On personality, pugs are small in size, playful, charming, affectionate, and fun dogs having around our home. But with their small, compact size, do Pugs shed?

 YES! Pugs are among the heaviest hair-shedding dogs. They shed all year round (not seasonally). Pugs with double coats shed more. Also, their hair growth cycle (growth, rest & fallout) is faster compared to other small dog breeds. 

Just because Pugs are beautiful, adorable, and got this squishy comical face should not trick you into thinking they don’t shed. I always recommend you get the best vacuum cleaner for pet hair if you have or intend to have a Pug.

Read Also: Best Brush for Pugs

Do Pugs Shed hair

Fawn pugs with their double coat tend to shed more than the black pug. The Fawn’s undercoat will continually grow and push more hairs on their upper coat out, which will promote more shedding.

Therefore, if you hate regular vacuuming of dog hair, you should go for the black pug as it’ll shed less.

.Well, did anyone tell you that you can reduce your pugs’  shedding rate? This is about 5 minutes with the furminator! So, groom the pug’s short and coarse hair frequently. 

So, Why Do Pugs Shed Heavily? 

Pug shed a lot! Enough to collect and knit or crochet one more Pug per week! On the scale of 1 to 10, where 10 is the worst shedding, pugs will surely take a 10.  

Equipping yourself with a furminator will help you remove their underneath coat that sheds all the time and will not get their outer pretty coat with guard hairs. Also, the pug shedding habit will definitely make a top quality vacuum be your greatest friend.

My fawn sheds a lot, unlike my brother-in-law’s black Pug which isn’t bad at all. Black Pugs have one coat, and the fawn has 2. They are so sweet, it doesn’t even matter!

– Pugs, particularly the fawn pugs – which are the majority, have a double-coating. The double coat implies that the pug has a short, thick outer layer (outer coat) and a soft thinner inner layer (the inner coat).

– The double-coating makes pugs shed almost twice as much as other small dog breeds with a single coating. Double-coated pugs experience a “blowing the coat,” which means that their hair will fall off in tufts or big balls.

– Regardless of whether the pug has a double or single layer coat, each of these pets’ hairs is tightly cluttered. To be precise, each pug has about 600 hairs packed per square inch.

This can be compared to the 100 – 200 hairs packed in other dog breeds for every square inch. Definitely, the larger the number of hairs per square inch, the more the dog breed (pugs in this case) will shed.

– Finally, all animals, dogs included, undergo 3 stages to shed their body hair –

(1) Growth

(2) Rest

(3) Shed

Among the pugs, this 3 stage process takes place too quickly compared to the slow rate in other dog breeds. 

When do Pugs start to shed

1. Seasonal shedding 

As we had noted earlier, pugs shed their fur in all seasons throughout the year. But, just comparing to other dogs, pugs will also shed their winter coat as it grows warmer during summer. Also, they will shed more as winter crawls in and during this time their coat tends to thicken more.

2. As puppy transitions to adult coat

Equally, your puppy pug will shed a large amount as they are transitioning to get their senior coat from their earlier puppy coat. Puppies will lose their coat from their 3rd month onwards but within the 1st year.

However, losing the puppy coat isn’t something to raise eyebrows since this is a completely natural process – but ensure that the pug is healthy.

3. When on heat/ season

Vets and pug experts report that females pugs will shed more when they are on heat/ or on the season. This will also be the case when the dog gives birth because at this time they are experiencing a hormonal imbalance.

Black Pug vs. Fawn Pug – Which one Sheds More?

Get Black Pugs they said… it will be fun they said… This is the result of NOT sweeping or vacuuming my tiled lounge/dining room floors for 2 days… two black pugs equal a new fluff pug puppy…lol…

I was told black pugs don’t shed as much, well that’s relatively true. But black pus will tend to shed less compared to the fawns.  But I still love them all the same.

Black pugs will shed less! 

So, it’s a fact that all pugs shed their hair excessively. But is it the black pug or the fawn pug that sheds more? Well, fawn pugs tend to shed more compared to black pugs. Black pugs have just one layer of fur coat.

Fawn pugs on the other have a double coat while black pugs have a single coat. Therefore, since Fawn pugs have a double-layered coat, they’ll definitely shed more – almost double the shedding in black pugs.

So, if you need to minimize the pug shedding in your house, get only a black pug. But if you already have a fawn pug, then it’s too unfortunate that all you can do is learning how to control pug shedding.

What Increases Shedding in Pugs? 

Pug shedding is totally normal but some may shed abnormally and even this could be in clumps. Several factors will influence the rate of hair shedding in your pug.

In this section, I have discussed these factors – both those you can control and those that are uncontrollable. But first I recommend you must check with your vet to make sure that the pug is receiving the correct treatment. 

1. Pug’s Age

Pug puppies in their early growth stages will shed less compared to adult pugs. However, when the pug reaches 1 – 1.5 years – they tend to transitions from their puppy coat to an adult coat. Such pets will now shed more.

However, as noted above, adult pugs will shed 365 days in a year and are thus classified as heavy shedding breeds compared to other dogs.

Stress or anxiety is another factor that might encourage pug shedding, particularly shedding in the form of clumps. 

2. Coat Type

Your pug’s coat type, either single or double layer, will affect the level of shedding. This will definitely affect the shedding process. For example, the black pugs with a single layer of coat will experience moderate levels of shedding.

However, some of the black pugs will have a double coat layer and thus show excessive shedding. For your fawn pugs, you definitely can expect massive shedding because they have a double coat layer.

