Pug Training Tips

A Simple Guide on What to Do and What Not To Do

In compiling a list of Pug training tips, most people put together some very sound advice that pertains to just about any dog. Almost any good training guide will give you some very good background on the best way to train your Pug. We want to take a few minutes here to focus on two very key Pug traits that set this breed apart from other dogs in this world. One of the most important facts about a Pug is that they all seem to have a mission in life: to be the best companion to their owner that they know how to be. They seem to live to please their owner and you common theme with any article describing the Pug personality . You can also read about this in almost any historical reference to this breed. The Pug history is one of a companion dog that likes nothing better than to be a part of its owner’s life.

This trait is important in training and one of the best Pug training tips we can pass along is to make this a part of the reward system that you use and make sure any training methods that you follow rely on this positive approach. Pugs are very trainable and one of the reasons is that they truly enjoy the company of their owner. Training can be a very good and healthy bonding experience and your Pug will like nothing better than spending time with you and hearing your praise. Training should become a way of life. This is best done through regular, short sessions where positive behavior is reinforced. You can start this as soon as your Pug is in your house through a careful socialization process where he is introduced to new situations on a regular and controlled basis. In the socialization process your Pug will follow your cue for the proper behavior. If you’re calm, your Pug will be calm. Introduce new situations carefully and in a way that you can maintain control.

If you want your Pug to act in a certain way with new people or other dogs, create those situations in the beginning and praise your Pug for the good behavior. If you want your Pug to get used to other dogs, see if you can find other dogs that are well behaved and get your Pug used to his new friend. Stay positive and be patient. Those are two great characteristics to have while training your Pug. Short, consistent and positive training sessions are what you should be striving for. Keep that at the top of any list of Pug training tips.

A training program based on positive reinforcement will focused on a reward system and here is the second of our Pug training tips that are customized for this breed. It doesn’t take long for the owner of a Pug to realize that their little friend loves to eat. It is one of the great pleasures in the life of any Pug. The natural reaction is to make the rewards that you give your Pug food based and we want to discourage that practice. Although food rewards do produce results they can also do two things. First, they can make your Pug aggressive. They become very excitable with food and that is not always a good thing when training is involved. They can quickly lose focus on what was being learned and, eventually, will only perform for food. They are very smart and quickly associate food and a particular behavior. Your affection is also a reward and it can be a very calming thing for your Pug to reward his behavior with praise and petting him in his favorite spot.

A second reason to discourage food as the reward is that obesity is the natural enemy of the Pug. Their respiratory systems are a bit delicate to begin with and adding extra pounds onto your Pug will cause health issues down the road. Try to keep your Pug below 22 pounds. Many Pug owners find this lack of food as a reward one of the most difficult Pug training tips to follow but it is worth the effort to keep your reward system non-food based. Many professional trainers use a sound, like a clicker, to be an alternative. This can be done by having the Pug associate the clicker with the food treat at first and then, over time, eliminate the treat and just use the clicker. Similar to the Pavlov type behavior experiments your Pug will associate the sound of the clicker with the good behavior that needs to be modeled.