Difference Between Puggles & Pocket Puggles

Puggles are a mixed-breed dog created by mating a purebred beagle and a purebred pug. Pocket puggles are a smaller version of the same mixture. Beagle and pug parents produce a dog that is energetic like a hound but thick in build with short hair, a wrinkled forehead and drooping ears like a pug.

  1. Size

    • Puggles typically weigh between 15 and 30 pounds and stand about 10 to 15 inches at the shoulder. Puggle puppies grow to be similar in size to their parents, but the size and shape of their heads may vary. Male puggles tend to be larger and more muscular than female puggles. Because puggles are not recognized as a breed, there are no height standards to distinguish a standard puggle from a miniature or pocket puggle. Breeders consider puggles weighing less than 15 pounds and standing shorter than 10 inches at the shoulder pocket puggles.

    Health

    • Puggles are generally a healthy breed with few of the health problems that purebred pug dogs tend to have. Because of an expanded gene pool, the characteristics of one breed tend to offset the deficiencies in the other breed. Puggles that are extremely small or intentionally bred from smaller parents of each breed to produce pocket puggles, however, are likely to inherit genetic defects existing in each breed. Pocket puggles are often a result of inappropriate breeding, such as breeding small, unhealthy dogs.

    First and Second Generation Breeds

    • First generation or purebred puggles and pocket puggles come from a purebred beagle and a purebred pug parent. Typically, puppies in each litter will look very similar to each other in color and markings. Second generation puggles are created by breeding two puggles; in second generation puggles, you will see more differences than in purebred first generation puggles. The puppies might look more like beagles, more like pugs or more like the puggles you bred. Breeding two smaller-sized puggles may create a second generation breed of pocket puggles that share the characteristics of second generation standard puggles but do not grow as big.

    Buying Puggles or Pocket Puggles

    • Pocket puggles are often a sales gimmick breeders use to sell their dogs; there really is no standard or guideline determining what makes a pocket puggle. Often the puppies are the same mixture of beagle and pug, but the breeder will select the smallest beagle and pug parents available. This does not guarantee your pocket puggle puppy will be small when it reaches maturity. Just as two small human parents can produce a large child, so can two small dogs. Your puggle puppy will not have a registration, but the parents should be registered if you are buying from a reputable breeder. Ask to see the parents' registrations before buying your puggle to ensure both parents are purebreds.