If you think pets featured only in the ‘Pedigree’ and other pet-food advertisements, Think twice! From cars to eatables, soft drink to red bull, shoes to apparels, chocolates to biscuits, telecom service to public interest campaigns; pets, especially dogs, have stayed in the limelight, and in our memories, for quite some time now.

When I thought of writing this article, I started listing out the ad campaigns which have/had featured pets. I remembered the scenes better, where the pets gave their cameo appearances but I couldn’t remember the name of the company or the product they endorsed or the central idea of the ad campaign.

Try it yourself, recall an advertisement which featured a pet, apart from these famous advertisements: Pedigree, Whiskers, Hush-Puppies, Vodafone and  Volkswagen’s car brands.

So what does this tell us? Is it the advertisements that make these pets famous? Or is it our cute furry friends that add their own magic to make these advertisements highly successful?

Let us look at it from the first perspective. Successful advertisements induce certain trends in the breed choice.

A prominent example of an infamous breed becoming a rage is the Basset Hound in late 1960s. “Pookie” is no more known by his breed name “Basset Hound”, he sacrificed it for the brand that he’s endorsing. ‘Hush Puppy dog’ is the popular nickname given to him. Why would someone prefer a less prominent dog to be the brand-ambassador for their leading leather-footwear brand? James Gaylord Muir, the first sales manager of Hush Puppies, established a connection between the word “Hush Puppies” and comfortable leather footwear. In his time, “Barking dogs” was an expression, which meant sore feet. Muir assumed Hush Puppies shoes to be so comfortable, that they would “quiet barking dogs” meaning, comfortable foot-wear for a sore feet. And the Basset hounds best known for their docile, quiet and gentle demeanor are aptly named “Hush Puppies”.

From just being a comfortable foot-wear, Hush Puppy shoes became a style statement and a life-saver (that’s what the company claims!). Keith Richards (guitarist in Rolling Stones), who wore a pair to a concert, was saved from being electrocuted by an ‘‘ungrounded microphone’’. Although knocked-down unconscious, he survived the shock due to the ‘crepe soled’ Hush Puppy Shoes. True! Dogs have always been a friend and a savior to mankind at all instances of time. The advertisement and the life-saving incident made news and went on to increase the sale of Basset hounds considerably.

History repeated itself, in the all-famous example of Vodafone ad-campaign. Before 2003, GenX was never impressed by a dog with a curled tail and wrinkly-short-muzzled face. Adding to its “ugliness” it largely suffered from ‘reverse sneezing’, ‘eye prolapse’, ‘hip socket’ and bacterial infections in its skin folds. But “Cheeka” changed the entire notion with a simple 60 second ad-film.

From the pet that was mostly not preferred by aspirant-pet-parents, Pugs became a heart-throb throughout the world. In 2004, farmhouses went out-of-stock, and the long booking-time really frustrated the aspirant pug-parents. For a meagre Rs.2000 the prices sky-rocketed to Rs.60, 000. It became “neighbors’ envy, owners’ pride”. In 2005, “Cheeka” attained the cult status of a‘poster-girl’  and every Vodafone customers yearned to have her as their mobile-phone wallpaper.   “Cheeka” was not only instrumental in making the smooth transformation of ‘Hutch’ to a successful ‘Vodafone’ but also instrumental in promoting her own breed adoption .

The tribute to man’s best friend in Volkswagen’s “Woofwagen Ad 2013” is indeed remarkable! “Superbowl 2012” not only introduced Bolt (a 3 year old Australian Shepherd and St. Bernard mix) but also aimed at inspiring our own pets to slim down and be fit.

“These advertisements have introduced buyers with a vast range of breeds, both national and international. Petshops and Kennels are flooded with requests for exotic breeds, the pet aspirant may not even be aware of the breed, but demand them by the brand name which they mascot, like ‘Garnier Dog’ [Dalmations in Garnier’s “Spotless Ad”], ‘Dulux Dog’ [Old English sheepdog in Dulux’s “Let’s color” project] and several others. ” Says Rakesh Jain of RJ Pet House. “Many-a-times, customers do not mind to shell out the premium price for the dog in the trend. When the ‘Hutch Dog’ ad became a huge success, our pethouse was only selling pugs for weeks all-together”.  

Not just dogs, even horse breeds saw the same uphill trend when they were featured in some popular ad campaigns. The first of its kind, SuperBowl commercials in 1991-95 featured ‘Clydesdales’, but in the year 1996 the Clydesdales were shown playing football in snow covered meadow. Remarkably, most of what was shown in that ad was real horses playing football after a 6 month long training.

