Home Temperature

We all know that with the pug breed..... overheating is never good. Ever since Julian had his passing out spells before his Nare surgery I have become obsessed with the temperature of the house. I also keep a fan on in the room that we are in besides the ceiling fans! Yes my family members are cold at65* but I do not want him overheated. Thank God I am blaming it on menopause lol! Anyway...what are your thoughts on this?

I live in Raleigh NC so no one is 'really' freezing cold although I am nervous about the summer with him.... Gosh I am full of temperature questions... Any & all advice needed :)

Melissa

I have 3 senior boys aged 12 & older. I keep my temp at around 73 during the day & 68 at night.
My oldest has a very flat face & pants when he gets too warm. I bought a window AC unit to supplement the central heat & air. I live in South Carolina so it can get very hot & humid in the summer.

Oklahoma here ... and mine are all long noses - but the temps in the house are always cool. Winter nights the thermostat is 58* when I go to bed, and never more than 68* when I am home. That is what sweaters and blankets are for! Summers are harder and we make use of ceiling fans, tower fans, window units and the central air. I'd prefer 70*, but the electric bill says to make do at 74* and use the fans. I do make my room a bit cooler so I can sleep.
No matter the temps, the dogs seem to do just fine with cool water, good air flow, and ice cubes to munch when they come in from the oppressive heat.

Our house stays in the 68-70 range winter and summer and only the human kids complain. Matilda and BBBob seem comfortable.

I keep the house cold in the winter (69) and warm in the summer (75 to 77). We get decent cross ventilation here and the dogs spend most of the day on the first floor where it is coolest. I have only flat faced dogs and no issues so far. But I'm very cautious about them outside in the heat.

We keep it cool in the winter, around 66 during the day and only 60 at night and a steady 74 in the summer. Only the human kids are complaining that they are cold. I am however, extremely cautious about our heat and humdity in the summer. Only out long enough to do his business and then back in again. If we go out at all in the summer, it's after the sun has gone down.

We keep it at 70 during the winter. In summer, we keep it at 76 during the day and 73 at night. Most of this is due to my husband. He's part pug.

My weather here in Williamsburg VA is similar to yours in Raleigh, I think. I used to live in Wilmington, and winters there were a bit warmer, but summers were pretty similar. I keep it at 68-70 in the winter and light up the gas fireplace when I get home if I'm a bit chilly. In the summer, I'm a bit of a heat weanie, so I keep the thermostat around 72-75 and keep the only ceiling fan in my house on (in my family room). I'd be fine warmer if it wasn't for the humidity... or if I had a ceiling fan in my bedroom.

My guys are actually pretty tolerant of temperatures either way. They have no issues at all in cooler temps, at least down to the temps that I am willing to go out in myself! And they do better than many pugs in heat. I was a little concerned when we lost power for a week after Hurricane Irene last year, but they did just fine with the back door wide open for ventilation. If it had been hotter than it was, I would have either stayed with family that had power back or gotten a room at a pet-friendly hotel, even if that meant a bit of a drive for me for work.

As you get into hotter weather, keep an eye on Julian. Since his surgery, he may well end up doing pretty well in heat, but plan on keeping a close eye on him, regardless.

Thank you all for the replies, I am nervous mostly because Julian had a rough start with his breathing & his nares are bigger but his face could not get any flatter! It is cold at 65* but maybe I will turn it up a bit.

Summer will be a challenge for him, funny thing is....I moved to NC to be hot; formerly a NYer...so I will be taking all kinds of precautions for puggy

I think it is also what they get used to, within reason, obviously. We live in Vegas. It's hot, and our power bills in the summer are outrageous, plus I am always cold. So, usually the air is around 78-80, but we have fans and tile floors. None of mine seem hot, no panting or anything. In the winter, I have it to about 71-72 (and I'm still cold!).

Our temperatures here do not run the extremes like most places in Canada but we do deal with temperatures that run close to freezing over most of the winter. I like to keep the house @ 21 C which is 72 degrees during the day and keep the wood stove burning for most of the day. Stubby loves to lie as close to the heat source as possible and bakes one side of himself then the other. We have very high humidity due to the rain and the house feels cold. I have never had trouble with Stubby's breathing but he really doesn't do cold. If we go out and I have to leave him in the car for a while I have a Greenhawk blanket that is quilted like a horse blanket.

