Are Pugs good service dogs?

Training a Service Dog is no easy task. Many times we associate these highly trained animals with larger breeds such as German Shepherds. However, more recently there has been an upsurge in training smaller breeds, such as the Pug, as Service Dogs.

Why Do Pugs Make Great Service Dogs?

Some of the best things about Pugs is that they are highly intelligent and love to cuddle with their owners. These qualities are what makes them a great candidate to become a service dog from those who require monitoring for general behavior.

Pugs are happy to sit on your lap or right next to you and keep you company. As a service animal, a Pug would provide a constant, calming presence for those who really need it.

These animals are pretty very low maintenance as well, which is great for those who don’t get around too well. No worrying about constantly needing to groom your Pug!

Pugs are especially great with children. They love to run around and play, yet are happy to settle down and enjoy just being with you when they need to. For children suffering from any kind of mental issue such as anxiety and depression, a Pug could no doubt be there for them when they need the company.

Pugs are also naturally sensitive to what their owners are feeling and thinking, making them all the better and easier for training to look out for signs of any behavioral changes in their owners.

This is a super useful trait for those older owners who can no longer get around or who have any major health issues. A sensitive Pug can quickly alert their owner to any changes in their health or behavior before their owner picks up on it themselves.

A funny trait about Pugs that should be useful to you, as a trainer, during the training process is that Pugs are all about food. A Pug can just eat, and eat, and eat if they were given the chance.

This quality will not only give you a good laugh but will make training much easier for the both of you. It’s super easy to motivate a Pug with food!

As this the case, try to use this to your advantage during training. Use treats to encourage good behaviors and responses to your training. This will be a huge help in encouraging further good behaviors.

When Should I Begin Training My Pug?

Most dogs, including Pugs, begin their training pretty early in life – when they are still puppies. Generally starting them out at about six months of age is a good idea.

The general idea is that by the time your Pug is two or three years of age, they should be fully prepared and trained to be a Service Dog.

As your Pug begins to progress in age, their training should follow and progress as well.

As your Pug continues to age, and training becomes increasingly more complicated (teaching the dog more specific commands) their willingness to oblige should increase as well.

The times for changing up and progressing in training will vary for you and your Pug. Every Pug and trainer are different. Come up with a specific training schedule that will work out for both you and your Pug and try to stick to it if you can.

Remember, Pugs are highly intelligent, yet stubborn. This can be a frustrating combination. Take your time and have patience with your Pug as the both of you work on their training together.

How Do You Train A Pug To Be A Service Dog?

It takes a lot of dedication and time for training a Service Dog. 2 years of your personal time and dedication to be more exact.

For anyone who has been training Service Dogs for a long time, they know that there are specific training regimens depending on what kind of condition you are training the dog to respond to.

Whether those conditions be Autism, Anxiety/Depression, or more serious health conditions such as Heart Attacks or even Epilepsy.

Remember, these dogs aren’t necessarily the best fit for those who are looking for a dog more suited to be a Seeing Eye Dog. These dogs are much more well suited to noticing changes in behavior. This comes from the Pug’s sensitive nature as well as this breed’s natural intelligence.

It is also important to remember that Pugs are a relatively stubborn breed when it comes to training. So, give it some time and have patience.

However, let’s go through the very basics of what it takes to train a Service Dog for any kind of Service.

Let’s begin.

For any and all Service Dogs, it is first important that you are giving them the proper socialization that they need. Basically, you need to allow your dog to get as much interaction with you and others as they can get.

Once your dog is more comfortable, start out by teaching them the same basic commands you would teach any dog. Whether that be to “sit” or “lay down”. This will ease your dog into the next step.

Once your dog has the basics down, it’s time to start going more in depth with your commands. This means teaching your Pug to be more aware and understand how to respond when it comes time for them to notice a panic attack coming on.

It is important to give your Pug a cue during training, so that they understand when an actual Panic Attack or any other health issue is beginning.

This cue should be both physical and verbal. Once this cue is established, and you have shown your Pug the proper way to respond, it is important to reward them so that they understand that what they are doing is a good behavior.

The same rules apply to any and all other health conditions. The main idea to take away is that training takes time. Especially with Pugs.

Although, one perk that comes with training a Pug is an understanding that they are extremely food motivated. This means figuring out the reward system should be easy.

When a Pug does something right during training, help them to understand this as a positive behavior and reward them with a treat. This is quite possibly the easiest way to get a Pug to repeat that desired behavior.

Pugs can make a great service and therapy dog for anybody suffering from severe health or emotional issues. It’s almost as if their little personalities were perfectly tailored for the job at hand. Enjoy the experience, and your Pug.

So, good luck! And have fun training your Pug!

Related Questions