A good girlfriend of mine recently bought her family a Puggle, a fairly new breed of dog that is half Pug and half Beagle. She went on vacation and, being the animal lover that I am, she asked me to babysit their six-month old Puggle for the week. She also told me that she was having problems with the dog due to his hyperactivity, dominate behavior, and destructive ways. They had even called the breeder and considered sending him back. Since I have watched other dogs for weeks and some for months and had some dog training background, I figured it would be no problem. Boy was I wrong!
From the minute I picked up the dog, Rocco, chaos ensued. Right after I picked up Rocco I drove us to Pet Food Express to pick up some food for my own dog and cat (and a likely treat for my new Puggle pal). As I pulled into the parking lot I rolled down the window to let some air in. I didn't quite trust Rocco as my girlfriend had informed me of his problems. So, even though we were in the car, I left his leash on and held it in my hand so he could not jump out of the window and get away.
Regardless, as I slowed down and pulled into a parking space, Rocco got out of his collar and jumped out my passenger window. I had to chase him around a busy parking lot for ten minutes to catch him. My heart was pounding as I worried that he would get hit by a car, and never mind the fact he cost the family $1000. Thank goodness she had given me a package of treats as we left, so I was able to coax him over to me eventually. Needless to say, I marched into the pet store and bought him a harness.
He continued to terrorize my life for that entire week. At my house he jumped on my bed, humped my sheets, bit my pillows, ripped my comforter, and never seemed to run out of energy. I have a lot of patience with animals but this dog put me to the test. I hate to say it, but he spent a lot of time in his kennel the last couple of days of my watching him.
Although my knowledge of this breed is limited, I met another Puggle owner on one of my many walks with Rocco who said the energy level was through the roof. And just the other day I walked past a soccer field and saw a woman being dragged behind a Puggle running around like a maniac. I don't think enough research has been done on this breed, but it does not seem that Puggles are good family dogs. They are half hunting/tracking dogs that need to be on a ranch or somewhere where they can run around all day.
