About the Author
Miriam Fields-Babineau is a professional animal trainer and the author of over 30 books on animal training; she also provides animals for media productions. She has trained many dogs of different breeds and mixes in her classes over the years. She designed the Comfort Trainer Head Halter, All-in-One Training Leash and other animal training products. She resides on a farm in Virginia with her husband, son and many beloved pets.
About Our Cover Dog
Meet Cooper, a Puggle puppy owned by Kelly Williams of California. Cooper lists chewing, playing fetch and general mischief-making among his favorite activities. His owner says that he’s discerning and smart and really loves the attention of his human family and all his new friends.
Kennel Club Books®, the country’s only major publisher of dog books exclusively, proudly presents its Designer Dog® Series to celebrate the Puggle’s coming-out party. Continuing in its bold effort to produce a unique line of dog books, Kennel Club Books® releases the first ever books on the specific designer-dog crossbreeds. The company has also released many Special Limited Editions and Special Rare-Breed Editions on various unusual breeds.
Visit the publishers website at www.Kennelclubbooks.com to read more about the unique library of books available to dog lovers around the world.
KENNEL CLUB BOOKS®
Designer Dog®
SERIES
PUGGLE
ISBN: 1-59378-678-6
Copyright © 2007 • Kennel Club Books® • An Imprint of I-5 Press™ • A Division of I-5 Publishing, LLC™ 3 Burroughs, Irvine, CA 92618 USA Printed in South Korea
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Fields-Babineau, Miriam. Puggle / by Miriam Fields-Babineau. p. cm. — (Designer dog) ISBN-13: 978-1-59378-678-6 ISBN-10: 1-59378-678-6 eISBN-13: 978-1-59378-716-5 1. Puggle. I. Title. SF429.P92F54 2007 636.76—dc22
2007009780
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, by photostat, scanner, microfilm, xerography or any other means, or incorporated into any information retrieval system, electronic or mechanical, without the written permission of the copyright owner.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Puggle Sherman enjoys chewing on his toys, performing tricks and eating “anything you put in front of him.”
Acknowledgments
Thanks to the following owners of the dogs featured in this book: Becca Byrne, Chelle, Andre and Devina Calbert, the Lanzillotta family, Mary Meyers and Jeanette, Danielle and Dylan O’Neal.
Photography by:
Chelle Calbert
with additional photos by:
Tara Darling, Karen Taylor
and Alice van Kempen.
Contents
OBEDIENCE TRAINING FOR YOUR PUGGLE
Pug.
Beagle.
From two of America’s favorite purebreds comes one of today’s favorite hybrids.
What Is a Puggle?
The name for a baby echidna (platypus) is “puggle.” The echidna is the only marsupial in Australia that lays eggs instead of birthing live young. The female lays an egg, which is incubated in a pouch, much like a young kangaroo. Ten days later the newborn hatches and is then considered a tiny puggle at less than half an inch long and weighing not even a thousandth of a pound. The puggle is carried in its mother’s pouch until it begins growing spines, at which time his mom leaves him in a burrow and returns every few days to feed him. The puggle leaves his burrow at the age of six months and his mom weans him around four months later.
Now for the canine version (far cuter than a platypus): a Puggle is the offspring of breeding a male Pug with a female Beagle.
There are well over 400 breeds of dog, many recognized by kennel clubs throughout the world. Many breeds are still in their infancy as breeders try to standardize their dogs to fit specific size and behavior guidelines. Now comes the designer-dog craze. This puts a wrinkle in the fabric of the purebred dog world, as hybrids and mixed breeds are becoming as popular and desirable as purebred dogs. Moreover,