depending which way she is rolling over, to gain better leverage as you guide her in the Roll Over with the motivator. The momentum of her roll will swing her hind legs over and she will go into the stand position. At first, she may turn only half of the way over, so you may need to assist her to complete the rollover by nudging on her hind legs to make the full rotation.

This is a good exercise because it makes your puppy feel vulnerable. She must trust you because she is off her feet and exposing her underside. A dog’s underside is a tender spot - under the abs and neck is the area where Pug dogs try to attack during a fight.

You can also train her to play dead. Place her in a down position and use the same rotation with the motivator to make her rollover, but when she gets on her back, hold the motivator above her to keep her on her back. Try to keep her on her back for a few seconds as you let her nibble at the motivator that is right above her. Say “Bang! Bang!” while the other hand points at her chest like a pistol. Let her receive the entire treat upside down. Letting her receive the reward in this position allows her more time to play dead.

This is a great exercise to work if you are angry at your dog for something she has done. Instead of yelling at her or hitting her, keep your voice calm and say “Bang! Bang!” Your Pug dog will lay in a submissive pose on her back as she plays dead.

Straight From The Vet’s Mouth

Just a few days ago my puppy was bumped by a car when she got out of the yard. She seemed just fine after it happened. But in the last few days we have noticed that her front leg is starting to look crooked near her wrist. What’s going on? Does she need surgery?

Here is what my vet said:

Your puppy has premature closure of the distal ulnar physic. What has happened is that the area of active growth of the end of the ulna (one of the two bones of the forearm) has stopped growing. The problem is that she is not yet full-grown. Since there is a second bone in her forearm (the radius) that is continuing to grow, her front leg is starting to curve. You see, her forearm can only grow straight if both bones grow at the same time.

It would be easy to assume that since she seemed okay after the injury, no bones had been broken and everything would be fine. The truth is, even if she had been examined by a veterinarian, we would have had no way of knowing if a growth stoppage was in the future for that bone. X-rays cannot show the microscopic changes that started all of this. But with that area of bone near her wrist no longer growing, the curving of your dog’s front leg will only worsen unless she has corrective surgery.

How A Simple Set Of Keys Can Be The Best Tool In Pug Training

A simple set of keys can help you deepen your relationship with your Pug dog and alleviate many forms of problem behavior. dogs with recall problems, a tendency for chewing, digging, or other destructive antics, or appetite problems can be successfully “keyed in” by a simple form of sound conditioning. You will need four or five keys on a key chain. Every second key should be brass, while the others should be made of another metal, preferably not aluminum. Brass and steel make higher-pitched sounds, and four or five keys sound better to dogs than ten or twenty.

The basic idea behind this sound conditioning is to precede desired behavior with a distinctive sound. Keys are used here since they provide a strong, high-pitched sound that is irresistible to the dog once it is properly conditioned. Hand clapping, whistling, and cooing are in another realm, obviously proceeding from a person. To these specifically human sounds, a dog may or may not respond, depending on the current state of the relationship between the dog and the person making the sound. Keys or whistles are neutral, and therefore more effective. However, most trainers find the most effective sound device to be the keys on a chain.

How does it work?

Let’s take an example. Your dog doesn’t come when called. If you have a puppy or a dog under two years old, your chances for effective sound conditioning to correct the “come problem” are better than with an older dog who is used to going the other way when called. Yet, it is never too late to try this training technique. For the utmost success, you must have regular feeding times for your dog twice daily, and he must finish eating in about fifteen to twenty minutes. If you have your dog on the “nibbler plan” you will have to switch to regular feeding times and remove the food if it is not finished promptly.

Before placing the dish within his reach and allowing him to eat, get your Pug dog’s attention and jingle the keys for two or three seconds. Then go about your business as he eats. Do not make a show out of this, and preferably do not allow your dog to see you jingle the keys. You may attach the keys to your belt loop with a snap belt. Repeat this procedure at the second meal, continuing it for two or three weeks. Do not use the keys around your dog for any other purpose until you have spent some time in this conditioning procedure whenever your dog eats. Another positive booster and “reinforcing effect” can be gained by using the keys whenever you return from work, from an errand, or in your car - stop the motor, open the door (both distinctive sounds in themselves), jingle the keys, and call out the dog’s name in a happy voice that carries.

