by Yasmin | 11 Apr, 2023 | Blog, News
Today is National Pet Day, April 11th. Although if you’re a pet owner, you know there’s not a day that goes by that you don’t celebrate your animal companion.
So perhaps hug your beloved pets just a little more, today (as if you need an excuse!).
We all know that apart from stealing our hearts, they also contribute to our overall cardiovascular health by lowering cortisol, cholesterol, and blood pressure levels. Our pets help us to cope with every day, life stresses.
National Pet Day was founded in 2006, by Colleen Paige, an animal welfare advocate and pet and family lifestyle expert, to celebrate the joy pets can bring to us. But she also wanted to bring attention to the ongoing needs of many pets of all kinds waiting in shelters to be adopted.
She encouraged people who wanted purebred dogs and cats to contact rescue organisations instead of going to a breeder. “Don’t shop! Adopt!” became the holiday motto.
Though started in the US, it soon expanded internationally. Pet lovers now mark the day in many countries across the world and celebrities help to spread the cause from their highly visible platforms.
Here’s a small selection of our beloved companions who illustrate why they mean so much to us:
by Yasmin | 9 Apr, 2023 | Blog, News, Rescue Stories
1 week since our Appeal for homes for puppies’ Alvin & Simon, they have found their forever homes.
Along with their siblings they will all be enjoying a very special EASTER with their new families!
We thank everyone for their interest in them, plus the applications we received. There are many pugs who still need homes, so please consider applying to us:
https://pugwelfare-rescue.org.uk/adopting-a-pug/
by Yasmin | 7 Apr, 2023 | Blog, Rescue Stories
I first heard about the PDWRA when I went to a nail salon and we all got talking about our dogs! One of the members of staff mentioned her mum fosters pugs for the charity, and without a second thought I applied to adopt!
Having a 7 year old puggle at home I knew I would have to wait a while before finding the perfect pug to suit us, and a few months later I got a call from the PDWRA about a little lad named Teddy who was in need of his forever home.
Teddy was only 11 months old when I adopted him, but had already been moved from four different homes, with his 5th being with his wonderful foster mum Rebecca and her family. After two days of hearing about Teddy I was on my way to London to meet Rebecca and bring him to his new home.
Whilst waiting for Teddy, I started my research on the best ways to introduce another dog to Molly the puggle, and the PDWRA said that if I needed help or guidance, they would be there for me as Teddy settled in. Some of the best practices included:
- Introduce the dogs outside where they can sniff, play, and get to know each other on neutral ground
- Praise positive behaviours
- Make sure you enter the home first, don’t let the dogs go in first as they may become territorial
- Watch for signs of stress in the home, recognize when the dogs might need their own space
- Establish a safe space for the new dog
I was really lucky with Teddy that he was already crate trained so it didn’t take long for him to realise where his bed and safe space was, but the other advice really helped me get him settled in with his new grumble.
When he arrived, we went straight into the garden for him to see that was where he would go to the bathroom, amongst other things, although not unexpectedly we had a couple of rug poop mishaps in the first couple of days, which is to be expected when the dog is getting over the stress of settling into a new environment.
The introduction between him and my dog Molly went really well and I’m so pleased I looked into the best practices!
Molly certainly tells him who is boss when he gets too excitable, but has welcomed Teddy into our home brilliantly. He is definitely part goat, I often find him sat on my work desk, on the dining table and even sat on the toilet seat (yes there has been an open toilet incident…he was fine, and hasn’t learnt his lesson).
I can’t thank his foster mum Rebecca enough for getting my boy ready for his forever home and for doing such a great job taking care of him. He’s stolen my heart, and the hearts of my family and friends! He’s such a great character and keeps me entertained, on my toes, and full of joy!
3 months later, since Teddy came into our lives, it’s June and it’s like he’s been here forever!
He has discovered his love for the garden and has claimed the comfy chair as his own! Teddy loves to play with his big sister Molly, and he has brought back her puppy energy; they love chasing each other around the house (often when I am on a work call!) and they bolt around the common on our walks.
Teddy loves every dog and person he meets, and he’s made some friends in the local park. His recall is fantastic, and he is often by Molly’s side. Adopting Teddy was definitely one of the best things I have done and I couldn’t be happier with my little family!
by Yasmin | 6 Apr, 2023 | Blog, News, Pug Health
Written by Helen McKee (MRCVS)
PDWRA Vet.
For this month’s health topic, I’m writing about seizures, which I suspect a significant number of you have had the misfortune of experiencing.
The conformation (shape) of a pug’s skull has been altered compared to non-brachycephalic dog breeds, such that it can alter brain function through both physiology (normal working of brain) and actual physical boundaries.
Since the brain is compromised because of these factors, it can result in a variety of brain conditions, the most common being seizures, which we see all too commonly in pugs.
A seizure can be a very frightening thing to observe, especially when it is your own dog. They can vary from what is known as a ‘Petit Mal’, when the signs are very mild, to a full blown ‘Grand Mal’ with severe signs such as shaking, rigidity, frothing of mouth and involuntary urination and/or defecations.
