• Abhijeet Sidhu

Fergus joined our family about two weeks ago, we honestly don't know what we ever did without him! His cute little face and wonderful personality has brought us endless love and laughter! Fergus has two older non-fur sisters he loves to play and snuggle with. My Husband and I are self-employed and Fergus comes with me everyday to the office, he is adored by our staff and gets lots of attention. We walk at a local park at lunch time and he naps until quitting time! Fergus is out of his X-pen and has claimed a chair as his own, although he is happy to cuddle wherever we are sitting. Fergus has regular doggie play-dates and gets along with everyone. Fergus is enjoying his large back yard and especially the vegetable gardens, where he has been enjoying cherry tomatoes and snow peas, as well as rocket and other salad greens, we're happy he's getting his greens! All in all Fergus had blended well into our family and we love him to pieces!

Fergus is off to what I am sure will be a fabulous forever. His new family is extremely excited to add Fergus to their lives. He has two young girls for his new siblings and his new Mom and Dad run their own business, which will allow Fergus to go to work with his new mom every day. His home visit went very well with Fergus even joining one of the girls in their turtle pool. This family was so prepared! They had put some serious research and thought into who their new family member should be and we are so happy to add them to our Pugalug family.

As much as my own family will miss this little guy, I know his new family will love him to pieces. Good luck my little buddy! We'll miss you, but I know that you will do well!

Fergus is a typical 6 month old puppy, happy and devilish. He will jump up, including on the backs of your legs. This could be a problem for young children until he settles down a bit with age, experience and continued training. He sits nicely for treats and takes them gently.

Fergus loves everyone he meets. He does not have a lot of experience with young children. Fergus has met some and he likes them a lot, but he can be a bit exuberant as yet for really small children especially those inexperienced with dogs. Fergus has been going to the dog park recently to broaden his socialization. He LOVES to play fetch and will bring the ball back and place it against your hand most of the time. You have to be aware of his blind side and make sure he sees where the ball has gone. He can be startled by movements that originates on his blind side.

Fergus is currently un-neutered but this will be done in early July. In terms of housebreaking, (he is about 85% + there) he is good when we go out for a couple of hours and leave him loose in the house, but over excitement, new things can trigger some marking. He is still young you will have to have patience with him. We still have one puppy pad down but use is rare. He is a typical - "rain will melt me pug" - but regardless of weather, he needs to have company when in backyard as he can and will get into things. Fergus sleeps in an x-pen overnight with plastic and paper down but there are few accidents overnight now.

Fergus likes to walk on leash and is doing pretty well. We work on getting him to view cars and bikes passing, as interesting but not scary or to be chased when walking, and he has been good with this. He pulls a bit but it's mostly my speed vs his.

Fergus is getting better about not nibbling on fingers and clothes but occasionally forgets himself when excited. He barks in play but not excessively. Fergus is a terrific pup who could fit in most homes.

Fergus continues to do well. He saw the vet this morning (June 14) and he now weighs in at 19.5 lbs. He is quite tall for a pug and not over weight. He has been having a bit of a "turn up his nose" phase at his food so after a couple days of letting him try to get over it, I added just a splash of no salt broth. That seems to have turned the tide. His body is still developing and he can't be allowed to not eat for long.

His vet says he is a lovely puppy and doing very well. All his shots are up to date now - rabies was done today. He is scheduled to be neutered on July 8 and will be available to go to a new home about 10 days later. I will be working on his adoption posting in the next few days. He will go up for adoption before the neuter, but will not be placed until after a short recovery.

Hormones have kicked in and the puppy that was so close to being great in the housebreaking area has kind of lost his mind, but we are getting a handle on it and he responds to "hey" or "no" pretty well. Fergus sits nicely for treats and takes them gently. He loves tartar bones and sweet potatoes - fresh or dried. He also loves other fruits and veggies. Fergus greets everyone he meets with tail wags, interest and kisses. He is not leash reactive and I have ensured that he is exposed to cars and bikes going by and so far, he is curious but nothing more. He has not had a lot of exposure to small or young kids - we simply do not have many in our circle, but other than getting excited and jumping up - working on that but he is only 6 months and still learning - he seems to like smaller people. He has not shown any signs of problems with the cats at the vets either.

