360 pugs rescued since October, 2005
After careful consideration, the rescue has decided that Bruce would do much better if he stays in his current foster home permanently. Bruce has quite severe separation anxiety and the foster parents are working with a trainer and taking a course to better help Bruce.
Bruce has been adopted by the foster home and they will continue to work on his anxiety issues.
Bruce has been neutered. The vet said the surgery went well and Bruce didn't seem to notice that anything was different. In fact, the day after surgery, he woke up and brought us his favorite fetch toy. We had to explain to him that he was supposed to take it easy and no boisterous play was allowed. Pretty sure I saw Bruce roll his eyes at that!
Bruce thrives on routine. He now happily sleeps in his crate at night. He has 4 or 5 leash walks a day to get his exercise and do his business. Bruce has a big announcement - he no longer wears a belly band and has not had an accident or tried to mark in the house since our last update.
Mealtimes are his jam and he loves his dehydrated raw food. He gets so excited at meal times he will spin in circles and sometimes even let out a howl! He eats faster than the resident pug and waits until she is done before checking her bowl to make sure there are no crumbs left. We do flood his food with water as he is not a big drinker so this gives him some added hydration.
He has been to the off leash park and enjoys walking, running and smelling but doesn't seem to play yet with the other dogs. But his favorite outdoor activity is fetch and Bruce will happily play the game as long as a human is willing to throw the ball or toy. After he got the all clear from the vet - we celebrated by going to the pet store where he picked out a stuffed raccoon toy, a rubber donut and a chuck it thrower with balls. It was a great day to be Bruce!
Bruce loves to snuggle with humans and is very affectionate. For some reason he loves to lick human ears. We told Bruce this is a bit weird but he doesn't seem to care. If Bruce gets really excited he will try and nip your chin. We discourage this and suspect it is part of his puppy behaviour. Bruce also loves to steal human underwear. Again we are not sure why he does this, but the positive result is that we now keep a very tidy home! No clothes are left on the floor here anymore...sorry Bruce!
Bruce is a typical velcro pug when humans are around but he has a hard time when left alone. He is crated when the humans leave and will cry loudly for around 15 minutes before falling asleep. He is making some improvements in this area. He does get treats and will go into the crate when asked. But he does seem to have some anxiety that we are working to overcome.
He likes going for car rides and has even been on a boat. Bruce just wants to do whatever the humans are doing! He continues to cohabitate nicely with the senior resident pug. She doesn't have the best hearing anymore - so Bruce will wake her up in the morning with a little pug kiss. Not sure if she appreciates it but it is very cute to watch.
Stay tuned for more information on when handsome Bruce will be ready for adoption.
Meet Bruce! He is 20 months old and very much still a puppy. He has only been in foster care for a short time, but is getting along well with the resident pug and enjoys meeting other dogs and humans. Bruce LOVES to play fetch and go for walks - he has a lot of energy! His other favourite activities are eating, playing with stuffies and snuggling with humans.
Bruce has some housetraining issues that we are working on. He is also learning leash manners as he likes to pull. Bruce is a big pug and weighs in at 30 lbs. He has been to the vet already and had a great check up, charming all the staff at the clinic with his handsome face and giving pug kisses.
In the coming weeks Bruce will have his neuter surgery and we will continue working on his training. He is a good pug student!