The emotional resonance featured in the ad (2013) made the stable owners fall head-over-heels in love with “Budweiser Clydesdales” and not just any Clydesdale.

After KitKat realesed two of its commercials featuring a pair of squirrel in 2010 and lovebirds in 2012, the number of squirrel and canary lovers grew in population.

Although animated, the fun loving, chirpy, romancing squirrels and canaries shown in KitKat ads, had cast their spell on the school children and college students. The influence was so high, that the demand for the furry little bunch of love (squirrels) and little-winged-wonders (birds) at pethouses became huge in 2010.

 These brand endorsements are, a visual treat for brand-audience, limelight for amazing pets and creative adaptations for the ad agency. The trend setting orchestration of great brands, beautiful breeds and creative ad-ideas was instrumental and influential in many a breed choice, and most of all, a meaningful pet-and-parent relationship, which lasts for a lifetime.

The second perspective, that our cute furry friends add their own magic to these highly successful advertisements, will be covered in the article ‘Brand and Breed Part 2’.

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There’s no one who won’t think about the cute, stout dogs from our very old but not forgotten Vodafone ads. Then there are some of us lucky enough to own the adorable ones. For those who are still confused, yes I am talking about Pugs! The breed who loves attention so much that if there were dogs from Venus; they are it. They want to be smothered by you and love you as much as much as you love them or more. The possessiveness and jealousy is nothing less than your better half and if you have to keep the dogs healthy, you have to go a little out of your way for that.

While the pugs love to eat and you love to pamper, always draw a line to the quantity of food intake. You would probably do well by just taking the dog for a beautiful drive to the park. The right quantity of food and proper exercise is important to keep it healthy and free from problems. A little bit every day also keeps the heart and the lungs healthy. It’s easy to think you are doing it for yourself and not him. Double perk! So keep it to a level just to be lean, mentally challenged and fit. Keep the jogging and jumping aside till they are at least a year old, to keep them from developing hip and knee related problems. Their small thick bodies are designed in such a way that they can’t tolerate heat and also develop a tan on their stomach apart from the major diseases. Pugs are your indoor animals as they have been bred to be royal companions to the Chinese in the olden days. Pugs are easy to get along with, friendly and family sort of a pet and if you have a kid in the house you will surely get room to breathe as the dog will divide their attention.

Even if it’s for a good laugh, their wrinkles will never disappoint you. You can hide pencils, clips in those and maybe accessorize the cute tail but always keep in mind to clean those folds regularly with soft napkins or baby wipes to keep the infections and bacteria at bay. Your gentle dog should be cared for always. Keeping aside the cupid play, do remember that this breed is less healthy than most of its counter parts due to the small size, excessive wrinkles and flat face. It’s not only the bacteria that you should be scared of but also the worms found in stool, insects that stay in grasses and mosquitoes that are-well about everywhere! Healthy skin is nothing without healthy glowing teeth. So ask your vet how you should do the cleaning and maybe toss in some flavored tooth paste in the process. While caring for a pug is nothing less that caring for a baby, know that pugs will never really ‘’grow up’’ as far as you are around. Smoking and its health hazards. Don’t take it personally if you do but your darling pet has enough breathing problems as it is. So much so that even a little excitement can be a cause of worry and you should probably put a tissue on its nose so that it can breathe through the mouth. Just try and not smoke around the pug to keep it healthy and kicking.

Splashing in water is a fun activity not only for the pug but also a treat to your eyes. Investment in a cute bath tub for your pug will never be a disappointment and while the pugs do shed hair, always keep a track on how much. Bathe it once in a couple of weeks and it should not be a worry. Home cooked food, organic meat, grain free food are considered the best among the lot for cute friendly dogs and no matter what you say, you can’t stay away from it yourself. While he misses you when you are at work, its best known to you what joy the pug hug can give you. So even when you try and stay away, make sure there is a ladder next to your bed for them to climb in with you while you have a set of ear plugs to block the sound of the soft snore. Oh yes, they snore and pretty long for they sleep for about a minimum of 14 hours a day. These fearless breed of pets can add a lot of charm in your life and while they may want to be your guardian angel all the time, don’t forget to keep that leash on. I can only say that don’t think twice before getting the bundle of joy home. Just make sure that they have been bought from a reliable source and have been checked by the veterinarian.

