Cricket has been part of our family for almost a month now (where did the time go??) and we couldn't be happier with this sweet & affectionate little bundle of energy! It is so rewarding to witness her bloom more & more each day. She and her sister Lilly play tug with their favourite toys and have long wrestling matches on top of their sleeping Daddy every morning after I (Mummy) leave for work. They also have pugtona races around the backyard. To say she is food motivated is a huge understatement, but she now sits relatively quietly while I put their meals together and sits/stays better each day as I put her dish down. This evening I tried the "watch me" command and she actually did until I put her dish down. We have been positively reinforcing going potty outside and that is coming along very well overall, which is amazing considering her past. When we picked her up, she had lost a lot of fur on her haunches & belly, and had some mostly healed sores due to scratching/nibbling herself. I am pleased to say that she has healed completely and her fur is growing in nicely. Her nose, which had partially turned pink, is beginning to darken somewhat. She has met some of our friends & their kids & a couple of small dogs, and after a few minutes of initial fear/barking, she was comfortable with them as long as she was close to either Mummy or Daddy. Treats definitely go a long way with this girl! Unlike Lilly, who needs to be dragged out of bed, Cricket bounds out of bed as soon as your toes touch the floor! She loves going for walks, but I think she would prefer to stop less (Lilly is part Jack Russell and needs to sniff everything in her path!). She tries hard to snuggle with Lilly, who is slowly coming around to it. She is a real snuggle-bum and we are more than happy to oblige. We love our little "Crickey" to bits and are very thankful we were chosen to give her a furever home!

Cricket is a young, extremely affectionate dog, who loves to cuddle.

She seems to be a healthy girl, with no medical issues. Cricket has an old eye injury, but it was checked by an ophthalmologist who has said it is stable and only requires over the counter Tear Gel a couple of times a day. This helps keep the eyes moist and is used for most pug eyes.

When Cricket arrived, she was very timid and scared of everything. She has blossomed into a playful, active young girl. She will zoom up and down my long hall, chasing after toys. She loves to chew on toys and bones. Like any young dog, she shows an interest in chewing things and needs to have some puppy proofing done to the house. Cricket tries to initiate play with my pug, but my pug isn't interested. She may do well living with another small, playful dog.

At first, Cricket would yelp and cry, when all her people left the house. She has calmed down a lot and usually settles until we return. She gets excited when I arrive home, although she is learning to be quieter, with some reminders. Her Chihuahua mix makes her a bit chatty and she likes to talk to us.

Walks have become one of her favourite things to do. She gets very excited when we are getting ready to go. I still need to pick her up if we talk to people that we are passing. This isn't much of an issue, as she is less than 12 lbs. She is getting better at accepting pats from strangers. Cricket is still very cautious about meeting anyone but when given a chance to say hello she will be fine.

Considering the situation that she lived in, she has made remarkable strides. At home, she is relaxed and playful. That will change if someone comes in the house, but she is gradually feeling less stressed about meeting new people.

Cricket is a smart little girl and wants to please her people. She has learned to sit and will try hard to contain her enthusiasm when getting a meal. When taken outside, she will always try to pee. She will pee inside, but uses pee pads well. This will improve if positive house training is used.

My own pugs and Cricket sleep with me. She has never had an accident on the bed.

Cricket needs a family that is home most of the time. She would do better with a quiet environment. A nice fenced yard would be great for her to feel free to play and run around. Although she will go for walks, we have avoided dog parks because it would be too overwhelming for her. Some experience with Chihuahuas would be helpful, but not necessary.

This extremely sweet and playful little girl needs a family that will give her the opportunity to feel safe and loved. She will continue to blossom into a happy and confident dog that she deserves to be.

Cricket has been doing really well! She has decided that toys are just the best thing ever! Just look at the picture of her with her hoard of toys. She puts them all in the dog bed, plus a couple of hidden antlers that she loves to chew. She has also started to play and is learning to fetch. When at home, Cricket is very relaxed and trusts her people and animals. She has tried to get the other pugs to play with her and will race around and around in circles, which is known as a pugtona in the pug world. In the video below, she is trying her best to get her buddies to join in, but only succeeded in having her foster brother cheer her on (or perhaps he's telling her to stop - I'm not really sure).

Cricket is a smart girl and tries hard to please us, especially in her housetraining. She may pee inside, but always goes on the pee pads. We are gradually moving them closer to the back door, and hoping to get her going outside all the time. If I let her outside, she will go every time I ask her. She also loves going for walks, but gets scared when people or dogs are approaching her. I just pick her up and wait for them to pass.

She loves getting her food and gets very excited. I have taught her to sit for her food and she tries so hard to contain herself until I put it down. My pugs eat slower and I need to remind Cricket to leave their food alone. Cricket does like to vocalize her excitement at meal times, but in general she is very quiet. When we leave her with my pugs, she will yelp a bit, but is doing it less and less. When I come home, I get a very vocal and happy greeting. We are working on her not jumping up, but she has so much energy that it may take some time.

Cricket may never be a dog park girl, as it might be too overwhelming for her, but she is very sweet, loves to cuddle and follows me everywhere! She would do best with someone home most of the time.

Cricket is around 1.5 to 2 years old and we believe she is a Pug/Chihuahua mix. This little girl was in a city shelter. She had come from a hoarding situation with 15 other pug mixes and 2 St. Bernard dogs. They were all kept indoors, in terrible, dirty living conditions.

The shelter had her spayed, vaccinated and dewormed. She was very timid and was trembling when I went to pick her up.

The first couple of days, she was very, very clingy and needed to be held and hand fed, but then she started to investigate a bit of the house and the yard. I'm not sure if she ever went outside or touched grass before that. As you can see from the pictures, the shelter one showed the anxiety she was feeling and she gradually started to relax in the others.

Cricket has already started to go outside to relieve herself and has only had a few of accidents in the past week.

Her new name suits her well, as she is an amazing jumper and is starting to show some signs of playful bounces. It will take some time for her to feel like the young dog she is. She needs to learn how to play, wear a harness and go for walks. We will work on all of that.

Cricket shows signs of separation anxiety and cries when I leave. She is doing a bit better and is bonding with my son. He is able to watch her most of the time that I am at work. The anxiety should improve as she feels more secure.

Cricket has been to our vet and had her blood work, heartworm test and a fecal done. Those results were all good. She did have a lot of fleas when she came to the shelter, but she has had a bath and is being treated for them now. We are also treating her ears, which were a bit infected. Cricket has an old eye injury that might affect her vision a bit.

She is extremely cute and very cuddly, weighing just over 10 pounds. It will be nice to see her transition to the happy, playful dog that she deserves to be!