If you're lucky, your pug will never suffer an emergency, but it never hurts to be prepared. The purpose of first-aid is to keep the dog alive until he can receive veterinary help. By dealing with emergencies quickly and calmly, you can greatly increase your pug's chances of survival.

A first-aid kit for dogs is much like one for humans. You can probably use the same one you keep on hand for your family, or you can put together a separate one for your pug. Keep the first-aid kit in your bathroom or on top of your pug's crate, so it's easily accessible when you need it. Make sure everyone in the family knows where it is.

Besides your first-aid kit, other useful items to have on hand are a blanket to keep the dog warm in case of shock, and clean towels or cloths for putting pressure on wounds that are bleeding. A penlight is helpful for examining eyes, mouth, and ears. By your telephone or in the first-aid kit, keep the phone numbers for your veterinarian, your veterinarian's on-call pager or home, the nearest animal emergency hospital, and a local or national poison-control center.

Pugs can get into trouble easily; make sure you're prepared in the event of an emergency.