Hazel Basil

Hazel's been...alright. I've been trying to stop her from barking at every little thing she hears, but it's hard. I'm just fattening her up by giving her a treat to prevent the barking. It's working, but she's already about 30 pounds! I don't want to feed her anymore than I have to. Especially with the snow on the ground - she doesn't want to take a walk and I don't really want to take her. So that means zero exercise.
I miss that other puggle. I wonder how she's doing? Last I heard she was possibly being shipped to Cali. Lucky Cali people! I love Hazel with all my heart, but I wish we would have gotten the other puppy first! She would be fine with us bringing in another dog, but not Hazy. She's just too spoiled and anxious. I hate seeing her so anxious all the time, but nothing I do calms her down. Poor thing!

Hazel's dress

Hazel loves chewing on, ripping up and eating towels. I have no clue why. It started when we laid towels down in her crate during the day when we were at work. By the time we got home, she had obliterated them and eaten parts of them. She's definitely got an oral fixation - she's always chewing, licking or biting at something. Here's a pic of her with one of her towels on - she was rolling around with it, tearing it up and it somehow ended up on her back. She's a weirdo, but she's our cute weirdo!

Missing You

I've had that '80s song "Missing You" by John Waite in my head lately - the one that says "I ain't missing you at all since you've been gone away" and thinking about my puppy. I know it's a love song, but the "missing you" part applies to me missing the pup. I wish Hazel would have gotten along with her. I wish Kris and I hadn't given up so easily on her. But I'm sure she's in a better home now, with a dog that likes to play with her, or maybe no dog at all so she can be the center of attention, which is what she wanted.

I'm going to try to talk Kris into getting a dog next summer, a dog, not a puppy, but he doesn't think Hazel will get along with any other dogs no matter what age. I don't know about that. I think Kris is just being selfish and wants Hazel all to himself...

Puggles Alike

We got a puppy Puggle last weekend, but had to give her back to the breeder b/c Hazel didn't like her. Hazel wasn't jealous at all; she was scared of the little pup! I guess Hazel is just too set in her ways (at the ripe age of 4!) to accept a jumping, playful puppy in her life. Hazel didn't eat for the 5 days we had the puppy, and then started eating again the day after we took the puppy back. That was a good puppy, too. Quite normal, compared to Hazel. She'll grow up to be a good dog for someone. I'm sad, but happy, or relieved really, because I forgot how much puppies get into and how many times they need to get up during the night. It's like having a baby! My friends that have had babies and puppies think puppies are worse. They must have had great babies I guess! Of course, when you get a baby she can't crawl or bite you yet, like when you get a puppy.
It was funny b/c the puppy did some of the same things Hazel did, like take her food from one room to another to eat it and she snored like a banshee when she slept. How cute! Oh, I miss her. It's nice to know that Hazel isn't quite as weird as we thought. The nice thing about the puppy was that she liked to be petted, which is something Hazel can't stand. :( back to not being able to pet my pet.
Anyway, I guess it wasn't meant to be. Maybe we'll try to get an adult dog next year from the Humane Society, which will make my conscious feel good, as well as (hopefully!) giving Hazel an adult playmate.

Bad Dreams

Poor Hazy. Having a bad dream right next to me. Many of her dreams include running. Or at least, that is what I suspect from her little feet a flappin' and her quickening breath. I wish I knew what she was dreaming about! Luckily she only whines every once in a while or else I would be more tempted to wake her from her bad dream. I've read it's bad to wake up a dog having a dream. I suppose it's because it could scare her. I can't really remember why. She does look at me, which I interpret as reassurance, when she wakes up. That's the only time I can pet her without her trying to roll over on her back to kick me for the petting!

Mornin'

Hazel is so lazy! I get her out of her cage about 6:10 every morning, M-F, and lately she has been so tired, although I have no idea why. She sleeps all night. Anyway, our bathroom has two rooms - one for the shower and one for the vanity. I get ready in the room with the vanity and keep the lights off in the shower room. This week Hazy's been going into the shower room and sitting in there with her back towards me and the light! She's also been hanging her head really low and slowly blinking when I can catch a glance at her. She's sooo cute! I can't believe how lazy she is!

Chipmunk Cheeks

Hazel is so weird! She's does this weird thing lately where she will gather as many treats as possible in her mouth, and then start whining as she looks for a place to deposit these treats. She doesn't want to eat them all and she almost gags carrying them around the living room. It's so weird. At first I thought she was actually choking or having some kind of problem, but now when she does it I just ignore her. She's such a little weirdo! But she's my little weirdo. I don't think I'll ever figure out why she's doing it.

