Dog Guidance Blog

Before going out to buy a cute pug puppy, you may want to look at what was written in the “London Free Press” recently.

Pug rescuers across Canada and the United States have been busy for the past few years caring either for strays or others from shelters where they faced being put to death.

Several pug lovers say the problem dates back to the popularity of the dogs after the release of the Men in Black films, especially Men in Black II in 2002, in which a pug named Frank played a leading role.

When the Pugalug Club began in 2001, it had 10 members. Today, about 250 people belong, and there are about 500 casual associates, said St. Aubin. In a 2006 survey of member breeders, the Canadian Kennel Club found that pugs ranked 15th on a list of the top breeds in Canada.

Blanche Axton, who owns three pugs and volunteers to look after others for Pugalug, says some people with non-neutered pugs quickly cashed in on their popularity.

Puppy mills “cranked up production” to meet this impulsive demand of the public, she says.

“People are now getting pugs without doing any research on the breed (or) on where they’re getting them.”

A purebred dog, pugs can have problems if they’re bred by people who don’t know what they’re doing, she said.

Dogs from puppy mills tend to have more health problems than dogs from a reputable breeder, Axton said, noting that two of the dogs she has from such a mill are blind.

Rescue organizations, such as Pugalug, “are drowning because people find they weren’t prepared for the breed,” said Axton.

The most common reason for giving up a pug is cost, she said. People often surrender them to rescuers as soon as “they get their first veterinary bill.”

Besides birth defects, a pug’s protruding eyes are easily injured, causing corneal ulcers. Corrective surgery can cost as much as $2,000.

Hilary Dorricott, who lives in Trenton, near Kingston, volunteers for Pugalug and tracks rescues by the club.

“When we started out, we had eight pugs come in in the first six months,” she said.

“(Now) we’re up to something like 70. It’s been snowballing.”

She said the breed is “cute, cuddly and loving,” but there are some real issues for owners. Besides the high cost for medical care, shedding is a terrible problem.

People interested in having a pug need to be prepared to commit for the lifetime of the dog, she said. And that could be 15 years or so.