Most pugs have a thick coat of coarse hair. These little tan furballs will naturally shed old or damaged hair through a phenomenon called molting. Shedding is a natural loss of hair in dogs that allows the new coat to come in. Though shedding is a normal process for pugs, the amount and frequency of hair that is shed often depend on your pug’s health. It may also depend on the season—many pugs develop thick coats during the winter that are then shed in puffs of pug hair in the spring.

Properly grooming a pug will involve:

1. Bathe once every 3–4 weeks.
2. Cleaning the wrinkles daily
3. Brushing the coat every 1 to 3 days
4. Cleaning the eye area daily
5. Cleaning the ears: The ear flaps several times per week, and the ear canals every 6 weeks.
6. Paw care every 2 weeks
7. Nose care, as needed, but usually every 1 to 3 weeks in the wintertime
8. Trimming the nails every 6 weeks

While these could appear to be loads of tasks, the staggered frequency of these grooming elements helps keep things from becoming too overwhelming. And, whether you have a new Pug puppy or have been having some trouble grooming your older adult Pug, the tips will help you get things on track with specific recommendations and steps to make every grooming task as simple as possible.

 Bathing

Pug bath time is fun for everyone! Bathing your pug once a month is nice for hygiene and helps create a powerful bond between you and your pug! Preferably use a mild, hypoallergenic shampoo that doesn't irritate your pug’s skin or dry out that ever-shedding pug hair. Pugs are extremely liable to dermatitis-type conditions; thus, opt for your puppy's shampoo cautiously.

Biogroom’s So Gentle Hypo-Allergenic Shampoo makes a great hypoallergenic pug shampoo. Your pug's large eyes and ears can get irritated easily. Try not to get shampoo in these areas. Once bath time is finished, it's time to dry! Your pug’s thick coat can take forever to dry, so start with a towel, then move on to a blow dryer on the low setting. Running around the house after bath time is one of Pug's favorite activities!In between baths, we recommend using waterless bath shampoo to get rid of odor and dirt.

2. Cleaning the Wrinkles

Pugs are mostly famous for their wrinkles and facial skin folds; this is a classic feature of this breed. And, whereas this makes the pug look adorable and loveable, these areas tend to stay damp and dark, which is the ideal environment for bacteria and yeast. Due to this, pugs are very susceptible to skin yeast infections, particularly in their wrinkles and other areas like the armpits and genital area.

For this reason, it is necessary to keep a pug's wrinkles both clean and dry. This can be done by carefully wiping down each skin fold with a fragrance-free grooming wipe from Petkin, USA

3. Brushing the Coat

Fawn Pugs have a two-layer coat, and a lot of black Pugs have a one-layer coat, but all have thick, dense fur, and this is a heavy-shedding breed. So, if you have a pug, going over the coat to remove dead hair is one grooming element that cannot be ignored.

Because of the heavy coat, many of the fallen hairs will end up in the coat itself. Left in the coat, the fallen hair will block proper airflow and eventually become weaved in with live hair. Each hair that stays in the coat will then cause an unpleasant odor.So, the goal is to brush the coat (from head to tail; don’t ignore the legs) with a tool that will reach down deep, latch onto all those loose and dead hairs, and remove them. Depending on your pug's age and the season, this task should be done every 1 to 3 days. To do this as effectively as possible, you'll want to use the right tool. You might have a brush in mind, like a slicker brush, and these can work well to a certain extent. However, one of the easiest and fastest ways to groom a pug's coat is with a grooming glove. You'll find that this prevents your hand from getting tired and that it works so well that you won't have to go over the coat as often as you would with a brush Depending on your pug's age and the season, this task should be done every 1 to 3 days.

To do this as effectively as possible, you'll want to use the right tool. You might have a brush in mind, like a slicker brush, and these can work well to a certain extent. However, one of the easiest and fastest ways to groom a pug's coat is with a grooming glove. You'll find that this prevents your hand from getting tired and that it works so well that you won't have to go over the coat as often as you would with a brush.

4 Cleaning the eye area

Another classic feature of the pug is its giant, slightly protruding eyes. The eyes are stunning; however, their size and shape make them susceptible to collecting flecks of dirt and dust. And any type of eye issue, which is common in pugs, can cause tearing. The goal for this grooming aspect is to keep the eye area as clean as possible, wiping away any eye discharge and any possible fine particle debris regularly. Ideally, this should be done once a day. Because the area around the eyes is incredibly sensitive, we recommend using a Petkin Jumbo Eyewipe for this. It is an eco-friendly product that is terrific at removing eye crust and is recommended by veterinarians.

5. Cleaning the Ears

Pugs have pleated drop ears. And, while a drop ear does cover the ear canal (thereby helping to prevent debris from entering), this type of ear also contributes to excess wax and moisture becoming trapped within the ears, which may cause an unpleasant smell and ear infections (bacterial or yeast). For these reasons, grooming a pug involves keeping the ears clean. This is done by wiping the ear flap and cleansing the ear meatus. The ear flaps ought to be wiped using only semi-moist ear wipes. This should be done a minimum of once per week. If your dog has a history of ear infections, this can be used as often as every other day.A recommended one is Petkin Jumbo Earwipes, which are extra moist and contain eucalyptus, which cleans the ear flaps very well and also deodorizes the area for a fresh scent

6. Paw Care

Without good paw maintenance, the paw skin can become overly dry, the paw pads can become damaged, and this can cause discomfort. In worse cases, there can be cracking, which is very painful for dogs and can take quite some time to heal.For these reasons, grooming a pug involves applying paw wax to the paw pads and in between the toes.

Though it varies depending on how much outdoor walking a dog does, most pugs should have paw wax applied once every two weeks.

Most pugs don’t require any extra attention given to the nose most of the year, as long as there are no issues. However, this changes for several pugs in the winter and early spring.

This type of dry environment can end up taking a toll on a dog as the nose skin becomes parched. A pug's nose can end up raw, sensitive, dry, peeling, or even cracked. This issue can be prevented by applying a quality nose balm to a pug's nose, which can be done once a week for maintenance or as often as three times a day to treat existing problems.   

8. Trimming the Nails 

The frequency of nail cuts can vary from dog to dog. Walking on onerous outdoor surfaces will keep nails somewhat filed down; however, it cannot be a replacement. For most pugs, this grooming task is required every 6 to 8 weeks.

If the nails are not tended to, they can curve around and grow back into the flesh. This can cause quite a bit of discomfort and lead to a dog walking with an irregular walk that, if not addressed, can eventually lead to skeletal damage in some cases.

We recommend the Andis Cordless Nail Grinder, though you should have some septic powder on hand just in case (which helps stem any bleeding should an owner clip a nail too short).