Safe Dog Food

It’s sad that so many dog food companies have had so many recalls in recent years. But in a way, it’s a good thing. Now that people consider their pets (especially dogs, I would say) as part of the family, many dog food companies have upped their quality and the media is really paying attention to these dog food recalls. Just think if this were 50 years ago, when dogs were mainly “just animals” to people, no one would care if dog food was recalled. The Alpo recall was a top story for days on television and was everywhere on the Internet. I think that says something about people – we cherish our pets!

In fact, the FDA has gotten involved and on February 6, announced that “two Chinese nationals and the businesses they operate, along with a U.S. company and its president and CEO, were indicted by a grand jury for their roles in a scheme to import products purported to be wheat gluten into the United States that were contaminated with melamine.” The indictments allege that more than 800 tons of purported wheat gluten, valued at nearly $850,000, were imported into the United States between Nov. 6, 2006, and Feb. 21, 2007.
Melamine is used to create products such as plastics, floor tiles, cleaning products, fire retardant materials, inks, and fertilizers. Melamine is not approved as an ingredient in human or animal food in the U.S.
Dog foods that have quality protein sources, chicken, beef, lamb, fish, or turkey listed as their first ingredient are best. Ingredients are listed in descending order by the amount in the food. The first ingredient shouldn’t be an animal by-product, a vegetable, or wheat or grain. Check out the package too – it should have an expiration date and a phone number or web site so you can contact the company. A TODAY show story warns against buying generic or store-label brands because “the food is probably from bulk suppliers.” Also, you should avoid preservatives like BHT, ethoxyquine, BHA, and propolyneglycolb.
It seems to me that to be safe, when you look at the ingredients on your dog’s food, you should be able to understand the first few ingredients at least. I’ll keep researching the healthiest dog food for Hazel, but with so many dog food companies supporting research, it’s hard to know who to trust. Like Hazel, I’ll just keep sniffing around until I find something good.

Curious Creatures

The Beagle nose leads everywhere! Here's Hazel investigating a downspout.

Puggles can be a little cocky!

So little and cute at 3 months old!

Puggle Personality

Whenever you mix two breeds, it’s hard to tell what the outcome will be. It seems as though Puggles get either all of the worst traits of each breed or all of the best traits. For me, it’s a love/hate relationship with Hazel. She’s stubborn, hyper, likes to eat towels or any other kind of material, eats her poop, follows us around and likes to sleep. Her favorite pastimes include barking at every noise she hears until she howls like a Beagle, farting, and following her nose like a Beagle. She’s also very smart, but pretends to be stupid (she acts like she doesn’t know better than to pull Kleenexes out of the trashcan, but we know she does!). Most Puggles like to cuddle, but Hazel hates it. If we pet her, she’ll get up and leave. But, she does like to give kisses and would lick all the skin off of our noses and hands if we let her! Puggles are usually not “yip-yip” dogs as Kris likes to say – they have some power behind their bark. Their stocky Pug chests make them perfect to play with and not have to worry about hurting them. Hazel likes to rough house with Kris, and he loves her for that.

Most Puggles have sweet personalities and get along well with other dogs and children. Puggles are very friendly – they want to know everybody! They have a lot of energy, and as they get older (over 1 year old) they crash from playing a lot sooner. Hazel used to want to play fetch for a half hour to an hour before she was tired. Since she was about two years old though, she’s done in about 10-15 minutes. If she hasn’t seen us all day, she’ll run around the house like a banshee for about 5 minutes and then sit and watch what we’re doing. She’s always ready to join us on the couch with a chew toy. A 15-minute walk is usually all a Puggle needs to calm down for the day.

The bottom line for the majority of Puggles is: friendly, loyal, and energetic.

Hello and Welcome

Welcome to Puggle Place! This blog is about all things Puggle, which is a Beagle mixed with a Pug.

The resident Puggle is my own, Hazel. She's a baby in this picture; she's all grown up now.

Puggles like to bark, and they usually end up howling at the end of their barks - pretty cute! The first few times, at least. Some Puggles like to snuggle, but unfortunately Hazel does not. Most puggles are hyper and stubborn. The worst of both worlds! But, they are very loyal and protective of their people and they never want to be more than a few steps away from you. They are entertaining, annoying, but too cute to stay mad at for too long!