Fergus loves to play fetch both inside and out. You do have to ensure that he sees the ball and where it goes because of the "blind" side. He can be startled easily with a hand on that side as well. Small children would likely not be the best fit as he is not used to fast and startling action on his blind side.

His personality is really developing and although he loves to offer kisses and to snuggle next to you on the couch or (more happily) on an ottoman with his head resting on your feet, he is not a dog who wants to be in your arms a lot.

Fergus continues to be a happy puppy who gets into lots and is pretty busy. He had his eye removed two weeks ago. The sutures were removed earlier this week and it has not had any real impact on Fergus or his confidence.

In fact, he seemed to gain confidence - where previously he was reluctant to go for a walk, he now enjoys them. Fergus loves to play fetch and the day he came home from the enucleation he wanted to play fetch.

Fergus eats Acana Puppy and Junior Food and gets 3 feedings per day as a puppy, morning, dinner and a late night feeding. He gets approx 1/3 c at each - slightly more at the first two and slightly less in the evening.

We still keep one puppy pad down in case of accidents and he uses it occasionally if we miss his signals. He has not learned to "ask" as yet. He is more likely to have a solid accident in the house if anything. Overall, his housebreaking is coming along and he is quite good, but still needs to go out frequently. Over night, we keep him in an x-pen with heavy gauge plastic on the floor covered in newspaper. I have just started to keep him loose in the house when I go out for short periods of time and this is when the pee pad gets used most often. He is an excellent boy.

When we had the stitches out this week, Fergus weighed in at 14.2 lbs. He is due to have his rabies shot soon. Overall, Fergus does well with other dogs, is not bothered by the cats at the vets office and continues to greet everyone he meets with exuberance.

Fergus continues to be a terrific puppy. He loves to give kisses and cuddle in your arms for a nap - especially to lay in my arms against the table/desk in front of me while I type. Fergus weighs about 11 lbs now and is getting quite tall. He has long legs for a pug, the cutest ears that stand up a bit and a double curl in his tail. The black on his face and chest is really a bit more brindle than pure black. Fergus still has his black feet and still loves to play with a tennis ball. Fergus loves to get outside in the yard and run.

Fergus had a great time greeting people at the All about Pets show on Good Friday. He greeted everyone, gave lots of kisses and showed himself to be unafraid of anyone - even strollers and wheelchairs did not make him nervous. In those moments when things were quiet, he sat alert on the edge of the booth waiting for the next person to speak to him.

People have asked about his eye. Unfortunately, we were not able to generate tears at any level that might have staved off removing his eye. We tried two different eye drops - one barely made any difference, the other made absolutely no difference and within 5 days Fergus had another eye infection from the lack of lubrication. He is scheduled to have his eye removed next week. The decision was not made lightly or easily but the reality is that Fergus will be much more comfortable not having a dry eye all the time.

Fergus continues to do well. He is a friendly, loving puppy who loves to snuggle in your arms when napping during the day. He will come and sit next to you then whimper quietly to get picked up. Fergus then snuggles in after giving you some kisses. Overnight, Fergus sleeps in an x-pen and is fine. He is only crated for car rides and does ok with that.

Fergus is less keen on wearing a harness and with the cold weather, walks consist of me standing on the sidewalk and Fergus sitting, shivering and generally looking miserable and pathetic. This will get better over time. He does like running around "naked" in the backyard from time to time, exploring with the resident pugs. He uses a pee pad in the house and rarely misses when urinating.

Fergus loves to play fetch and he enjoys having his favourite chicken (it clucks when squeezed) thrown for him several times a day. Making him sit on the return has helped to develop his ability to self control and not get too wound up. If he does get over excited and starts to nip, he is placed in his x -pen for some time to regain control. This works really well and he almost immediately settles down and picks up a chewy for 10 or 15 mins of quiet time. He is a great boy.