After two or three weeks, begin a daily session in which you call your dog, jingle the keys, and praise him lavishly when the recall is good. Make sure you are crouching down, have a smile on your face, have your arms open to “funnel” the dog in to you, and are not over-jingling your keys. The whole point, obviously, is to let the dog hear the sound of the keys - the conditioning sound - so that he reacts positively, on his own. Let the dog win. Then reverse the procedure by jingling first and then calling your dog’s name. Finally, try it with the keys alone and you will be amazed at how quickly he will eagerly come to you.

How A Pug Dog’s Vision May Cause Mistaken Behavioral Problems

Most people are aware that their Pug dog’s senses of hearing and smell are keener than those of humans. Not as commonly understood, though, is the dog’s deficiencies in some sensory processes. Whether this leads to problems often depends on the way people interact with the dog. The following information helps explain many canine behaviorisms, and canine reactions that owners don’t understand and/or respond to inappropriately when it comes to a dog’s visual perception, which create problems or diminish the positive quality of their relationships.

dogs don’t recognize details within an outline, such as noses, eyes, etc., on a human face, but are fairly keen at perceiving outlines. In a Pavlovian experiment they were trained to discriminate between perfect circles and egg-shaped outlines. They performed nicely. But, when the ellipse was gradually rounded until it was 8/9ths of a circle, the dogs failed to recognize the difference, a task most people perceive easily. If repeatedly asked to do this, the dog lost all its previously learned responses, even to the big differences between circles and ellipses. Many dogs became neurotic and had to be retired to kennels for a rehabilitation program of rest. This experiment shows the dog’s extreme sensitivity to visually perceived stimuli when they suddenly produce inconsistent feedback.

In a real-life, the owner’s hands usually signal positive treatment, such as petting. When the same hands inflict punishment or pain, the dog usually displays a momentary, often subtle, ambivalent behavior, vacillating between affectionate and defensive responses. During initial interviews with clients, this reaction is clearly seen in dogs that have been punished by hand, so to speak. Further, when strangers reach to pet these dogs, the actions may trigger a full expression of submission or aggression, depending on the nervous makeup of the dog and its environmental history.

Most owners are not aware that their puppy’s vision does not reach maturity until about 4 months of age. Until then, things appear in various degrees of fuzziness, which makes visual identification of objects and individuals difficult. This can cause some pups to bark or growl at family members. If punished, the pups become confused and the seeds are sewn for problems such as submissive wetting and biting.

Imperfect ability to distinguish various shapes may explain why some dogs, in dim lighting, become unnerved, growl at or shy away from their owners. Though they can virtually “see in the dark” as compared with people, their poor ability to distinguish shapes may be impaired in reduced light. So, when they arc approached in low light levels by the owner, they may growl. Rather than simply clear up the mystery by speaking the dog’s name, many owners punish or back away from the pet, reinforcing the behavior. From that point, the problem usually escalates and the relationship between owner and Pug dog degenerates.

How A Pug Breeder Should Put On A Puppy Presentation (Part 3)

Many families “puppy hunt” on weekends, much as one plans a recreational excursion to the beach or mountains. As one of their favorite pastimes, they visit puppies from different litters and various breeds. As a result, always preinterview visitors when they first telephone. By screening you are able to discern if they are just looking “for fun,” or if they are serious buyers, and find out if they have or intend to view other litters before visiting your home. These families are often easily recognized by their children: generally two or more,
aggressive in attitude and poorly behaved. Frequently these children can be heard yelling in the background or pestering their parents, who are on the telephone with you. Invite these people into your home, and you may invite disaster.

