Five-year-old Albert is a placid and easy-going boy. He is neutered, and has lived a very sheltered, apartment-based life with elderly owners, and as a result, can be shy and reserved.
Albert is living with other dogs for the first time in his foster home and has settled in well. It took him about 10 days to relax with them. He can still be wary, and will avoid them if the games get a bit rough. He will always back down when loose in the garden playing with them.
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Albert is wary of strangers. He doesn’t mind seeing people or dogs when out and about but prefers to be ignored by them. On the lead, he’ll pass by other dogs quietly if given a wide berth.
He loves his walks and can be strong on the lead if there is a lamp-post or litter bin to be sniffed at but you aren’t getting there quickly enough for him!
Albert will bark at strangers entering the home, but not aggressively. This is an area that will require patience and further work in his new home but should improve with confident guidance.
We feel that he would benefit from the company of a calm, confident dog for reassurance and companionship.
Albert enjoys a cuddle and being stroked or gentle play. He has reasonable recall in the home environment and will sit, give a paw and pop in his crate when it’s bedtime.
Here, however, you can see his playful side is starting to come out now, which is great progress really lovely to see!
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Albert may be best suited to an adult-only home or one with calm, older children. He hasn’t been tested regarding cats.
If you think that you might have an Albert sized space in your home, and on your lap, please apply here:
As Autumn draws in, it’s a good idea to remind ourselves of the potential hazards to keep an eye out for, some quite serious, in order to keep our pugs safe particularly outdoors.
Not only do piles of leaves hide what’s beneath them, they can develop bacteria and mould. If your dog ingests these it can lead to gastrointestinal upset.
Likewise, mouldy discarded foods can contain lots of different toxins, in particular on dairy products, bread or nuts, which can cause dogs to quickly develop muscle tremors or seizures.
Fermenting fruit, produces a natural alcoholic compound, which is toxic. If your dog eats such fruit, they are likely to suffer from sickness and diarrhoea, and also, may run the risk of having a toxic reaction to the natural alcohol produced by the fruit as part of its fermentation process.
Fruit stones, cherries, damsons, plumbs or similar if chewed produce cyanide, if swallowed whole, can cause choking or obstruction.
Acorns or horse-chestnuts (conkers) can lead to sickness and diarrhoea, and if ingested in large quantities are toxic. They are also a choke hazard or can potentially become lodged in the gut causing a blockage, so make sure that your dog doesn’t eat any!
Dangerous mushrooms can be hard to identify, where signs of poisoning vary dramatically from stomach upset or blood in the stools to neurological effects such as hallucinations or fits, kidney or liver failure. The symptoms may present very suddenly or be delayed by days.
Poisoning from spring bulbs like daffodils, tulips or crocus are most likely to occur from being eaten in autumn when they are planted, or when they begin to flower in spring.
It won’t be too long before we should be considering these too!
Fireworks can contain hazardous chemicals which can be poisonous to your dog. Initially these poisons can cause vomiting, diarrhoea, tummy pain and/or bloody stools.
More severe effects may include seizures and the chemicals may also affect your dog’s breathing, kidneys and liver.
Don’t let your dog into your garden unsupervised around Bonfire Night and other seasonal celebrations, without checking first that none have fallen into your garden.
Chocolate sales rise around Halloween, but remember it contains a stimulant called theobromine, poisonous to dogs.
The amount of theobromine differs depending on the type of chocolate, dark chocolate having the most in it. Theobromine mainly affects the heart, central nervous system and kidneys.
Signs can occur from 4 to 24 hours following ingestion where you may see vomiting, diarrhoea, restlessness, hyperactivity, rapid breathing, muscle tension, lack of coordination, increased heart rate and possibly seizure.
Antifreeze, (ethylene glycol) is the worst of all the chemical spills, which can also leak from a car’s radiator.
Ingestion is very dangerous. It is sweet tasting and very palatable to dogs, though even a relatively small quantity can cause serious kidney damage or be fatal.
The first signs of intoxication can be that your dog appears ‘drunk’. If you know your dog has ingested ethylene glycol or you have any concerns, contact your vet without delay.
The prognosis is poorer the longer it takes to initiate treatment.
So please be extra vigilant, and if you suspect your dog has been affected in any way. Contact your vet as soon as possible to discuss symptoms.
