Pug Parents... grooming advice?

[mia1181]

I have had him for 7 years and I am starting to crazy with all the shedding!!!!!

I am just tired of vacuuming, brushing bathing ALL THE TIME!

What do you do for grooming?

We''ve always done it all ourselves but now I am wondering if I should just take him to the groomer''s. I am just tired of doing it. Is the groomer going to do a better job than I can at brushing? If you take your pug to the groomer how often do you need to go?

 

[bee*]

I don''t have a pug but I have a retriever-she sheds a HUGE amount. My mother is a professional groomer and any time that I leave Amber into her, she comes back so much better. My mother buys every machine imaginable for it and there''s one called a blaster which is literally like a super strong hairdryer-it''s fab and just literally blasts all the loose hair off of Amber. Why not leave him in once and see how he gets on. Even if my mother didn''t groom, I would definitely leave Amber in somewhere. She doesn''t shed half as much for a few weeks afterwards.

 

[LostSapphire]

oh boy one of my husband''s favourite topics...and our last pug was 15 years ago!!

BRUSHING...BRUSHING...BRUSHING...

Like, weekly, or even more often. After a while it gets better.

Those little knifey-pointy-ended hairs were enough to make me nuts. And god forbid if you were wearing black pants and walked past the dog!!

LS

 

[megeve]

I have a 6 yrs old pug. I use a small hand-held electric grooming brush that works like a mini vacuum cleaner specially made for pets hair. I use it every time after bath and once or twice a week. Its remarkable, I see less hair on the floor, on my clothes and just about everywhere!

 

[tenfour]

mia, congrats on only going crazy after 7 years. i''ve had one of my pugs for almost 9 and have been going crazy for at least 8.5 of those. haha. surprisingly the new rescue doesn''t shed much. his stench makes up for it. i still have nothing but love for them.

a few years ago i adopted a very old pug/keeshond mix from a shelter. do a google search for keesond if you''re unfamiliar with the breed (i was until i adopted hux). imagine the pug-like shedding with keeshond-like hair. it was absolutely insane, especially in a small apartment.

lostsapphire, i once had a couch that was upholstered with a fabric that wasn''t too tightly woven. pug hair eventually got stuck in all of the gaps of the weave and became part of the couch. it was almost sore to sit on because the hair would pick at my arms.

 

[NovemberBride]

At least you can groom your pug! We have a pug mix (not sure what the other half is, jack russel, beagle???) who absolutely refuses to be brushed. I have never seen a dog react the way he does to a brush (and I have bought about 4 different ones in all shapes and colors to see if it helps). He is so terrified of it that I can''t bring myself to groom him. So he gets a bath once a month which helps (which he loves!) and the rest of the time I just live with the pug hair everywhere!

 

[Heidi137]

We don''t have a pug although my daughter is begging for one. I have heard that the furminator is a great grooming tool for pugs. I noticed that they are on sale at drugstore.com.

 

[NewEnglandLady]

Date: 12/3/2008 5:20:41 AM
Author: bee*
I don''t have a pug but I have a retriever-she sheds a HUGE amount. My mother is a professional groomer and any time that I leave Amber into her, she comes back so much better. My mother buys every machine imaginable for it and there''s one called a blaster which is literally like a super strong hairdryer-it''s fab and just literally blasts all the loose hair off of Amber. Why not leave him in once and see how he gets on. Even if my mother didn''t groom, I would definitely leave Amber in somewhere. She doesn''t shed half as much for a few weeks afterwards.

I don''t have a pug, either, but I think owning a newfie can qualify me as a person who is familiar with grooming issues

I agree that a high velocity dryer is the best way to blow out any dead hair. As bee* mentioned, a Metro Master Blaster is a great dryer. I own a K-9 III, which is a bit more powerful, but probably TOO powerful for a pug. I find it to be the fastest, easiest way to get out the undercoat. Also, I use a rake (Mars Coat King), to really strip out any dead/loose fur, but you can''t do it too often.