During a visit the parents distract you, usually with fairly good questions about your dogs, as they have developed some “looky-lou” expertise. By holding your attention, before you can become aware, the children may trample on your furniture (with their shoes on), run through your home and treat it as their playground. These free-for-all kids behave as they have been allowed to do in their own home. It is fine to desire placements into families because your breed is so good with children. It is best, however, to qualify this placement by seeking those families with well-mannered kids.

Always carefully supervise children who visit your home. When they want to hold a puppy, tell them no. Explain to the parents that the children might drop a wiggly puppy, and then watch their reactions. If they take their offspring aside to tell them why they may not hold the puppies, but that they may pet them on the ground, and the children listen respectfully and obey willingly, this home offers a more rational environment than almost any other. If the parents, however, slap their children or tell them no without explanation, be wary. These children, more often than not, will attempt to pick a Pug puppy up as soon as adult backs are turned.

If your visitors are older and cannot easily bend down, provide them with a chair. Once they are seated, place their potential puppy in their lap. Do not allow children or adult visitors to hold a puppy even from a chair unless you are close by and are prepared to catch the youngster should it leap. A squirming, leaping-to-freedom puppy can still be grievously injured even from the height of a lap.

You are better off losing a sale to the person who insists on holding a Pug puppy against your expressed wishes than exposing it to such an unreasonable prospective owner. Those people who refuse to listen to the reason why you do things a certain way and respect you do not deserve to have one of your puppies: a life you are responsible for bringing into the world, the love and care for which you can never be adequately compensated. Satisfaction comes only through good puppy placements and contacts from owners over years of time, knowing that this dog is a beloved family member.

How A Pug Breeder Should Put On A Puppy Presentation (Part 2)

If the puppies are inside your home when visitors arrive, place a barrier such as an exercise pen between these people and the dam and her puppies. When stared at, dogs become nervous, feeling threatened. A new mother’s protective instincts, although generally uncharacteristic of her temperament, as a result frequently rise in this situation. The dam will in most cases be relaxed and friendly with visitors when a “buffer zone” is established, one where strangers cannot move too closely to “threaten” her offspring’s security.

Babies of any kind are irresistible but never allow your puppies to be picked up or indiscriminately touched by visitors. Handling of this nature can make even the most relaxed dam nervous. More importantly, such handling is not healthy for the puppies. You never know what the visitors may bring into your home.

If your prospective clients have recently looked at other litters, you particularly do not want your puppies handled until the youngsters have been given either a measles complex vaccine or their first DHLPP vaccination. The intervening buffer zone allows you to safely pick up individuals to show prospective clients only those puppies in which they are the most interested (show quality or pet, male or female). No one, aside from the regular caretakers, should handle puppies until they are independently active and have had their first shots. Of course your buyers want to hold “their” puppy. Once selection is narrowed to a choice between two or three puppies, and shots have been given, clients may be allowed to hold their potential future companion.

Always teach your clients exactly how to pick up and hold a puppy: never by the scruff of the neck, ears, tail or legs. A Pug puppy of any age must only be picked up (much as you would support a newborn baby) securely with either one hand under the stomach, through the hind legs and forelegs (called the football carry), or one hand supporting the rear and the other holding the forequarters. Clients must be taught how to hold a puppy securely, yet never so tightly that it feels trapped and struggles for freedom. When a puppy is picked up in a manner so its legs are never against any surface, against which it can push, there is far less chance of dropping the youngster and causing injury.

You must be on a fact-finding mission when initially interviewing prospective visitors during the first telephone conversation. Inquire if the people have had a dog before, and if so, ask how long they had it. It is important to find out what kind of record they have had with previous pets: if they have had a succession of numerous animals through their home and what happened to them. There are families who have had numerous pets as a result of failure to inoculate in a timely manner, therefore losing them to diseases; failing to have adequately fenced yards and subsequently losing them to cars or wandering; failing to make proper pet selections and finding out months or even years later that the dog does not fit their life-styles, and so is brought to the local pound and dumped. These are families with whom you want to avoid doing any business. Certainly, also, if you receive a call from someone (bereft or not) whose pet died of a communicable disease, you do not want them to visit, exposing your puppies and contaminating your home.