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Agility has been the making of this little guy...

In July 2019 Deb Lunnon was volunteering for a rescue charity when she was called to collect a nine-month-old black pug who was in a very bad way. He had demodectic mange and secondary skin infections which meant he smelt awful. A lot of his fur was missing, and he was in a sorry state. Not only that, he had not been socialised and had had zero training. His behaviour was feral. The first thing she did was change his name to Alfie. And that was the start of a very special relationship.

At the time, I had four Pugs and sort of a reputation for taking in the bad cases, but this little guy was something else.

I've often thought that I should have called him Billy (as in goat) as he could - and would - get onto any surface. He was a jumper and a climber so much so that I was forced to change my stair gate to a 90cm high gate as he would jump the normal gate.

As time went on, during his rehab I was asked many times if I was keeping him. I think the thing that attracted me to Alfie was that he was in such a poor state that it could not have been worse.

He was a nightmare with my girls and his behaviour was taxing. He knew no boundaries and was totally unsocialised. He had to live with four other Pugs, and they taught him most of what he needed to know. My grumpy 14 year-old would often snap and put him in his place, whilst the other girls either mothered him or played with him.

Setting boundaries
I knew that if there was any chance that I was going to adopt him that I needed to get him under control and stop him humping my girls.

Basic training started in the garden with the usual sit, stay, fetch and wait games. He was stopped every time he tried to mount another dog.

I started to take him to puppy playtime classes at my local dog park. Initially he would run around 'shouting' in the other dogs' faces but, as time went by, he realised the futility of this. I realised he was a bright little boy who picked things up very quickly and he thrived.

At the time I was doing a canine behaviour course, so I was able to use what I was learning. Every day I saw improvements in his skin, behaviour, and demeanour. He really wanted to please.

I tend to use holistic methods, so he immediately went onto a raw diet. I gave him garlic and fenugreek tablets for his skin and bathed his infected skin in Wagawhey, which I also fed to him. In less than four weeks his fur was growing back and his demodex was going.

Could agility be the answer?
As the weeks passed and he got better, I decided to try him at the local puppy agility class, and that's when things began to change radically.

He responded very well to the training and learned to listen which was the key to everything. All he really needed was the discipline and thus the bond between us became stronger.

Alfie was formally adopted in late August 2019.

And then the pandemic hit in 2020. Training was curtailed, but we were still practising the weaves and jumping a couple of makeshift hurdles in the garden.

When we returned to training, my instructor, Chris Cunningham of Perfect Your Pooch, kept telling me that he was ready to compete.

I really cannot remember how I found T & A. It's not local to me but is only about ten minutes away from where my daughter lives in Norfolk. So off we went to have a look around at an event and get the lie of the land.

In August 2021 we did our very first competition runs at T & A. It was the most nerve-racking thing I had ever done. I thought I was going to vomit into the lead bucket. My heart was pounding out of my chest, and I felt like jelly. Alfie performed like a star and won a 1st and a 2nd at his first ever event. To say that I was proud was a total understatement. I remember blubbing down the phone to my friend.

The next weekend we rather ambitiously went to a KC show, but something happened at that event which set Alfie back a long way. I think it was the difference between the wooden training equipment and the aluminum agility equipment. This all led me to try and find a trainer who used the same equipment that I would be competing on. This is where T & A really helped me out and they put me in touch with James Greenhow at JDA. I currently train with both James and Chris.

Agility has been the making of Alfie
He absolutely loves doing it and shouts at me all around the course. I, on the other hand, still get very nervous, in particular on the very first run of each event makes me feel very sick and shaky, but I have grown to really enjoy it. He has also inspired other pug owners to do agility.

In order to build on our confidence - both Alfie's and mine - this last year I decided to concentrate on independent shows.

T & A are a friendly bunch, and they have made me feel very welcome. They have always answered my dumb questions with patience, and I have learnt an awful lot from them.

In August, Alfie won the T & A 2022 Elementary League (Small) where we had done our very first agility competition.

I have made some good friends at their shows, particularly Cecile and the wonderful Spice. She is my 'partner in crime' and we work out our show entries together. Together we are now dipping our toes into some of the smaller KC shows. There are many more people - too many to name - with whom I've made friends.

Protecting and promoting pugs
What makes me most proud is that I am able to dispel the general perception of pugs and their inability to breathe or do anything. There has certainly been enough pug-bashing in the press just recently and even calls to have the breed banned. Pugs are like any other dog. There are healthy and unhealthy ones in every breed.

During the pandemic, I set up the National Pug Protection Trust along with two friends. Then in December of 2021, we became a registered charity. We rescue, rehabilitate and rehome pugs while, at the same time, promoting their health and educating the public. The T & A League win for Alfie just proves what they can achieve.

We are proud to be the official rescue of CuppaPug, the first permanent pug-themed café in London, where you can play with the resident pugs or bring your own. We regularly attend, giving advice to the pug-loving owners and other people.

I must also add that Alfie is a licenced therapy dog for Therapy Dogs Nationwide and visits many places, such as care homes and libraries, where he gives young children the confidence to read out loud to him.

My plans for the next year are to continue building on his success, carry on training and begin to add in more KC shows, push on with the charity and raise health awareness of the Pug dog. Who knows... we might even qualify for Crufts one day!

About the author...
Deb Lunnon got her very first Pug when she was eleven. She spent years attending dog shows, winning Junior handling awards, and finally breeding two litters of puppies from her. She lived to the age of 15 and it broke Deb's heart when she died. They say that once you have been 'pugged' there is no going back - and for her that was very true.

Skip forward 20 or so years and Deb got her second pug which featured on an episode of the Supervet (Series 9, Episode 5) for having the world's smallest, total elbow replacement. That was a fun episode with Noel Fitzpatrick and Deb acting out a scene from Ghost. He even said 'I will be Patrick Swayze' as he showed her how to give physio to Marley's new elbow. What an amazing vet!

As her love of pugs grew, she became heavily involved in Pug rescue and, since 2016, she has fostered hundreds of them.

These days Deb has a canine behaviour qualification and is a certified ProDog trainer. She runs a Pug rescue called the National Pug Protections Trust and actively promotes Pug wellbeing and advises owners and adopters.

Her day job is as a graphic designer, but her heart lies in rescue and now, seemingly, agility.

First published 4th September 2022

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