This past Sunday, we the city of Raleigh was blessed with 60 degree weather and sunny skies. This presented a perfect opportunity to bring our chug puppy Max out for some fresh air.
We brought him to a local school’s baseball field and let him loose without a leash for the first time since we brought him home.
We were surprised at how fast and energetic he was. Being a previous pug owner lead me to expect that he would have inherited at least some of the pug’s notorious lethargy and laziness but that was not the case at all.
He ran around non-stop for about an hour and barely even panted.
So are chug puppies athletic?
It depends.
- Chi’s are quick and pugs have strong muscles, so depending on the mix you get, your chug puppy can have a mix of the two. From what we’ve read and observed, chugs are tough little dogs.
- Chugs generally bypass the poor breathing problems that pugs have, so they should have more stamina.
- Chi’s also have less body fat and fur than pugs, which is probably why Max did not pant much. (Dog painting is equivalent to human sweating).
- The best way to determine if your chug puppy is athletic is to take him outside and see what he’s got.
Since Chug Puppies are a mixture of a Pug and a Chihuahua, their appearances can vary drastically from litter to litter. Many new chug owners wonder if their ears will begin to pop up like a Chihuahua’s when they get older or if they will stay floppy like that of a Pug.
There is no real definite answer. Max the Chug’s ears always stayed down when up until he was 19 weeks old. At 19 weeks old they are beginning to pop up when he is excited or playing. There is a chance his ears will always stay in-between like this, but there is no telling until he becomes older. Many chug puppy and Chihuahua owners have experimented with different methods of keeping their puppy’s ears droopy.
How to Keep Your Chug Puppy’s Ears from Sticking Up:
- Massage the ears daily to loosen their cartilage.
- Apply vinegar to ear to loosen the cartilage. (Do not submerge the ear canal, though)
- Magnetic earrings to stretch the ear muscle
- Dog ear tape
Of course, make sure that you only use humane methods when trying to keep your chug puppy’s ears from sticking up.
If you are particularly attached to your clean furniture or if you have allergies you may be wondering if chug dogs shed. The short answer is yes. Both pugs and chihuahuas shed their coats, but not as much as furrier breeds such as huskies. It is also important to keep in mind that chug puppies are small and if they are a short haired mix, will have thin and fine coat. This results in less shedding overall.
You may think that shedding is a drawback to getting a chug puppy, but keep in mind that overall they have very little grooming requirements. Dogs 101 on the discovery channel even goes so far as to say that chihuahuas only need to be bathed once a month. However, we have found that if you want your pup to smell pristene, you should bathe him more frequently than that.
Click here for more information on chug puppy grooming and hygeine.
Chug puppies are often referred to as “Designer breeds or a “Hybrid” dog. However these terms are really just marketing jargon. Many people pay upwards of $2000 dollars for their “designer dog”. Do you have to pay this much? Certainly not! The offspring of a mating between two purebred dogs of different breeds is a mongrel or a mutt. If you buy from a family or private breeder, you can expect to pay around $400 for your chug puppy.
Every dog breed in the world has actually been created by humans. Each breed was developed for a specific purpose – whether that original job was guarding the flock or being the ideal lap-dog. Chugs have been created because many people like the compactness of the chiuaua and the good natured attitude of the pug.
Two of the best-known mixed-breeds out there now are the “Golden Doodle” and the “Puggle.” The thinking behind these crosses is fairly obvious: wouldn’t it be nice to have a Golden Retriever’s personality and willingness to please combined with the Poodle’s non-shedding coat and intelligence? Wouldn’t it be equally delightful to have a small dog without the breathing issues of a Pug, but quieter than a Beagle?
Chug Puppies are no doubt adorable, but they are in fact, mutts. So if a Paris Hilton look-alike tries to tell you they are worth $5000, be sure to research more affordable breeders. You can check our chug puppies for sale page to start.