As temperatures drop and Autumn/Winter approaches, our activity levels especially outdoors might reduce, with the potential addition of comfort and seasonal eating. So, it’s a good time to be particularly vigilant about our pug’s waistlines especially as weight creeps on easily, often hard to notice on a daily basis.
Pugs need to be slim, contrary to how many people perceive pugs and this so important for your pug to be as healthy as possible.
They suffer from many health issuesthat pugs are prone to, including breathing, spine and leg problemsall of which are exacerbated when a pug is overweight.
The best way to check if your pug is the right weight, rather than its actual weight is by its Body Condition Score (BCS), where a BCS of 5 out of 9 is ideal. Probably slimmer than most people realise.
Pugs can live up to 15 years or more, and most will have health issues along the way, plus the breed is particularly prone to weight gain. Therefore the correct amount and quality of food, as well as regular exercise, is an important formula to keeping them fit and healthy.
It is important that you do not overfeed your pug as an overweight pug will find it difficult to sustain any form of exercise. They love their food, and unfortunately many of us are guilty of overindulging our beloved (and demanding) pugs by giving them extra treats and titbits from our food. Sadly, this means we could be killing them with kindness.
Obesity in dogs is classed as a welfare issue by DEFRA under their welfare legislation.
So, please see our tips and reminders on our Fit NOT Fat webpage for keeping your pugs slim and fit, therefore maintaining their general health and wellbeing, and longevity.
We lost one of our stalwarts of the pug world on 19 July 2025. Dear old Ralph who coped with a multitude of problems throughout his life but despite all, took and gave pleasure to those who came across him
Ralph was surrendered in 2019 by a lady who saw him advertised on Facebook. She took him on with the best of intentions but a combination of family circumstances and Ralphs physical and mental needs dictated that she could not care for him long term. He was blind, one eye removed after a dog attacked him, the other became infected so much that it left him with no vision at all. He had been confined, and due to the disorientation suffered from loosing his sight, barked and span round in circles in frustration and despair. Knowing all this, Caroline took him on to foster and gave him all the love and understanding he needed. He gradually improved as his confidence grew, and led a contented and stimulating life.
I met Ralph in June 2021 when I collected Poppy, also being fostered by Caroline. He was a cheerful little chap then, despite his disabilities. Poppy was quite a dominant pug and it was thought best for both if they were parted.
The next I heard of Ralph was in August 2024 when I received a call from Caroline’s daughter to say that her Mother had passed away. She, nor any member of the family were able to care for Ralph, especially with his multiple needs.
Even with our dedicated band of Foster Carer’s it was a challenging remit to find a new placement for Ralph. Louise stepped forward however, and said she would see how it worked out. She is caring for Albie, another veteran, so thought that one more should be no trouble. After a challenging first few weeks, Louise and her family gradually got to know his ways and he soon became a much loved member of the family.
Ralph’s condition by this time had stabilised, and although still needing extra care, Louise was able to fill his life with stimulating and rewarding experiences. At first believing he was totally deaf, she later discovered that he could hear – the ping of household applicances, the applause at sporting events on the TV (Louise was sure he thought they were applauding him ! (He became a big fan of tennis ).
Louise only had the pleasure of his company for eight months but all four seasons were packed into that time with him. He loved to visit Stately homes and Markets, visited the seaside and had a ride on a steam train. But his favourite time was the evening when cuddles on the sofa in front of the TV were the order of the day. So many memories packed into such a short time, how he will be missed. Rest in peace you dear, brave little man.
We are a family of dog lovers who had dogs in the past, but when I had some health problems and we weren’t sure whether we had the capacity to offer a dog a long term home.
We’d been a dogless family for several years and we were all yearning for the pitter patter of little paws around the house. I’d never considered fostering before but when I started researching rescues online it became very clear that rescue charities were desperate for fosterers, and this seemed like a good option for us – a way to help a dog in need without the permanent commitment, just in case it didn’t work out. At first, my husband was worried that fostering was cheating somehow, or that we’d be jumping the queue if we did want to adopt, but when I showed him how much charities needed fosterers, he was soon onboard. Out of nowhere, our son suddenly developed an obsession with pugs, and after a quick internet search we found the PDWRA and our lives were changed forever!
