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If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Original poster

Puggle!

39 replies

AngryBeaver · 12/08/2013 22:18

We're bringing home a Puggle (hopefully) boy in December.
I live in NZ and this is the first litter of Puggles here, which is quite exciting.
This is our first dog.
We have to do lots of research between now and then on things like toilet training ( thing that worries me most) and i also worry abut letting it off the lead and it running away.

(I actually live in a small Island in the Hauraki Gulf, so it couldn't actually LEAVE, but other dangers)

Oh, have just thought of something else to worry about..the sea!
Obviously we're surrounded by water, so walks on the beach will be frequent...what if it runs into the surf and gets washed away?!!

Anyway, any tips, advice, experience, will be much appreciated.
Smile

OP posts:
MagratGarlik · 12/08/2013 22:30

No advice, but I just wondered, what's a Puggle?

Original poster
AngryBeaver · 12/08/2013 23:37

Sorry, I thought they were quite well known in the UK!

www.legacy-kennels.com/1aPuggleCute 028.jpg

Beautiful!

pug x beagle Smile

OP posts:
Lanceolate · 12/08/2013 23:41

They're a cross breed 'designer dog' favoured by puppy farmers.

Original poster
AngryBeaver · 13/08/2013 00:07

Well, just so you know.
My Puggle is coming straight from a NZKC registered breeder of both Pugs and Beagles.
Her dogs are brought up in the family home.

OP posts:
Lanceolate · 13/08/2013 01:19

Great. In the UK these along with other 'designer breeds' are often bred by puppy farmers and sold through online ads/newspaper ads as being from a loving home but the buyers will never see the pup's mother and often not the 'home'.

Original poster
AngryBeaver · 13/08/2013 05:44

That's horrible.
And the pups will probably be sickly.
There are health implications with both Pugs and Beagles.

My breeders bitch isn't pregnant yet, this will be the first gen.
She has show pugs and beagles, and she will keep me informed at each step, then send me videos of my puppy, until I'm able to collect him.
I will be collecting from their home.

She has said I can come each weekend and play with him until he's old enough to leave, which is lovely...but, I would have to take a 35 min boat ride and then drive for 2 hours! So aI will settle for vids and collection Smile

OP posts:
ScarlettInSpace · 13/08/2013 10:07

Puggles are very cute - I have a Jug [Pug x Jack Russell], the vet said this is a great cross as pugs health problems are well documented, and jack russells are such hardy little buggers...

FWIW I got my Jug from a family home in which I saw both mum & dad interacting with the puppies and all living in the house, not all of these cross breeds come from puppy farms.

Good luck with your new dog, it is a very exciting [if challenging!] time Smile

fanoftheinvisibleman · 13/08/2013 17:09

The problem there though Scarlett with any cross is that you may be lucky and inherit the hardiness or unlucky and inherit the problems. In two breeds with potential problems you could get none, one or the worst of both.

ScarlettInSpace · 13/08/2013 17:36

That's a fair point, I guess with cross breeding you are looking for the dominant features in both dogs to come through - thinking back my vet was mainly referring to the breathing problems pugs have because they have been bred to have such squished noses, the JRT has a much longer snout so even though my dog has a bit of a snub nose he does have a snout and its therefore unlikely to cause him any respiratory issues.

MrsWolowitz · 13/08/2013 17:39

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

fanoftheinvisibleman · 13/08/2013 17:46

I'm not 'against' crosses by the way, it is just concerning that you see adverts from people implying poodle crosses are hypo allergenic non shedders and breeds will be healthier when crossed when all can be different. I've seen some heinz 57 litters where all the dogs were utterly different despite being littermates. One looked like a collie and one like a whippet! It is pot luck what will be dominant.

tabulahrasa · 13/08/2013 19:26

The problem with pug crosses is that it doesn't always get rid of the breathing difficulties and you could end up with a dog with the energy level of a beagle (or a jack russell) with the breathing of a pug... which is not exactly fantastic.

SmallFarAway · 13/08/2013 19:39

There is no reason for breeding these dogs that isn't commercially driven. And it's the poor dogs that suffer.

Original poster
AngryBeaver · 13/08/2013 23:12

Thanks mrs wolowitz, I'll do that Smile

My breeder is in regular contact with her vet, and a breeder in Australia.

I think I heard that originally, all pure breed dogs were crosses at some point, and gradually became an excepted pedigree.

Apparently this is the case with the Puggle.

OP posts:
Original poster
AngryBeaver · 13/08/2013 23:18

Excepted= accepted!!

I'm not professing to know much about ths at all, btw.

You guys obviously know our stuff.

I wanted a GSD, but we don't ave the space at the moment.

