All About the Puggle Breed
The puggle breed is a popular crossbreed between a male pug and a female beagle, well known for their adorably wrinkled faces (carried on from their pug parent) and the longer muzzle of a beagle, which facilitates breathing.
Puggles require very little grooming, due to their smooth coats, and shed moderately. The puggle’s double coat is short and smooth, and it is very easy to keep clean and healthy, only requiring gentle brushing on a weekly basis to remove excess hair.
Despite their proclivity for barking and howling, puggles are great companions for families and seniors, due to their lack of maintenance and playful demeanor. The puggle breed is relatively healthy, despite a penchant for concerns like dysplasia, epilepsy, cherry eye, hypothyroidism, and patellar luxation.
Can Puggles Be Temperamental?
Since these cute pups are a physical mixture of their pug and beagle parents, their personalities share aspects of each of their ancestors’ temperaments. They’ve inherited an inquisitive nature from their beagle side and a sweet sensitivity from their pug side.
This serendipitous combination makes for gentle, playful, and energetic little dogs, capable of being rambunctious well into their golden years. Their social nature and passion for cuddles also make them a great pet for the whole family, and perfect for owners keen on hosting friends and family for special events.
Though these little guys are small enough to live comfortably in an apartment, their energy level requires frequent exercise, making long walks and plenty of yard space ideal for this energetic breed.
Stubbornness does run in the family, but the puggle breed is extremely intelligent and easy to train, responding well to treats and praise when used as training tools.
The only downside of the puggle breed is their fondness for barking, but this annoyance can be kept to a minimum if they’re kept occupied and provided with an appropriate amount of exercise.
How Long Is a Puggle’s Lifespan?
Puggles have a relatively average lifespan for dogs of their size, living for about 10 to 15 years. As puppies, they can struggle to adjust to a new environment, but once you put in the work to train them properly, they’ll start to develop healthy habits, which will set the stage for a long and happy companionship.
Planning and commitment will provide you with plenty of time to enjoy each other’s company before your puggle faces the challenges of being a senior, which occurs during the final 25 percent of their lives.
What is a Healthy Weight for a Puggle?
Most puggles stand around 10 to 15 inches in height and can weigh anywhere between 10 and 30 pounds. There is a big gap in the average weight of these pups because the puggle breed is known for its ability to overeat, which can lead to binging and obesity. Due to this lack of restraint, portion sizes need to be monitored for puggles and it is recommended that they only consume high-quality, dry kibble. The recommended daily feedings should be broken into two or three meals of a reasonable size, so that your pup has enough energy to get them through the day, but doesn’t have enough food to take on excess weight or limit their mobility.
Your puggle’s weight should be checked at each veterinarian visit. Between visits, you can assure that your pet is staying in shape by confirming that you can see their waist and that the dog’s ribs can be felt by touch, but not seen. If you or your vet determines that your dog is overweight, the best path to slimming down is cutting back on food and increasing physical activity.