Owners Guide to the Puggle: Affectionate & Loyal, A Real Diamond Dog

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Myself and my 5 year old Puggle, Lilly

What is a Puggle?

If you have stumbled across this page, you either are new owners of a Puggle (congrats!), or you are interested and intrigued by the Puggle and would like to know more...

As a proud owner of a Puggle, I’m hoping that I may be able to provide you with some information and anecdotes about the Puggle breed.

First and foremost, the name Puggle comes from a blend of the two breeds that the dog is - a Pug and a Beagle. An unlikely cross, some may say, as the individual characteristics of the two breeds lay on opposite ends of the scale.

Beagles are known for being natural hunters with an immense sense of smell - real wanderers. Pugs, on the other hand are small, stocky, yet full of funny quirks that make them so loveable. Mix the two together and you get a loveable wanderer.

Lilly the Puggle

Puggles as Puppies

Having an eight week old Puggle Puppy was not easy, let me tell you! I spent a lot of time researching how to train such an exciteable pup, and implemented this as much as I could. Read my top tips for training your new puppy here.

However, generally as puppies, Puggles are a bit of a handful. Puggles inherit their intelligence from the beagle and are extremely inquisitive about their new surroundings once they arrive into your home. Their favourite way of exploring their environment is - you guessed it - with their teeth! Noooo! Lilly was a real chewer and managed to destroy most of my wooden furniture, despite us buying every chew toy and squeaky toy in sight to distract her. There was only one toy that managed to turn her attention away from my dining room chairs and that was the Kong.

The Kong is the best food based toy that I’ve ever come across. It has multiple purposes too. It is made from strong rubber, designed to be really hard to destroy, unlike your TV stand! You can also stuff it with the Kong paste which is really tasty and comes in many flavours. Lilly loved this - and still does to this day - and it is the best distraction toy on the market in my opinion. Try this with your puppy, but remember to reduce down their meals during the day or they will end up putting a little bit of unwanted weight on! ? They are available on Amazon here:

Personality of a Puggle

Puggles are loyal. As loyal as you would ever imagine a dog to be... until she is distracted. A puppy Puggle may not seem loyal to you until they are tired and fancy a cuddle. Lilly and I struggled to bond at first as she didn’t seem to take much notice of me when I was trying to train her and I constantly felt that she only wanted to know me when I had food. Your Puggle puppy will try to rule you on their terms, unfortunately. But, now she’s officially well into adulthood, she is the most cuddly and loving dog any owner could wish for. Until distracted. Distracted by anything too. A slight noise can set her into bodyguard mode; a cat or a bird on a walk will set her into wandering mode. If you can keep your puggle’s attention on you, you will have a great dog.

‘Dog Strops’ are real. Lilly very rarely gets told ‘no’ for anything these days. She is very good in the home and generally good on walks. However, if I am busy doing something else, for example, cooking, Lilly will throw a tantrum at me and will eventually put herself in her bed or safe place to sulk. If she really is in a mood she will probably throw in a massive *sigh* for good measure.

F.O.M.O (Fear of Missing Out) - Lilly has a real thing about feeling left out, or at least thinking she is getting left out. If I am having a cuddle in the evening with her sister, Bella, Lilly will not be long putting herself between us to be fussed. As your Puggle gets older, it seems to be that they crave your attention more. Lilly is much more demanding of my attention now than she ever was when she was a baby. It’s seems she has transitioned from Miss Independant to Miss Reliant.

Puggles are really gentle natured. They love kisses and cuddles, long naps and being pampered. That’s right, your Puggle will want to be pampered. I’m talking back massages, belly rubs and everything inbetween! Be rest assured that she will pay you back with plenty of kisses.

My Puggle Lilly on a walk in the countryside

On Lead Walks Can Be Tricky...

As I have already stated, your puggle will be a natural explorer. This means on-lead training can become difficult. We have never fully mastered Lilly walking to heel, but, with a lot of patience, sausage meat and the help of a HALTI head collar, we have managed to finally make walks pleasant after around three years of stressful walking time. Some people view HALTI head collars as cruel, I know I have had some side eye looks when walking Lilly, but I really do rate them for dogs that cant keep their noses off the floor and walk next to you. To the eye it looks like a mussel, but your Puggle will still be able to breath, bark, eat etc with it on. It sits at the top of their nose and clips onto their harness for safety (just in case they manage to slip out of it!) and then the lead clips onto the underside of the HALTI. The idea is that if your dog tries to pull away from you on a walk, a slight tug on the lead will turn their head to look at you and you can implement your training technique once they have slowed down and produced the desired behaviour. We bought Lilly a size S, as she doesn't have an overly long snout, here is a link for the one we have below. 

Just a sidenote about getting your Puggle used to wearing the HALTI - try putting it on them before they eat a meal and they will soon realise that it's nothing to be worried about. This will also make them happy about wearing it outside of the house. 

Overall, Your Puggle Will Become Your Best Friend

Getting used to having a puppy, whether this be your first puppy or not, is always a change. Beagles are known to be the breed that stays a puppy for the longest, approximately three years instead of two, and it is a fun three years. Our Puggle seemed to transition from puppy to adult pretty much over night. She has so many amazing qualities though and now as an adult dog her intelligence never fails to surprise me every day. If you are looking for a dog that will make you laugh, protect you, love you and be your best mate, I would highly recommend choosing a Puggle. 

On a more serious note - please research your breeder before buying. Both Mother and Father dogs should be available to meet before buying any puppy, and remember that a dog is not just for Christmas, it is for life. 

- Lea Bella x

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