I think finding a great groomer is nice, too. With a pug, it can''t be too expensive and if you find somebody who is wonderful at getting the undercoat out, it''s completely worth it. Have you tried self-grooming? It''s nice to have access to the tubs and dryers without having to pay a ton for the groomer, but with a pug I''m not sure the difference would be that great.

I LOVE pugs and Mia, yours is such a cutie!

 

[Krissie]

Our pug boy has decided he hates to be brushed, so we just bathe him weekly using a special conditioning rinse (oddly enough, he doesn''t mind baths - and they''re usually done in under 10 mins). He then gets some vigorous towelling, and then when he''s dry, we kind of run our fingers through his hair to pick out the loose bits.

Honestly, he doesn''t shed more than our cat (long-haired) and I notice the cat''s hair more, but our guests probably are disgusted by the amount of hair in our house! We also have a great vaccuum that we use weekly, and I lint-roll the couch weekly as well.

 

[DivaDiamond007]

I''m a pug mom! Three of the four pugs in our family have major shedding issues. You MUST brush them every. single. day. Also, don''t over-bathe because doggie skin can be sensitive. Our pugs get baths about once every other week in the summer and about once a month in the winter. Also, to control the pug hair in your house I recommend the Dyson Animal. DH and I have one and it''s great. Dyson also has a hand-vac now too. Aren''t pugs the best?

Diva

 

[laurel25]

My pug Stanley doens''t shed much (WOOHOO!!!) and I don''t know if this is why, but he''s black. My two fawn pugs I had a while ago both shed like mad and the only thing we could find that worked well was this rubber cat brush. It was a flat rubber paddle with nubbins on one side and a strap on the back to slip your hand through. The rubbins nubbins really gripped the hair and you could use the brush to massage their skin and loosen the hair up. They *loved* it - even my female, Lucy, who was afraid of regular brushes.

I think that Kong brand makes something similar to what we had, but the nubbins are longer on the Kong version.
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2750607&utm_source=cse&utm_campaign=5014630&utm_medium=googleproduct&mr:trackingCode=DBEE3E06-82C0-DD11-80C2-001422107090&mr:referralID=NA

 

[mia1181]

Okay thanks for all the responses! A lot of pug people here on PS (and other super-sheddy breed lovers!).

I am definitely taking him to get groomed this weekend to give it a try. Do you know if Petsmart is cheaper/more expensive than smaller groomers?

We always try to brush him everyday but it just seems the more I brush the msre the hair falls off. Luckily he is mostly the soft fur, so I don''t get poked with the sharp hairs, but that soft fur (I think it''s the undercoat right?) is a major PITA!

Anyway, NEL I had no idea that places like that (self serve) existed. I''d like to try that out too because A. it would probably be cheaper, and B. I could see which tools really worked and maybe buy them myself for the home. We have spent (wasted) a lot of $ trying different brushes but don''t seem to get lucky. We actually have the brush that Laurel25 suggested and it works great but it still is a lot of brushing.

 

[mia1181]

Date: 12/3/2008 10:12:24 AM
Author: NovemberBride
At least you can groom your pug! We have a pug mix (not sure what the other half is, jack russel, beagle???) who absolutely refuses to be brushed. I have never seen a dog react the way he does to a brush (and I have bought about 4 different ones in all shapes and colors to see if it helps). He is so terrified of it that I can''t bring myself to groom him. So he gets a bath once a month which helps (which he loves!) and the rest of the time I just live with the pug hair everywhere!

He he!

Our guy is somewhat paralyzed in the hind legs so he is an easy target! I just sit on top of him and brush whatever end is sticking out and then turn him and do the other side. He will growl at DH, who holds him in one hand and brushes with the other. I have him so trained not to give me any trouble though!

But we definitely also go the bath route when we are too lazy and let as much hair go down the drain as possible (great for plumbing I know!). Our guy likes baths too, well I think so.... it''s probably more accurate to say he doesn''t hate them. He usually just stands there looking pathetic as we wash him!

 

[mia1181]

Oh we have a Dyson too! We don''t have the animal, because we read that the yellow one is almost as good and cheaper. Even getting the yellow one was a splurge, but well worth it. It''s the first vacuum we''ve ever owned that actually get all the hair off the carpet!