Age: 7
Adoption Fees: $300
Adoption Status: Successful Adoption

October 7, 2019 – Ben went to his forever home with his brother Jerry yesterday.  They will now be residents of Montreal, QC

September 23, 2019 – Ben and Jerry are enjoying the fall weather. Walks are more comfortable and dandelions are delicious (according to Jerry). We are hoping the increasingly cold weather will allow us to decrease and eventually discontinue Jerry’s allergy medication. Fingers crossed that this is the case.

The only new piece of information I can offer this week is an observation about the boys feeding behaviour. We have  always known that Jerry can get a bit frantic around food. We have been working on getting both he and Ben to sit and stay before treats and meals to try to encourage calm, gentle behaviour.  Additionally, we have always fed them separately: one in the kitchen, the other in the living room with a gate between, in order to decrease the chance that one dog would steal the other’s food.

This past week we had occasion to feed them together, and Jerry became quite tetchy when Ben came close to his bowl.  Hence, I would recommend Jerry’s future adoptive family feed him separately from other dogs, or at least initially observe him if he is eating with others. Jerry does allow members of the family to pick up his food dish while he is eating with no growling or aggression.

September 6, 2019 – Ben continues to truck along, enjoying his snuggles and steadfastly seeking ways to get on the kitchen counter.  We enjoyed some play with toys this week, and had all our usual walks and outings. The dogs wish to alert their future family that they are made of sugar, and prefer not to be walked in the rain. They tolerated it with dignified forbearance, but it was clearly not their preference.  We continue to love being with these boys. The family who adopts them are very lucky! 

August 28, 2019 – This week, the boys seemed particularly motivated to seek out alternate food opportunities, lol. Their adoptive family should know that access to the food bowls of other pets, garbage cans, recycling bins, diaper pails, litter boxes, dinning room tables and kitchen counters will have to be monitored closely to ensure the boys health and safety. These pups can seemingly fly when motivated! I’ve seen latches unlatched and cupboards nosed open…Jerry grabbed Ben’s food bowl from under the baby gate! Hilarious. But I don’t see any of this as a fault in Ben or Jerry. I’m reminded of the quote:
”A dog never makes a mistake. He is just a dog and he does what he does because he is a dog and thinks like a dog. It is you that makes the mistake because you haven’t trained him to do what you want him to do when you want him to do it.”  ~George Attla
Ben and Jerry’s adoptive family are going to have lots of adventures training and loving these clever, vibrant little dogs!

August 21, 2019 – Third week with these beautiful boys and it was an eventful one. Friday, August 16 was dentist day! Jerry had 9 teeth removed while Ben had a whopping 16 teeth extracted! The boys were very helpful and communicated how they were doing to us via the curl in their tails…Friday both tails were completely limp, but by Sunday we were back to full curl with a wiggle! They’ll have their recheck with the vet this Saturday. Jerry has been taking prescribed medication on a daily basis to treat his allergies, and his recovery has been phenomenal, except for his stubborn ears ! The vet will decide this week if he needs a little extra help in that department. Ben continues to be healthy and unflappable. They continue to bark when anyone approaches the house, but I do believe with time and patience they could be trained to learn a new behaviour, as they’re sensitive to their people and eager to please. We’ll keep working on it, but this might be a goal with their forever family.

I actually think they would benefit a great deal from obedience training in general and would highly recommend it to their adoptive family. While they are very clever and generally respond well to basic instructions, (they get the “gist” of what you’re asking them to do) they do not seem to know formal commands (“sit”, “stay”, down”, “drop it”, “ leave it”, etc). I think that being able to communicate more clearly with their family would help them feel more confident and secure while also helping with bonding. No marking incidents this week! Even when they were tipsy from anesthesia. What good boys.

August 15, 2019 – Ben & Jerry are bonded. They sleep together, groom one another, and generally stick together most of the time. They become stressed if one is taken into a different room, and they try to cross the road to reunite if the two people walking them become separated. They seem pretty bonded.  We would love to have these 2 boys adopted together as they share a very good friendship/bond.  Ben & Jerry are getting their teeth cleaned tomorrow and will then become available for adoption.

August 8, 2019 – It’s been a little over week and Ben and Jerry seem to be settling into their foster home.  They’re particularly affectionate with my husband and I, and love a good snuggle on the couch. They’re also happy to indulge in a scratching/petting session from one of the kids! Jerry seems especially inclined to stick to his people, while Ben is a bit more independent and doesn’t mind hanging out on the couch by himself.

They both walk very well on a leash and enjoy their 3 daily walks and backyard breaks throughout the day. They also enjoyed a trip to conroy pit park on the weekend (on leash), and got along well with other dogs who approached them; however, they don’t care to approach dogs.

We’ve tried to play with them on several occasions but they don’t show interest in toys or balls at this point. They’re mostly keen on cuddling and walks. Sometimes they’ll work on their chew toys. I attempted to interest them in a child’s pool on a hot day but they told me they didn’t do wet feet before returning to the house and leaving me alone in the backyard!

Barking is only an issue when someone approaches or leaves the house but they quiet down quickly. They do appear unhappy and anxious when they are left home alone, but are not destructive. Marking continues to be an issue, particularly with Jerry who is definitely the more dominant pug and I believe aspires to dominate all the animals in the house via his scent! But we’re working on it. It might suggest that he might do better in a house with no other animals except Ben, if this behaviour continues despite belly belts, positive reinforcement, many bathroom breaks, and walks.

Ben and Jerry seem to be a bonded pair; however, it does seem that Jerry is more attached to Ben than Ben is to Jerry!  Jerry will seek out Ben, groom him, snuggle him and sometimes try to herd him, or boss him around. Ben does not seem to seek out Jerry  but seems content in his company.

Both pugs are impressively trim, fit and agile. Jerry will get up on your kitchen table of preventative measures aren’t taken! Ben’s allergies have improved by leaps and bounds. His skin is healing and he no longer scratches. Both pugs enjoy their food and seem to enjoy good digestion. These are two friendly, loveable pugs.

August 2, 2019 – Ben went to the vet today and was brought up to date in his vaccination and microchipped.  He is getting his teeth cleaned on August 16.

July 30, 2019 – Ben came in today with his brother, Jerry.  Ben is 7 years old and he is neutered.  Ben went to the vet this afternoon for a complete check up.  Follow Ben’s story as we get to know him better.