I don't do heat so anything above 25 C or 80 F is unbearable for me so I spend the time either in our 1 room with AC or in front of a couple of fans. My vet gives the same lecture every summer about not allowing him to overheat, never take him in the car unless you are moving and the AC is going the whole time and to have a cool temperature controlled place for him to be. I make a point of keeping a small pool filled with water on the deck and soak him down every chance I get on a hot summer day (which her would be in the 28 C range which is 86F or dog forbid higher! Stubby is not really a water baby but I do think he does feel better with the water evaporating off his fur. I make sure he has an ample supply of fresh cool water in each room and have considered buying a swamp cooler coat for him this coming year. Some of the dog show venues are outdoors and I have heard very good things about the cooler coats.....just started looking into the various types.

I rarely have to watch it with cold weather here with the pugs (however, I am always freezing). Summer is a different story. If it is over 82, we only go on VERY short walks (Kimchi has a particularly hard time with heat) and I've been known to lock the pugs in the back of the house with 2 portable AC units on. We don't have central air (or heat for that matter). I also have cool coats that I put on them when we go out. Mine do better with heat the dryer it is. Palm Springs is easier on them than Long Beach (and it's not really what you'd call humid here).

When it is cold, Thurston will "go camping" under the covers. Kimchi can't handle it and will overheat if she spends a lot of time under the covers. Thurston had nares surgery before we got him. Kimchi hasn't had any sort of surgery to correct her breathing and her face is pretty smushed.

In the winter daytime temp inside is 68, nighttime is 62. Summer daytime is 70 and although I try to get it cooler at night it is usually around 68-70 all night. I would rather put on more clothes or cover up with a warm blanket than be hot. My only complainer is my son who always seems to be cold and even though I suggest it all of the time, he can't seem to figure out how to dress for the temperature inside or outside. Pugs are comfy though.

I wouldn't worry too much about overheating Julian in the wintertime -- I think you can safely bump that thermostat up from 65 if you want to. My pugs have always been comfortable in the low to mid 70s in the house during spring, when I don't run the heat or the a/c. During summer, though, I keep it downright frigid in the house because I can't stand the heat myself.

Every pug has a different tolerance for heat. My last pug, Rhoda, handled it beautifully with little to no stress whatsoever, so I got a skewed idea that pugs aren't as delicate as everyone makes out. Enter Marlee, who flops on her side like a sow and sounds like she's dying if she goes outside in anything over 80 degrees. They're all individuals, and while erring on the side of caution is a good idea, you'll get to know Julian's particular needs soon enough.

We keep our in-house temp at 65 F. Living in Alaska makes this a perfect temp for all of us.

So many responses....I appreciate all of them and I did notice for the first time last night Julian was cold, we always sleep with a ceiling fan on and a little fan that makes noise, it was mailnly for the noise because we cannot sleep with silence so wether it was a humidifier or a fan...it was noise. So, now the fan has 2 purposes: noise and air for Julian...last night he ws shaking a little and tried to snuggle more than usual...it was 65* with 2 fans so I let him snuggle and he stopped shaking...I will really have to start taking these hints and look for them more throughout the day!



Thanks so much

Melissa, it sounds like Julian was just chilly last night, but one thing to be aware of since you're new to pugs (and I can't remember if you're new to dogs or not) is that shivering can be a sign of pain for dogs, and is often associated with gastrointestinal upset.

I'll never forget taking him to the vet when he was shivering one time as a puppy. He had gotten into some paper or something, and I was sooooo worried it was a toxic reaction and he was having seizures or something. The vet assured me that he was going to be fine-- it was a tummy ache.

Shievering is hard to figure out. I remember when we neutered Chester and brought him home. He got up in the middle of the night and was shivering in a corner and it wasn't even cold that night. We totally panicked and called the animal ER line because I thought he was having complications from the surgery. They told us he might be cold and to put a blanket around him. We did and he stopped shivering and fell asleep. You never know with these guys.

General rule of thumb, if they stop shivering after you make them warm, they were probably just cold. If they don't stop shivering and continue to act like they can't get comfortable or seem restless, there is probably something more going on.

I would have not thought twice to rush him to the ER...I am just glad he stopped...I have a go to book about pugs and I sure wrote that in the front cover...Thank you both...tummy ache would not even been considered...I learn from you guys everyday