Merle Pug - Everything You Need to Know

Pugs are small dogs with characteristic large heads and sparkling eyes. Being intelligent and social, these dogs are excellent companions and ideal house pets. Merle Pugs are differentiated from pure-bred pugs by their distinctive coat pattern and color. These features occur due to a gene called merle or dapple, which is absent in standard pugs. Merle gene is due to the poor production of melanin pigment. Additionally, they may have blue eyes or a combination of two different colors.

Merle Pug Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Family Dog	Complications in breeding
Suitable for apartment living	Prone to gain weight

Merle Pug Basic Information

Name: Merle Pug
Height: 25-33 cm
Weight: 14 to 18 lbs
Coat: Short
Color: Apricot to fawn, silver, and black
Energy: Low to medium
Hypoallergenic: No
Activities: Walking and sniffing, fetch games, tug games, scent games, swimming, agility games, trick games, free play with mental stimulation toys.
Group: Toy group, mastiff
Barking Level: Low
Shedding Level: High
Litter Size: 4 to 6 puppies
Life Span: 13 to 15 years

Pug Vs. Merle Pug: A Comparison

Merle Pug Personality

A typical Merle Pug features a massive head with short snouts and curled tails. Their longer tongues hang out, constantly giving them a funny face. Their protruding eyes and many forehead wrinkles work together to showcase a range of human emotions like surprise, happiness, and curiosity. They have a short and smooth coat with speckled blue-gray or bluish patches. They get along well with other animals and kids. Due to their short faces, they cannot tolerate heat. Hence, they can be allowed to dip in the pool during summer. Additionally, these dogs are pretty sedentary therefore don’t require much space, so they incredibly fit in apartments. Further, they are known to sleep for up to 14 hours per day.

Friendliness Overview

Affection Level	High
Family-Friendly	High
Kid-Friendly	High
Pet-Friendly	High
Strangers-Friendly	High

Adaptability Overview

Good for New Pet Owners	High
Good for Apartment Living	High
Sensitivity Level	Medium
Tolerates being alone	Low
Cold Tolerance	Low to Medium
Heat Tolerance	Low

Merle Pug Temperament

Merle Pugs are playful and crave attention. To attract attention, they delight their pet parents with their clownish nature. They are very affectionate who expect the same to be reciprocated. Being very social, these dogs cannot tolerate loneliness for longer. They have a medium temperament which makes them a popular choice of pet.

Merle Pug Training

Merle Pugs have good learning skills during their puppy stage. Therefore, it is better to start training your puppy as early as six months of his life. For this, you may enroll them in puppy training classes to promote their social behavior. Since they have shorter attention spans, their training duration should be limited to 10-minutes. A reward-based positive reinforcement technique works well on them.

Additionally, they thrive on praise and may require some small treats. As these dogs are sensitive, harsh training methods don’t work on them. Instead, you can take advantage of their social behavior and pleasing nature to train these dogs.

Also, it is essential to potty train your pup by establishing a potty break routine every 2 to 4 hours. Although pugs control their bladder well, they may have to be appropriately guided to their designated potty area to avoid dirtying the house.

Trainability Overview

Easy to Train	Medium
Intelligence	Low to medium
Prey Drive	Medium
Tendency to Chew, Nip & Play-bite	High
Tendency to Bark or Howl	Medium to high
Wanderlust Ability	Low

Merle Pug Exercise Needs

Merle Pugs are prone to obesity. Therefore, they require moderate exercises daily featuring simple walks or playtime. They can also withstand competitions involving rallies, agility, and obedience. However, their short legs and breathing challenges prevent them from swimming. Also, they should not undergo exhausting activities, especially in a humid climate.

Exercise Needs Overview

Energy Level	Medium
Exercise Needs	Medium
Playfulness	High
Intensity	High

Merle Pug Grooming

The Merle Pug’s coat is short and smooth. Since they are susceptible to shedding, they should be brushed using a medium bristle brush twice a week. They can rarely be bathed when they are dirty or begin to stink. You can avoid using shampoos while washing them as it will irritate their skin and damage their coat. Additionally, your canine’s nails have to be trimmed regularly along with their facial wrinkles. For this purpose, you can use a cotton swab dipped in warm water. To prevent infections from building between the folds, run a cotton swab dipped in petroleum jelly. To cleanse their ears, you can use a cotton ball or soft tissue, while you can use damp tissues to wipe their nostrils. Additionally, while grooming, notice signs of ear infections.

Symptoms of Dog Ear Infections:

Head shaking
Scratching the affected ear
Dark discharge
Odor
Redness and swelling of the ear canal
Pain
Itchiness
Crusting or scabs in the ears

Contact your vet immediately if you notice the above symptoms.