Pugs can have seizures for a variety of reasons, but the most common cause is ‘idiopathic epilepsy’, that is, epilepsy of an unknown cause, however it is important to rule out other conditions before coming to this diagnosis.
If your pug has a seizure, make a note of time, date, length of episode and severity (seizure diary). A video of the episode is really helpful for a vet, though easier said than done when witnessing your pug having a seizure which can be very distressing.
If the pug comes out of it quickly and appears normal after, it may be a one off. I have seen pugs have one off seizures as a result of some ‘stress’ on the body, such as a change in the environment (a new puppy!) or it’s body (an infection like cystitis).
It may be a one-off event, however if it happens again, you will need to take your dog to the vets to be examined. The vet will likely take blood to look for metabolic conditions that can cause seizures, such as liver disease (hepatic encephalopathy). By far the majority of times, these blood tests come back as normal.
There are rare conditions of the brain such as Granulomatous Meningoencephalitis (GME), Pug Dog Encephalitis (PDE) or a brain tumour, but these conditions are progressive with other clinical signs including head pressing, circling and behavioural changes, and it will soon become apparent that it is not epilepsy. Unfortunately all three conditions tend to be terminal.
Your vet may suggest carrying out an MRI scan in these cases and where medication is not controlling the symptoms, however, if you can’t afford a scan, then MRI won’t alter the outcome; it will just give a diagnosis. GME can be confirmed by taking a sample of the fluid that surrounds the spinal cord and brain (CSF).
However, the MAJORITY of cases of seizures in a pug, are caused by idiopathic epilepsy, a condition they have for life, but is normally able to be controlled through anti-seizure drugs such as Epiphen.
Depending on the frequency of your dog’s seizures, it may not need medication, for example, if they occur every 6 months it won’t warrant being on medication for a life time; It’s all about symptoms vs medication and its side effects.
Having been in contact with a specialist veterinary neurologist, who has a specific interest in idiopathic epilepsy in pugs, the drug of choice is Epiphen (phenobarbital). The dose is altered depending on therapeutic blood levels of the drug, so regular blood tests will be required initially.
Most pugs will respond to Epiphen only, however if the medication isn’t controlling the dog’s seizures, other anti-epileptic drugs can be added, such as Pexion.
Your vet can refer you to see a specialist neurologist at any stage, or if you’re concerned about the treatment.
This is by no means exhaustive, but merely an overview to enable some understanding of seizures and their potential causes.
I hope you find it helpful.
Helen.
PDWRA Vet.
by Yasmin | 6 Apr, 2023 | Blog, News, Pug Health
Why you should let your dog sniff as many lamp posts as they want?
While such behaviour may be frustrating for owners and dog-walkers, experts say you shouldn’t yank your curious pet away.
Article by Joe Pinkstone
SCIENCE CORRESPONDENT
26 March 2023
Dogs should be allowed to sniff as many lamp posts as they want when out on a walk and not be yanked onwards by bored owners, a canine expert has said.
Walks are often perceived by owners as being solely for exercise and to keep a dog physically fit but veterinarians say they also play a vital role in mental stimulation.
Some dogs, especially as they get older, walk with less vigour and for shorter periods of time, preferring to plod slowly and investigate the scents around them.
This should be embraced by owners, even if it is frustrating, counter-intuitive and boring for the walker, veterinarians believe.
In a talk on how to adapt to living with a geriatric dog at BSAVA Congress 2023, experts spoke about the value of ensuring a dog was still fulfilled, active and stimulated even as its body slows down or it develops age-related health issues, like osteoarthritis.
‘Sniffing is really, really important’
“I think you have to make a mental switch when you’ve got a dog with osteoarthritis; instead of it being you and your mate going out for a really nice walk wherever you want, there has to be some walks that are for the dog,” Zoe Belshaw, a veterinary surgeon working on the BSAVA Old Age Pets project, said.
“As most dogs age, they become increasingly motivated to sniff, irrespective of whether or not that’s what they wanted to do before. I think it’s a massively important part of their quality of life, being able to sniff.
“[Older] dogs don’t need to be marching for the whole ten minutes of a walk.
“If you have ten minutes and they go ten metres but spend nine and a half minutes sniffing a lamp post; for that dog that is probably so much better than you trying to drag it around a circular walk around the block.
“Sniffing is really, really important. You just have to reframe what the point of that walk is so that you don’t get driven berserk by the fact that you’ve been standing by a lamp post for nine and a half minutes.
“Vets should tell owners to get a podcast or do something that makes the time go by to make it not frustrating for them because you see so many dogs being yanked because the owner thinks either the walk is for the dog and it needs to move, or because they themselves are so fed up of the sniffing – but embracing the “sniffari” is really important.”
Other adaptations people can make to ensure life is as easy as possible for an ageing dog include putting down soft, grippy mats to stop them falling over; playing in different ways; feeding them in an innovative manner; and not changing their home environment.
Pug Health & Wellbeing
