Designer Dogs: The Puggle

 

I am personally not a big fan of the Puggle. I once heard a dog expert say "The puggle, a dog that runs away (Beagle) and has breathing problems (Pug)!" But some people are very fond of these dogs. They are fawn or black like pugs, with short muzzles (though not quite as short as a pug's), they have longer bodies (a Beagle attribute) and they have a sickle tail.   

Designer Dogs: The Labradoodle

 

The most popular designer breed: the Labradoodle. A cross between a Labrador Retriever, and a Standard Poodle, the Labradoodle is a large dog with a curly or wavy coat. They generally come in all the coat colors that poodles do. To learn more about these fun companion dogs, click here to go to Animal Planet's Dogs 101 channel and watch an episode about Labradoodles.  

Designer Dogs

Starting tomorrow, I will be doing a section on Designer Dog Breeds, but first, I think will define designer dogs to you. A Designer Dog is essentially a mutt, but a mutt bred on purpose. Most Designer Dogs are poodle crosses because people that are allergic to dogs want the poodle's allergy tolerant coat, but another breeds looks or personality. Some of the most common Designer Dogs are Labradoodles (Labrador Retriever x Poodle), Golden Doodles (Golden Retriever x Poodle), Puggles (Pug x Beagle), and Chiweenies (Dachshund x Chihuahua). Remember: these dogs aren't actually breeds because they were bred by crossing two different breeds, however, the Labradoodle may become a breed soon as some people are breeding Labradoodles to Labradoodles and getting Labradoodles instead of random looking puppies, so we'll see.  

The Coton de Tulear

 

The Coton de Tulear is a small dog from Madagascar. They are believed to be the descendants of some dogs that were in a shipwreck and who swam to Madagascar's shores. Today the Coton is the national dog of Madagascar. They are named for their cotton-like coat.     

The Central Asian Shepherd Dog

 

Central Asian Shepherd Dogs are very good guardian dogs, that will fight to protect their flock. They can be a variety of colors and have docked tails and often trimmed ears so that the predator has less to grab onto during a fight.

The Weimaraner

 

As a weimaraner enthusiast myself, I couldn't help but do a post about my favorite dog breed. I could write a whole essay on weims for you, but to keep it brief let me just say this: weimaraners (pronounced WHY-MER-AH-NER) were originally bred in Germany and were first called Weimar Pointers. They are happy dogs that really want to please, but they are extremely high energy and need acreage to run on. They are great family dogs, but not with very young children just because they move a lot and get excited and may hurt a young child accidentally. They are also fabulous pointers with very strong instinct, even young pups will point without encouragement. According to the American Kennel Club they must always be light grey with short fur and amber eyes. However, many breeders are now breeding blue, black, and brown weimaraners, as well as long coated weimaraners.    

The Chow Chow

 

Ah, the Chow Chow. Most dog people that are "in the know" have heard bad remarks about these fluffy "giant pomeranians". Originally bred in China, the Chow is known to be aggressive and independent. The Chow Chow is in the AKC Non-sporting Group, and is called a "Chow Chow" because he was originally bred for food; since the AKC has no Food Group, the Non-sporting Group is most fitting for this breed.