3. Heat cycle

Next up, the onset of the pug’s heat cycle (particularly the female pug) can commence her hair shedding. For example, any female pug that’s not sprayed or shampooed, and gets into her heat cycle will have an excessive amount of shedding. This shedding will be more intense as the heat cycle nears the end.

But why is female pug shedding correlated to its heat cycle? Well, experts say that the pug’s hormone levels will fluctuate during the cycle (like in most animals) but it’s more intense in pugs and thus affect the shedding process.

4. Shed Dead hair during Baths

Bathing your pugs can send signals that the pets should shed more heavily. The bathing process implies that you’ll be massaging and scrubbing the pug’s coat to achieve the best clean.

But, in addition to cleaning the pug, bathing motions will loosen its hair while the washing agents such as shampoo will break down the skin’s natural oils that could have been holding down some of the dead hairs. Here is how you should bathe your Pug.

5. Spring and Autumn Shedding

Seasonality will also affect the level of shedding in your pug dog. Despite that pugs tend to shed all year round, it will get intense during the spring and autumn seasons.

But why? Well, the changes in temperature levels (and sunlight hours) during these seasons will promote more shedding.

For example, days are shorter in autumn and hence the pug’s coat will be signaled to shed more fur to enable a thicker coat to develop. However, the pug will shed its winter coat when the sun shines for extended hours and days become longer. 

6. Parasites like Ringworm 

The parasitic attacks include the demodectic mange where a pug loses its fur around the legs, trunk & or eyes. This may leave some lesions on the pug’s skin that seem crusted over and are irritating. For example, ringworms signify some infections that may lead to shedding.

The ringworms form circular bald raw or red spots around the limbs, ears, paws, and head. The pug must be treated to avoid spreading such infections to the rest of your furry friends.

7. Allergies

Pugs may experience some allergic reactions to different things. For example, I have a fawn pug, Buddha who is allergic to pollen and grass. I didn’t pay attention to the allergic reaction at first but eventually, I noticed she was getting uncomfortable. 

Just be on the lookout for the following change on your Pug;

If you notice some rampant licking or itching on your pug, particularly in summer, that should be a wake-up call. Most of the time, your vet may prescribe suing either steroids or antihistamines.

Also, if your pug is bitten by some insects, their skin might break and equally form patches similar look to those caused by ringworms on their coat.

How to Control Pug Shedding

There are many options when it comes to controlling pug shedding. In this section, I will dig deep into details on some of them and give you a heads up to keeping your pug healthy and clean from excessive shedding.

1. Food that’ll Reduce Shedding

The food your pug eats significantly affects the amount of shedding it experiences. Therefore, you must give your pug a nutrient-dense and healthy diet that’ll lessen hair shedding and giving your furry friend a shiny coat.

Key ingredients to check in the dog’s diet include fishmeal and fish oils. Also, supplements containing omega fatty acid will help in reducing shedding.

Another important thing is how you feed your Pug. You must give him/her enough amount (quantity and quality) of food to avoid malnutrition that might also lead to extra shedding.

2. Use Supplements (particularly omega fatty acid)

If you take the preliminary steps to protect the pug’s coat, you won’t require so much effort in controlling the excessive shedding – it won’t happen anyway. It’s evident that a poor quality coat on your pug may trigger further shedding from hair breakage.

Nevertheless, you’ll need to get it right from the onset. For example, using supplements on your pug will not work immediately to stop shedding. It’s a sure slow game that works over the long term but can reduce the shedding severity over the short term.

Hemp seed oil, linoleic acid, Alaskan Salmon oil, and other flax seed oil will provide additional advantages to the pug’s coat and hair that’ll easily reducing shedding.

In addition, supplements such as fatty acid and Omega promote better health in the coat of your pug dog. Moreover, it helps to reduce joint inflammation and pain- these supplements will allow the growth of healthy skin.

The Omega fatty acids will reduce hair breakage while strengthening the quality of the dog’s underlying skin. How? They contain DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) and EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) that are fatty acids from fish.

But, for the fish oil avoid farmed fish and go for the wild fish. Why do I say so? The pellets eaten by farmed fish are vegetable oil-based, which may reduce the effectiveness of the DHA and EPA levels.

Consult your vet on the appropriateness or effectiveness of any supplement you’re planning to give your pet pug. This is because other factors (such as heat cycle or seasons) could be the lead causes of the shedding in your lovely pug dog.

Brush Your Pugs’ Coat Regularly

Pugs have a think coat so you should expect some portion of the loose hairs to get entangled on the coat rather than falling off. For this reason, it’s important ought to equip yourself with the best grooming brush to help you get rid of stuck hairs.

Using a good scrubbing tool will definitely reduce the amount of hair cluttered around your home.

It’s important to note once you fail to remove the entangled, the Pugs’ coat will accumulate oil from the skin. If you fail to get rid of it, it will choke the new hair follicle from growing and eventually start to smell.

I always recommend brushing and grooming your Pug outside to avoid messing up your house. Brush your Pug 2-3 times a week depending on the breed you have.

Conclusion

Pugs shed a lot. They tend to leave pieces of hair on your clothes, Couche, bed floor, and everywhere they can access.

Their shedding rate sorely depends on two major factors- Pugs with double coats and the single-coated breeds. The double-coated Pugs will definitely shade more than their single-coated counterparts.

They naturally shade throughout the year but there are some factors that will influence the shedding pattern.

However, their shedding rate shouldn’t stop you from getting a Pug.

I have discussed the main factors why Pugs shed in this article and rendered the best DIY remedies on how you can manage your Pugs shedding rate.

I hope you find this article useful and good luck managing your little furry friend.