360 pugs rescued since October, 2005
Time flies when you're having fun, learning manners, going on adventures, and begging for treats.
Lucy Belle (formerly known as Lexie) has been in our home for 6 months. She has blossomed and we are so happy we are her "people." Her separation anxiety is pretty well gone. She is getting more comfortable greeting strangers, children, and leashed dogs. She has both boarded at our vet's office and gone for daycare, doing well with both the tech's dogs and the vet's resident clinic cat.
Recently Lucy attended a small pug meet-up where she had her likeness drawn by the talented Gemma Correll. To our knowledge, it was the largest crowd that Lucy had been in and she handled it like a champ. She also attended a local street fair and greeted new people and dogs, allowed children to pet her, and handled the crowds around her while leashed without anxiety.
She is her Daddy's girl and is his little shadow when he is home. When she's home alone with Mama, she loves to sit in my lap while I study, go for walks, and beg for veggies while I make dinner. Her favourite toys are her Nylabones and her collection is abundant.
Lucy has brought giggles, antics, and copious amounts of pug shedding back into our home. We are so happy she's stuck with us.
Lucy Belle (Formerly Lexie) has been with us for a month and she has made herself right at home, much to our delight.
We suffered the recent loss of our first precious pug when I was, as I told my husband, "just looking" at the Pugalug site and saw Lucy. Her little face and host of behavioral quirks/requirements spoke to me. I knew we had to apply to adopt her, even if it did feel too soon. The truth is - we will never be ready to be without our first pug but oh our home was missing a pug snorting around... We are so happy I applied for Miss Lucy Belle.
Lucy had some challenges previously that are non-issues in our home and by eliminating the situations that were causing her stress, she seems to be a much more confident little girl. She was suffering from separation anxiety and fear of dog walkers; in our home, one or both of us is always home. She was also bothered by external noises in her (foster) condo unit; in our detached home, she has nothing to bark at. We work throughout the day, pockets full of treat tidbits, to let her know this is home and we are her people.
Lucy is very smart and will still do anything for a treat! Her favorites are: marrow bone with PB, fresh chopped veggies, dehydrated beef liver, or anything her Daddy is willing to share. She knows: sit, down, stay, give a paw and we are working on: easy and drop. She is learning to get her teeth brushed and is doing wonderful! We are also working diligently to get her comfortable with paw handling, hands being near her when she is chewing on a bone, and visiting the vet just to say "hello" and have a treat. She makes progress each time!
Lucy gets a thorough rub down & skin check each Sunday evening from me. I want to be on top of what her baseline/normal is, so if anything were to pop up on her skin (in relation to MCT), I can bring it to our vet's attention right away. So far, so good!
BEST of all -- We were told Lucy would pick her people and would, most likely, be leery of her new Daddy for a while. From Day 1, Daddy was Lucy's person. She loves Mama, but hearts shoot out of her eyes for her Daddy. It's been a huge relief that she has bonded with us. She sleeps in bed, under the covers, every night and really seems to love it. When she naps during the day, she is finally starting to heavily sleep as opposed to the light "sleep with one eye open" naps she was taking when she arrived. We think she knows she is home, forever.
We would like to take this time to thank Lucy's absolutely amazing foster family. She was their first foster pug and we think they did an exceptional job. We know they loved her very much and are so grateful for the time and care they poured into her. Thank you also to all at Pugalug who handled Lucy's adoption. It takes a small team to make these transitions run smoothly and we appreciate the volunteers who do this simply for the love of Pug.
Lexie is a vibrant, cute and active pug of two and half years, though she sometimes has the energy of a young pup. She enjoys walks, snuggles, and bones. She is very adventurous and curious so objects on the floor and those which she can platform jump to should be stowed away. With high value chew treats, she will guard aggressively and may charge or bite if she is approached. For this reason, at least initially, we do not recommend these kinds of treats at all.
Lexie enjoys walks and loves chasing you at the dog park, however she is prone to popping her back knee, and so excessive jogging is not the best for her. The knee issue is not uncommon, but should be watched for changes.
She does not care for other dogs and does not like when they get into her personal space. She should be in an only dog home; with no other animals (including cats), as she resource guards and gets spooked. Lexie is a people person to those she knows. With someone she is unfamiliar with, she is on her guard. Treats, familiarity, and petting time would quickly remedy her stranger danger. This is especially true with dog walkers, as Lexie needs to familiarize with them before she is comfortable going for walks.
The rescue has had a trainer helping Lexie with her issues and would cover initial sessions, if needed.
