Pugdog

by Andrea U'Ren

Good "boy"?
Mike and his pup are great friends. Every day Mike takes Pugdog for a walk in the park; every night he treats Pugdog to a belly scratch before bed. But Mike doesn't know very much about dogs. Not only is Pugdog not a pug -- Pugdog is not even a he, as Mike had thought all along, but a she! Oh my! Mike feels obliged to give Pugdog a crash course on how to look and act the way a girl dog should. The only problem is, Mike doesn't know much about this subject either.
Andrea U'Ren's debut picture book is a funny romp featuring an adorable canine who ends up teaching her owner a few tricks.

Genres: Picture Books, Dogs, Gender, Animals, Childrens, Queer, Juvenile

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Maggie Mattmiller · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great story for all ages! I cannot get over that some libraries have banned this book!

I agree with others that it can be taken a number of ways. It can be viewed as breaking gender stereotypes (and as a girl who grew up 100% tomboy, I totally would have related to that at a young age!) And it can also be viewed that dogs have their own personalities and may not conform to their owners personalities! They are not just an accessory! But What a love story between man/dog, and between friends!

Great read!

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet story about a dog and the dog's best friend Mike who play together all the time. When Mike finds out that Pugdog is a girl, not a boy, all of a sudden he takes her to the groomers and restricts her diet and won't let her play at the park, etc. Eventually, Pugdog is so sad she doesn't want to do anything but lay in bed.

A great message on being yourself and not letting sexism or stereotypes rule your life. This could open up some great discussions about prejudging others and how everyone should be allowed to live their best life.

TBH, I picked this up because of the ridiculous list put together by a radical senator from Texas who wants to control what children read. I stand unabashedly and always for the freedom to read so I've made a point of picking up as many books from that list as possible, reading them, reviewing them, and sharing them as widely as possible. :)

[Brianna Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pugdog is such an adorable book that I just loved because the story was amazing along with the pictures that followed. The message on stereotypes and you can be anyone you want to be no matter what gender you are is a great one that could be taught to children. This would be a great book to read to students and talk to them about after it is finished being read. Seeing how one can view stereotypes for a dog based on it's gender was very interesting because when pugdog was seen as a boy he could do anything he wanted to, running, eating, getting dirty. However, once pugdog was known to be a girl the owner changed all previous thoughts and made pugdog change her ways of being dirty to needing to be cleaned and in a frilly dress, while not also being aloud to play or eat as much as pugdog was used to. Pugdog then takes matters into her own paws and does all that she wants and loves to do which is amazing and great for this story on breaking gender stereotypes even for dogs.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Humorous tale that puts an interesting spin on gender roles and expectations. The narrative is fun to read aloud and the illustrations are colorful and cartoonish. Pugdog is one ugly pup, but our girls thought she was adorable.

[Penny · Rating 4 out of 5]

super adorable awesome book that challenges gender binaries

[Ronan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The cutest book about gender non-conformity!

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mike has some ideas about how his girl puppy should behave, but Pugdog has other ideas! She'd much rather dig and chew than prance around in frilly outfits.

This book was cute and fun, but after learning about the many health problems in Frenchies with extremely short noses, I couldn't help but think that Pugdog is probably miserable for more reasons than her owner's insistence on silly clothing.

[Deirdre · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightfully illustrated story of a man and his dog. When Mike discovers his sturdy little pug is a female he starts treating her differently than before, with some disastrously funny results. Though a slim volume in page length, this story offers the opportunity for important conversations with children of all ages on gender stereotypes.

[K.C. Norton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Look at all these books with their liberal agendas. 😂

I actually found this to be a pretty good book about how gender norms are silly, without being too hamfisted. No wonder Owner Mike doesn’t have a girlfriend… dude has some things to learn. This could be a good book to spark conversations, but it’s also just plain fun. Pugdog is a critter after my own heart.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Currently my favorite kids' book. The drawings are so sweet, and it's a beautiful way to start countering the gender binary.

[Sophie Klockow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Use in classroom: It is ok to be expressive to whoever you are

[Sandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute book about gender stereotypes. My daughter wasn't a fan of the artwork, but she liked the message of the story.

[Lucas Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was kind of poorly written but it had a good message at the end. The book was about a guy that bought a dog and assumed it was a boy. When he realized it was a girl he treated the dog different and made the dog do things that he thought was lady like. The dog was miserable being treated differently and wanted to run around and chase animals like he used to. The owner realized that the dog was unhappy so he let him act like his normal self. The moral of the story is to not stereotype based on gender. Just because people are a certain gender doesn't mean that there is a certain way they need to act, especially in the 21st century. Illustration was poor in my opinion, but overall a pretty good book.

[Sushie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Iggi's Storytime Criteria
Age group: Preschool+
Content: dogs, gender norms, being yourself
Plot: a dog loves it's owner, but when the owner discovers the dog "is a girl", it becomes dissatisfied with the owner's new expectations
Wordiness: Medium
Length: Medium
Illustrations: Amazing, I love that dog
Other: I have this book in my personal collection and think the dog is a great example for understanding gender nonconformity. There's no reference to pronouns in the book, Pugdog is simply Pugdog and wants to do what Pugdog wants to do, easy-peasy.

[Amber · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Illustrations are created with water color and color pencils. The book is about a guy named Mike he discovers that his rough - and - tumble new puppy is a female. He tries to make her into a dainty dog, but she is a tomboy.

[Amanda B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorable, funny book about gender identity.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

The illustrations of Pugdog alone make this a great book, but the story about challenging gender identities and roles is a nice bonus.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mean, Mike isn't the smartest owner but Pugdog is delightful. Really smart book about gender identity/stereotypes.

[Nanci Booher · Rating 3 out of 5]

What happens when you think your pug is a boy, but it's a girl. Follow along in this silly tale about an owner and his best friend and what happens when you take the labels off.

[Mollie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!! So cute with a really great message