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Pugs were called ‘mops’ by the Dutch because they always look grumpy but the true meaning of their name may be found in the old English term pug or pugge which means someone  who is tenderly loved. Pugs were originally bred to love and be loved in return. They were not expected to do any kind of labour. Pugs are not hunting dogs nor are they guard dogs. Their sole job is to eat and be on their owners lap for as long as they can.

Pugs are also called miniature Mastiffs which suggests that they were actually a whole lot bigger in the past than they are now. This fact pretty much also explains why pugs are the largest dogs in the toy breed. Pugs aren’t a newly discovered breed and it is believed that pug – like dogs called Lo-sze were found in China around 400 B.C.E.

Pugs have been famous throughout history and have always been associated with royalty. The pug became famous in Holland after a pug named Pompey saved the life of William the silent, the Prince of Orange in 1572 by sounding an alarm at the approach of the Spanish army. After this incident the breed became the official dog of the House of Orange. The pug was famous not only in Holland but also in France. Napoleon’s wife Josephine had a pug named Fortune who used to carry secret messages to Napoleon from his wife,Josephine while she was imprisoned at Les Carmes.

IS THE PUG THE RIGHT BREED FOR YOU?

SIZE CONSIDERATIONS

Pugs are small, compact dogs and weigh between 7 to 9 kilograms which means they can be easily lifted by their owners and carried around. Pugs are extroverts in nature and won’t hesitate to jump up to your beds or the couch but it is your job to help them to the ground because constantly jumping from high surfaces can lead to shoulder and back problems.

GROOMING NEEDS

Pugs don’t need a lot of grooming. Brushing their coat properly will do but keep in mind the fact that pugs tend to shed a lot. If you like to keep a spick and span home then don’t buy a pug. Also make sure to clean in between the wrinkles and toes of your pug.

EATING HABITS

Pugs are gluttons but the amount of food they should consume depends on the amount of activity they do. Never give in to the cute face of your pug and feed them whatever they want. This will lead to obesity and overweight animals suffer as much as overweight humans do. They can face joint problems, heart problems and diabetes.

INDOORS OR OUTDOORS?

The pug is not an outdoor dog. It cannot withstand heat, high humidity and extreme cold. So if you are planning to keep the dog outdoors for most of the time then the pug is definitely not the dog for you.

YOUR YARD

If you live in the countryside make sure you have a fenced yard before buying a pug. They are adventurers and explorers and will run of  with just about anybody specially if there is food involved. If you have to pool refrain from buying a pug because even though pugs love the water they swim like rocks meaning they will immediately drown.

TIME NEEDS

The first question you must ask yourself before buying a pug is that will it suit your lifestyle. Pugs adore people and love to be around them. Leaving them alone for a long periods of time will make your pug suffer from depression. So if you are a person with a very busy schedule or don’t spend much time at home then don’t buy a pug.

TRAINING

Though pugs are warm and affectionate dogs their training is also important. You must be active enough to make your pug meet new people and other animals so as to help your pug grow up to be a wonderful and disciplined addition to your family. Teaching your pug some basic commands is always a good idea and this can be done through books and some pet classes.

EXERCISE NEEDS

Since the pug is a small dog it doesn’t require a lot of exercise, a brisk walk in your neighbourhood will be enough. Pugs are not meant for long walks or hikes. Pugs have small noses which makes them snore and snort a lot, so if you can’t stand these things then find another breed.

OTHER PETS

Pugs tend to get along well with other pets such as cats, birds, hamsters and even mice but the thing to remember is that the introductions should be made gradually and they must never be left unsupervised.  If you already have a cat or a bigger dog make sure to introduce them in a neutral place and talk to people who have pugs in a household with other pets. This is necessary so as to prevent an accident. The paw of a cat or a bigger dog could accidentally injure your pug’s eyes.

CHILDREN

All children want dogs and they will say or do just about anything to convince their parents to buy them a puppy. It is the parents responsibility to see that the pug gets his food and walk. Not everyone can raise a pug. The important thing to remember is that a dog is a living being and they were not created  to teach your children responsibility.

Pugs are the most adorable and beautiful dogs and anyone who has ever owned a pug knows what I am talking about.  Its true that all dogs are wonderful creatures but what separates a pug from other dogs is their extreme attachment to their owners. Pugs love to spend time with their humans more than other breeds do. Their idea of enjoyment is to sit on their owners lap and do nothing else and whoever said money can’t buy happiness has obviously never owned a pug.

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