Grooming Overview

Amount of Shedding	High
Tendency to Drool	Low
Tendency to Snore	High
Easy to Groom	High

Merle Pug Health

In general, all pugs are brachycephalic breeds- short-headed. Due to the shape of their head, their nostrils and throat tend to block the air passage resulting in breathing difficulty in dogs. Additionally, they may develop deafness confined to one or both ears. Some of the significant health concerns in Merle Pugs include:

Health Overview

Basic Health	Low to medium
Weight Gain Possibilities	Medium to high
Size	Low to medium

Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome (BOAS): As the nostrils are short, they often experience breathing difficulty. Although all pugs suffer from breathing difficulties, some pugs are more affected than others and show various symptoms such as:

Symptoms of BOAS in dogs:

Loud Breathing and Snoring
Intolerance to exercise or heat.
Collapse
Gagging
Regurgitation
Vomiting

Treatment: Surgery is the only option available.

Eye problems: They may be completely blind or have a less acute vision. Some of the other issues related to their eyes include:

Corneal ulcers: Pugs develop corneal ulcers due to their flat faces and prominent eyes. These ulcers are painful and may cause other symptoms such as:

Symptoms of Corneal ulcers in dogs:

Squinting
pawing or rubbing the eyes
Redness and excessive discharge or tearing.

Treatment: Depending upon the severity of the ulcer, either pain-relieving medications like antibiotics, eye drops, ointments, or surgery may be advised.

Proptosis: Brachycephalic breeds are vulnerable to proptosis due to their shallow eye sockets.

Symptoms of Proptosis in dogs:

Popped out eyeballs
Swollen conjunctiva
Dryness of the conjunctiva and the cornea.

Treatment: Depending upon the severity of the disease, your veterinarian may recommend surgery.

Dry Eye: A condition in which the eye doesn’t produce enough tears.

Symptoms of Dry Eye in dogs:

Eye irritation causing redness
Squinting
Excessive Blinking
A tendency to keep their eyes closed

Chronic dry eyes may lead to ulcers.

Treatment: Based on severity, artificial tear drops or even surgery may be prescribed.

Hip Dysplasia

Hip Dysplasia is a heritable condition that occurs when the thigh bones don’t fit aptly into the pelvic socket of the hip joint.

Other Causes of Hip Dysplasia:

Injuries
Excessive weight gain
Wrong exercises

Symptoms of Hip Dysplasia:

This condition can exist with or without symptoms, and some of the notable signs may be present on one or both rear legs. They include:

Pain
Lameness

Treatment: X-ray screening for hip dysplasia, medication, and hip replacement through surgeries may also be preferred. This condition, if ignored, can be life-threatening.

Skin Infections

Pugs are prone to yeast infections, staph infections, demodectic mange, or walking dandruff with heavy skin folds. Moreover, poor production of melanin leads to merle color, which indicates skin problems such as sunlight hypersensitivity and sunburn.

Pug Dog Encephalitis: Pug encephalitis is an inherited autoimmune disorder that causes inflammation and death of the brain tissues.

Symptoms of Pug Dog Encephalitis:

Seizures
Collapse
Circling
Appearing lost or disoriented
Behavior changes
Weakness
Stumbling
Blindness
Abnormal gait
Coma

Treatment: Unfortunately, there is no cure for this disorder, leading to death.

Merle Pug Diet and Nutrition

Merle Pugs are not active dogs which causes them to gain weight quickly. So, you must restrict their feeding thrice a day for 6-month pups while twice a day for puppies aged more than six months. Additionally, limit the number of treats you feed your pet to prevent obesity.

Merle Pug Living Condition

The Merle Pugs have short coats, so they need protection against cold weather conditions. For this reason, you may have to keep them covered with jackets or sweaters while taking walks during the colder months. Similarly, their smaller snouts make it difficult for them to adjust to hot weather. Additionally, these dogs are prone to separation anxiety; hence they shouldn’t be left alone for long.

Adding a Merle Pug to Your Family

Things to Remember Before Breeding

Pugs are not naturally merle because they are not purebreds. For pugs to be merle, one of the parents must have a merle gene. This merle parent could be a Merle Pug or a different dog breed with a merle gene. The resultant offspring may or may not be merle. Therefore, even if the puppies in a litter don’t seem to be a merle, it is vital to DNA test the puppies for the presence of a merle gene. Additionally, crossing pugs this way leads to genetic mutations and results in health complications. Hence, Merle Pugs are unrecognized by AKC.

When two Merle dogs mate, they give rise to double merle offspring. These pups have two merle genes which mean they are prone to serious health complications. Hence it is best to avoid buying or breeding these pups.

Cost of a Merle Pug Puppy

The price of a pug depends on your resident location. A standard pure breed pug costs anywhere between $1000 and $3000. Hence, a Merle Pug will not cost more than this range.

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