Pugs: a hairy situation

When I fell in love with the pug breed, I did a lot of research and found out right away that pugs are shedders. No big deal, I thought. I had dealt with cat hair for many years, so I was used to it. Well, to the uninitiated, let me tell you, living with a pug is a little bit like living with Pig-Pen from the Peanuts cartoon. When pugs shake, hair flies. Wherever they sit, a pile of hair is left behind. If you have a fawn pug like Spanky, forget the black clothes. Now, someone once told that black pugs weren't as bad as fawn pugs, but not having had a black pug, I can say whether or not it is true.

My one observation is that the shedding is worse at certain times of the years. This summer has been exceptionally hot here in Colorado. June was our hottest June on record, with five days of 100 plus temps (38 C.) My dark hardwood floors have been accumulating pug hair faster than I can clean it up. I've got a Roomba and that does help, but my experience is  that Roombas don't get everything. So having a Swiffer or other electrostatic type mop is a big help.

But it's not just the floors. Check out this picture of the bottom of my kitchen chairs:

So what's the best way of dealing with pug hair? Probably daily brushing. I'll admit I'm not too good at doing this since pugs are actually quite low maintenance compared to some of the shaggier haired breeds. But one little tool can make a huge difference. When Spanky was a puppy we got a Kong Zoom Groom Brush and it's wonderful for pugs. I  highly recommend it. It can be used on either wet or dry fur. We also give him a monthly shower. That's right. He gets in the shower with my husband and when he's done, we have several handfuls of dog hair on the shower floor. We've been doing this since he was a puppy so he's used to the procedure.

Spanky checks out a pile of hair