Fergus had his first shot 2 weeks ago and weighed 7 lbs 15 oz. I would expect he is over 8 lbs at this point. He is growing in leaps and bounds. Fergus has been seeing Dr. Histead at the Toronto eye clinic for his non-tear producing left eye. Fergie's right eye produces exactly the right amount of tears with a score of 20 - perfect. His left eye produces no tears at all with a score of 0. Over the past month, he has been getting 5 drops a day - 3 lubricating drops and 2 of optimmune. This resulted in a minor change of 2 on a tear production score - not enough change. We will now be trying a different drop - Tracrolimus, which sometimes is effective in cases where optimmune is not. This will be used the same as with the optimmune (2x per day) and has a similar cost - approx 70$ a 10 ml tube. The scar tissue on his eye has thinned with the constant program of multiple drops, which is good. However, drops such as optimmune and tracrolimus are really only effective in acquired dry eye, not on congenital dry eye (he has a birth defect basically). If we do not see a major change in Fergus' tear production with the new meds, we may have to explore surgical options.

Fergus has had a busy week. On Wednesday he saw our regular vet and overall got a positive general health review. Fergus is growing like a weed and is now 5 lbs 13 oz and much taller. His eye ulcer had healed but there is considerable scarring on the left eye. His right eye appears normal. Our vet suggested he should see an eye specialist. On Thursday we made the trip into Toronto to see the specialist.

The diagnosis was that he has congenital dry eye with corneal fibrosis and pigmentation due to the dry eye and ulcer. He is going to be on multiple eye drops for the next month, then he sees his specialist again. The outside hope is that this will trigger at least some tear production but its only a slight chance.

Fergus is a happy, playful and confident puppy. He loves to play with anyone and everyone, dogs especially. Fergus and his foster sister run around the house chasing each other on a regular basis, with Fergus dropping his back end, tail straight out flying around chairs and tables - He is very quick. Fergus loves to snuggle when he is sleeping but still likes to be able to roll around in your arms. In many ways he is a very typical puppy and is learning not to nip and chew on things, its a slow process. On the other hand he is doing very well in being paper trained.

Fergus is a 6 week old male pug born with a disfigured left eye and the cutest black "socks" on his feet. He was surrendered by his breeders to a rescue-friendly individual who arranged for him to be fostered by Pugalug. He is small, weighing only 3.6lbs, but seems to be tall for a pug at this age, making him appear even leaner. His first couple days in foster care were spent eating; he just couldn't get enough! But he now seems satisfied and has begun getting used to his new foster family and fur siblings.

Fergus' initial vet visit went well; although his fecal test revealed that he had coccidia, which is a parasite that can cause infections but is easily treated with medication, which he is now on. In regards to Fergus' eye, the vet determined that he has a deep corneal ulcer and possibly a dermoid (normal skin tissue at an abnormal site). An antibiotic ointment was prescribed to help heal the ulcer (it seems to be working) and Fergus will go back for a recheck in 2 weeks. He will also have a blood work-up done as well as receive his first DHPP shot. The vet did try to get a better look at the dermoid and check Fergus' retinal function but the poor little guy was so exhausted by all the poking and prodding that he fell asleep and refused to wake up! The vet won't be able to determine a prognosis for the eye until it's known whether or not the ulcer will heal and if Fergus has retinal function. If the eye can be saved, he will be examined by an eye specialist who may surgically remove the dermoid.

Although this little guy has a tough road ahead, he hasn't let it slow him down one bit! He is happy, friendly and snuggly with an ample supply of puppy mischievousness. His favourite games include dragging all the toys and his foster mom's slippers into his bed and playing (or chewing!) on his foster siblings - when he came home from the vet (all refreshed from his nap), he had a good chew on his foster brother's leg and tail! Of course, when he's not playing, he's napping contentedly, rolling all over the bed, stretching and curling and folding up. Needless to say, he's adorable and had quickly wrapped everyone around his little paw!