She loves to play with her toys, especially those that squeak. If you put anything under a blanket (such as treat, dog chew, or toy) Lexie digs and attempts to find it. She knows sit, lie down, paw, and follow and she would quickly learn anything for a treat.
When Lexie hears outside noises, such as doors or people talking, she goes into barking fits. For this reason we would not recommend an apartment, or shared house, but would prefer a detached home.
Lexie likes her routines, and it takes her time to adjust to anything new.
Lexie will follow you around everywhere, like a little bodyguard. She loves to be on your lap, resting her head on your thigh, and just staring into your eyes.
This small little girl loves attention and Lexie has a lot of love to give.
Lexie is recovering well after her second procedure to obtain clear margins on her skin tag. Lab results showed no more cancer, which is fantastic news. With this surgery out of the way, Lexie has been given a clean bill of health. Occasionally we have noticed her limping and a quick vet visit revealed a mild case of luxating patellas in her hind legs, which is common in many small breeds. Thankfully, the luxation does not require anything more than monitoring at this time.
Lexie does have some resource guarding behaviour, but only with very high value items. With regards to dog walkers, she still has "stranger danger" and really needs to know someone before she trusts them. We are continually working to help her with this issue. Interestingly, on walks, Lexie does extremely well and seems to love everyone that she meets! Although she barks at any exterior noises, we are working hard with Lexie to reduce this behaviour. She would do best in a house as opposed to an apartment.
We have no doubt that with ongoing help from us and eventually her forever family that Lexie will become more trusting and less anxious and reactive. It may take some time for her to come around, but once she does, Lexie will shower you in love and affection. She is a wonderful, velcro pug who wants nothing but the attention of those who love her. We have no doubt that Lexie will fill that one special home with lots of puggy love and many funny antics.
Lexie has adjusted to her foster home quite well. She is now playing with squeaky toys and her mission is to break each and every squeaker and she succeeds every time. Although she initially had some issues with food, Lexie now wants to eat everything (like a true pug that she is). Unfortunately, she has developed some "stranger danger" surrounding her dog walkers, but we are working hard using different methods to try to ease Lexie's anxiety when the walker comes. We have also been working on basic manners and tricks. Lexie's favourite trick is to give a paw and she does it all of the time in order to try to land herself a treat!
Recently, Lexie had her big spay surgery and recovered like a champ. She was back to her old self in no time, however she needs to continue wearing her stylish cone (for a total of 2 weeks) so that she can heal effectively. Fortunately, she doesn't seem to mind. During the surgery, the vet noticed that Lexie had some skin tags on her abdomen and remove them. The tags were tested and one turned out to be a grade 1 mast cell tumour. Thankfully, it is a benign tumour at this point, but the oncologist recommended obtaining larger margins to ensure all the cells were removed. Thus, Lexie will need a second surgery. She is a tough girl though and we are sure she is going to do great. We will be giving her some extra cuddles for being such a brave girl. We will be sure to update everyone next month once the second surgery has been completed and Lexie has recovered.
Lexie is an approximately two and half year old fawn pug. Unfortunately, this sweet girl has had many homes in her short life due to family issues and resource guarding. Generally, she does ok with male dogs, however when there is another female dog, Lexie tends to find them annoying and may softly growl at them. We are working with her on this issue though, but it is best that she be in a home as the only dog or with male fur siblings. Lexie has no problems with people though and enjoyed her first vet exam. She passed the exam with flying colours and is waiting for her spay surgery in the next month.
When Lexie first arrived at our home, she did not like the crate; however she has warmed up to the idea and will happily seek out her crate at night when she is tired. She does need some coaxing during the day (a sweet potato treat usually works), but I suspect she'll come around with time. We also noticed some peculiar eating behaviours during Lexie's first week or so. Originally, we thought she was fearful, which caused her not to eat, but after some trial and error, we found a solution. It turns out that she just needed smaller kibble and a flavour that was more to her liking!
Lexie is doing very well on her walks. We are teaching her to not dart towards the road and she's a quick study! She also likes to go to the dog park and say hello to the other dogs, but when it comes to playing with them, Lexie would rather sit on her foster parents lap and watch the other dogs play. Lexie is very quirky and loves to chase her tail for fun and recently she has found interest in squeaky toys and old towels to play tug a war. Lexie has started clicker training and has quickly learned how to sit and come. She is your ultimate cuddle bug, who loves attention whether through belly rubs or just sitting on you. We have truly enjoyed having her in our home and have no doubt that she will make her forever family just as happy!
