Chihuahua vs Pug — Side by Side

	Chihuahua	Pug
Lifespan	14-16 years	13-15 years
Size	Toy	Toy
Weight	3-6 lb	14-18 lb
Energy	Moderate	Low
Grooming	Low	Moderate
Shedding	Moderate	High
With kids	Not ideal for young kids	Good with kids

What actually separates them

Less hair on the sofa with the Chihuahua. More with the Pug.
Less brushing with the Chihuahua. More with the Pug.
Calmer of the two is the Pug. The one that needs more exercise is the Chihuahua.
Chihuahua tends to live longer — 14-16 years against 13-15 years.
With young children, Pug is the safer default — Chihuahua is listed as "Not ideal for young kids".

The honest downside of each

Chihuahua

Chihuahuas are genuinely fragile, with thin, easily broken leg bones and, in some dogs, a soft spot in the skull that can persist into adulthood, and despite the tiny, portable image they are one of the most surrendered breeds in American shelters, not a low-commitment accessory.

Pug

Pugs cannot breathe like a normal dog, and in the largest UK vet-record study of the breed they were found about 54 times more likely to be diagnosed with obstructed breathing than other dogs, on top of being far more prone to eye ulcers and obesity.

Read the full pages

Chihuahua · Pug
Health problems, origin and what living with each is actually like.