We submitted the application form to become fosterers and had a home visit with a lovely PDWRA volunteer to check our home was suitable. We didn’t tell our son it was a pug charity, just that we were interested in fostering a dog. A couple of weeks later I had a call from the Volunteer Area Coordinator (VAC) for our area asking if we could take a foster in, and so our foster journey began.
We quickly fell in love with fostering and all adored having a dog around. Our son was over the moon to have a pug in the house, and we soon adapted to life with a dog again. The first foster was difficult to say goodbye to, but we all agreed that we weren’t quite a perfect fit, plus, the PDWRA had found a perfect home. It was strange to have a quiet home again, but we were so excited when we got ‘the call’ from the VAC about taking another foster pug.
We’ve fostered 7 pugs through the PDWRA in total, and very much hope we can foster again in the future. Each pug that came to us had their own unique personality and challenges. The PDWRA were always on hand if we needed support or guidance. With each new pug it was getting increasingly difficult to say goodbye. We felt we could offer a great temporary foster home, and that was often helping a dog coming from difficult circumstances, but I still worried that it wouldn’t be fair on a dog to adopt due to the complications of my health issues.
Then came Ozzy.
Ozzy came to us as a foster in April 2024. He’d had a difficult start in life. While we had no intention of adopting, as we’d really enjoyed fostering, there was just something about Ozzy’s energy, he just seemed so happy to be with us. He was lapping up all the attention and as each day went by, I saw him become more grounded, as if he were saying ‘ahhh, I’m safe now’. We felt this overwhelming feeling that he was home. We also felt that it would have been just too hard to say goodbye, and that despite the challenges of my health, he didn’t care about that one jot, what we had to offer was enough for him.
So, we quickly let our VAC know and once we’d had all the fostering medical assessments sorted, we signed the paperwork and transferred the adoption fee (we’d already had a home check to become fosterers). All very straightforward.
Ozzy came to us with a few health issues – allergies and eye issues, but the PDWRA have been so helpful in guiding us through managing these. He did need some support with his behaviour too, as after a difficult start in life, he struggled to feel safe – especially around new people. He had sadly lost one of his eyes due to neglect before coming to us and was understandably not a fan of the vets, or people touching his face and head.
With a lot of love and patience, Ozzy has come on leaps and bounds! I always loved to see the progress our foster pugs made with us, even though they were only with us for a few weeks. Watching Ozzy blossom over the last year has been wonderful and leaves me with an enormous sense of awe! He’s doing so much better with people and is so much calmer. He’s been socialising with dogs and people, and we very much hope that if he continues to improve we can foster again, so that he has a friend every now and then, as he does love to play.
Ozzy can be so funny and mischievous, but he’s also so bright and quick to learn.
His zoomies around the garden are always a joy to behold and the way he scratches the kitchen bin to demand his dinner makes us laugh.
Like a typical pug, Ozzy is very food oriented – which has come in handy for training, but also gets him into mischief – he quickly learned that there were delicious delights to be found in the strawberry patch! At first, we couldn’t quite understand why we weren’t getting any strawberries, then we figured out it was just our cheeky boy getting to them before us!
We initially had some challenges with Ozzy and my 10-year-old. At first, Ozzy could be triggered by people moving suddenly, and children are not known for their ability to keep still. However, with time and patience and lots of love, they are doing so well together. We got my son to feed Ozzy every day, go on walks together and get involved in training. Now Ozzy sleeps on the end of my son’s bed each night – we actually ended up getting our son a bigger bed so they both had more room! They love to snuggle and run around the garden together.
My husband says: “It was great fostering, but life feels complete with little Ozzy. I love taking him to the local cricket ground and watching him run with his friends, 2 big Labradors. They’re so much faster than he is, but he perseveres. Due to having only one eye, he can sometimes veer off to one side and gets lost but soon finds his ways back to us. We live out in the countryside, but without a dog I forget to get out and enjoy it. My morning walks in the fields with Ozzy are so peaceful and calming.”
I’ve always been highly impressed with working with the PDWRA. The positive community ethos they have fostered is wonderfully supportive. Our Volunteer Area Co-ordinator, Dee, has always been amazingly understanding and helpful! Thank you!