My husband said I could have a Pug, but I wasn't overly keen, so looked at crosses, and found the Puggle.
I just though it had the quirkiness of a Pug, but with a softer face?

I'd no idea people had such strong opinions on the breed!

OP posts:
Floralnomad · 14/08/2013 00:05

They cannot become a 'breed ' because there would be no 'breed standard ' because as cross breeds they can all turn out totally different ( even within a litter) . smallfaraway is absolutely correct ,the only reason they are deliberatly bred is for commercial reasons .

TheCunnyFunt · 14/08/2013 08:43

A Puggle is not a good cross at all, like Tabulahrasa said, what if you end up with an incredibly high energy, untrainable dog that can't breathe?

I don't know about NZKC, but in the UK being KC registered doesn't mean the breeder is a good one. BYBs and pulpy farmers can be KC reg.

TheCunnyFunt · 14/08/2013 08:44

Pulpy farmers :o I meant puppy, obviously.

Original poster
AngryBeaver · 14/08/2013 09:49

Right, well I'm a bit concerned now!
I'll take these questions back to the Puggles Australia fb page

OP posts:
fanoftheinvisibleman · 14/08/2013 09:57

The other thing to remember is that she may be a kc reg breeder of pugs and beagles but she won't be a kc reg breeder of puggles as they are not a kc recognised breed so litters will be unregistered. Whilst I am not saying your breeder is doing this, it is a way in which registered breeders are able to overbreed their bitches by producing litters the kc don't have to be told about and the poor dogs are overbred without recovery.

LEMisdisappointed · 14/08/2013 10:07

I do think that the whole designer breed thing is a bit mad, simply because people are being charged £££s or $$$s for what is essentially a cross breed. Especially first generation crosses where you have no real idea of what you will get. Saying that, i probably have more of a problem with the selective breeding of mutants that will inherit respiratory problems etc simply because people think that dogs look cute with squashed up faces. Don't even get me started on bulldogs Hmm. Then you have the hidden congenital conditions that arise because of inbreeding. So I am not going to flame anyone for buying a X breed dog, if they want to pay a premium for that then thats their money, their choice.

Saying that, i know someone with a "chug" chihuahua x pug and well, that much cuteness should not be allowed lest i exploooooode!

My friend has a "puggle" it was a rescue dog and to be fair it is pretty head strong and i worry that she will have issues with the dog as it matures (its about a year old). That could just be that individual dog though, i don't really have experience of either breed.

Cross-breeds are great, I have two, one is a border/patterdale cross - i don't think you could call him a designer dog Grin We got him from a family who bred from their pet dog and thier fathers pet dog as they both had good temprements and they wanted to keep one of the puppies. They kept two :) They weren't the most experienced knowledgable breeders in the world but they were genuine honest people and the mother was a lovely little dog. I chose this dog over several litters of purebred border terriers that I had looked at as i didn't like the breeders! My other dog is a proper heinz 57 pavement special rescue.

Oh and OP - just one thing - Envy about living on what sounds like paradise!

LEMisdisappointed · 14/08/2013 10:09

That is a very good point fanoftheinvisibleman!

tropicalfish · 14/08/2013 16:19

my neighbour has one and it barks non stop when in the garden and it has an exceptionally loud bark. It stalks me when i walk around the garden barking at me and hurling itself against the fence. My neighbour owner of the dog told me to go to the doctor as i told him it was frightening.

Original poster
AngryBeaver · 14/08/2013 22:29

Isn't that just a training issue though?
I've read that they need a lot of human contact and get anxious if left alone for long periods and bark or howl.

That wouldn't be the case with us, as I'm home all day, and the dog would come everywhere with us...we don't leave the island that much! (Well, my husband gets the boat to work every day, but the kids and I are here)

I intend to put loads of effort into training.
It will have plenty of exercise too.

And yes, it is a paradise island, BUT, as with everywhere ...not perfect, and not for everyone! I feel quite claustrophobic sometimes, and would love to come back to the UK for a visit but can't afford the flights :(

OP posts:
pugoff · 15/08/2013 04:16

Pug = loving, needy, stubborn, people pleaser, snuffly, sometimes hard to toilet train.

Beagle = head strong, high energy, off with scents, intelligent, barky, responds well to training.

You could have a wonderful mix. It could be a nightmare. My two pugs are enough of a challenge - i'd hate to think of something with MORE energy and stubbornness but less brain and independence. Without thinking physical and health issues aside, the characters and mix of traits are what has become desirable in a breed were put together for a reason. Mixing up a needy, wants to follow you everywhere, cuddly type dog with an intelligent working dog that had a purpose and strong scent skills could be a.....challenge (or wonderful) but largely unknown until they're 12 months + Confused