Are Puggles Good Family Dogs? [The Truth Uncovered]

If you’re looking to expand your family into the animal kingdom, a dog can be a fantastic new addition. They make sure you’re getting enough exercise, help you make new friends with other owners, and teach your kids about responsibility. Perhaps most importantly, though, a dog will add a new layer of love to your home.

Once you’ve decided to bring a dog into your family, you’ll first want to think about breeds. Some dog breeds are better suited to family life than others, particularly if you have young children. They will need to be compatible with all existing family members for you all to live a harmonious life.

Are Puggles Good Family Dogs? Yes! Puggles make great family dogs. The Puggle is a crossbreed of the pug and the beagle. This means your Puggle will inherit both sides’ traits that will make them a good fit for your family. These include being a manageable size, their friendly nature, and their good temperament.

All in all, a puggle would thrive in a family setting, including families with children or other dogs.

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What Makes a Puggle a Good Family Dog?

Puggles have excellent temperaments, making them a friendly and sociable breed. They are even keen to say hello to strangers, and as long as they get enough exercise, they are not overly energetic or excitable.

Puggles are an easily manageable size, even for children, standing at around a 15-inch shoulder height when fully grown. Their short coats and lack of drooling tendencies mean grooming is low maintenance, keeping mess to a minimum.

They are also incredibly adaptable dogs that fit into a range of living spaces and families of all shapes and sizes. Adults, teenagers, and children alike will all be able to form a bond with a puggle.

Puggles are great fun during playtime, keeping the family entertained as well as active. Once playtime or their walks are over, though, they are usually happy to chill out and relax with their owner. Because of this, they can maintain an ideal balance of lively and calm.

No matter what your family has planned for the day, they can fit right in.

Their friendly nature means they are happy to give and receive affection, a much-loved trait of canine companions. That being said, they don’t tend to be overly clingy or demand constant attention.

Are Puggles Good with Other Pets?

A puggle’s social tendencies extend beyond humans, meaning they can get on well with other pets. That being said, you should still take care to socialize them properly and keep meetings supervised.

Furthermore, introducing a puggle to another pet is a delicate process that requires patience, so you will need to be prepared to dedicate time to this.

Small animals, such as rabbits or guinea pigs, would be best kept separate from puggles (or any other dog, for that matter). This is because they could potentially trigger the Puggle’s prey drive.

The smaller animal may also feel stressed and under threat in the presence of a dog, even if it doesn’t intend to harm them.

If you’d like to read more about how puggles get on with other pets, including dogs, cats, and small animals, you can do so by clicking thru to my blog post: Are Puggles Good With Cats?

Are Puggles Good with Babies?

Puggles can get along well even with small children and can share a home with a baby. With any dog, though, you need to make sure of a few things when bringing them together.

First, you should always be around to supervise whenever your baby and Puggle are together.

Even if they are the most gentle dog you have ever met, there’s still a chance they could accidentally hurt the baby. It’s often found that a dog will instinctually be more careful with infants than adults, but they still may cause harm without intending to.

You may also want to keep an eye on them for your Puggle’s sake.

Babies are noisy household members and will love to grab onto whatever’s nearest when they get to a certain age. If your Puggle is nearby, they might find their fur or tail in the clutches of a curious infant.

Despite their excellent temperament, even puggles can be driven to annoyance, which is not a mood you want them to be in when interacting with your baby.

It would help if you also thought about hygiene.

Babies – especially newborns – need to be kept away from germs and other harmful bacteria.

Dogs have no such rules about cleanliness and will happily sniffle at your baby, no matter where its nose has already been that day.

For this reason, you probably won’t want to let them get too close and personal with each other.

How do I introduce my Puggle to my Children?

As with all introductions, you should do this with care and patience.

Create an atmosphere that is unthreatening and allows the Puggle to take the reins.

For example, have your child (or children) sit in one spot on the ground, perhaps holding a toy or some treats. Then, wait and let your Puggle approach them when they feel ready.

Please pay close attention to their body language; this is a reliable way to gauge how your dog feels, whether it be relaxed, scared, defensive, or potentially aggressive.

Remember that you’re not only getting your Puggle used to your children but also getting your children used to your Puggle.

Depending on their age, the education you give them will vary. Essentially, though, your children will learn how to respect the new animal in your home and keep them under control, such as through training.

Dogs are complex animals, and everyone in the household must understand what looking after them entails.

Even if your children have been around dogs before or had one of their own, they will still need to take time to learn about the latest addition. No two dogs are the same – they all have different personalities and needs.

Figuring these out is all part of the owner’s journey.

Families will often have an established routine, and adding a new pet is bound to cause some changes, which can seem complicated at first.

For instance, you might have to move chores around to make time for a daily walk or rearrange furniture to make space.

The early stages can often feel stressful while you find your feet, but with time, you and your Puggle will settle into a new routine, and they will be absorbed happily into your family.

Can my Children Walk my Puggle?

Puggles don’t require too much exercise – an hour a day should do just fine. This is perfect for keeping you active without taking up too much time.

As for letting your children walk your Puggle, it depends on a few various factors.

How old are your children?

How responsible are they?

Will they be walking them alone?

Where will they be walking them?

Common sense will be a significant factor in this decision.

For instance, you wouldn’t let a young child walk the dog alone next to a busy road.

Given their size, a puggle wouldn’t be too much of a challenge for a younger person to walk. However, puggles do have the potential to get excitable during their daily exercise, which could cause your child to struggle to keep them under control.

Furthermore, puggles (especially those who have not been well-socialized) will often be keen to greet any other dogs they see on their walk.

This could manifest as pulling on the leash and barking. Under these circumstances, a younger child would likely become stressed and be put off from future walks.

To start with, try taking your Puggle on walks together.

If your child feels confident enough (and you trust their confidence), let them hold the leash while you walk alongside them. That way, they’re still technically walking the dog, but you are still present.

Your child takes responsibility, knowing they have your support if you need to step in.

It’s generally agreed that a child should be okay to walk a dog alone in a safe environment for a short distance at age ten and up.

Again, though, you should take the behavior of both your dog and your child into account.

This can be a great way to teach independence and responsibility, but be careful not to put them both in a potentially challenging situation before they are ready.

Final Thoughts

If you’re looking for a family dog, a puggle would be an excellent choice. They have a whole host of qualities that make them well-suited to family life and get along well with children and other pets. Besides helping your family grow, they can also teach children about responsibility and help them become more active.

They may have a status as a designer dog, but these canines will fit right in with any family.