To quote my favourite youtube video, “Who’s the dog with the curly tail, the black ears and the bright pink harness…?” Apparently the dog’s name is Apple, but seriously who are these little dogs with pug faces and beagle bodies that have been popping up all over the place? Jake Gyllenhaal , Uma Thurman, James Gandolfini, Juliane Moore and even Sylvester Stallone own one of the pups, but are they just a celebrity, designer trend or a really interesting emerging breed?

The puggle, a cross-breed between a pug and a beagle, was an innovation of dog breeder Wallace Haven sometime in the 1980s. It must have been an attempt to design the perfect dog, one with the lap dog qualities of the pug with the playful energy of a beagle. Although, with any mix, you get the good with the bad, and in some cases genetic pug respiratory issues coupled with the stubborn energy of a beagle.

Appearance: The puggle has character written all over their face, some describe them as having a face only a mother could love, but any true dog lover will absolutely fall in love with the snouty face and floppy ears. In weight, the puggle ranges from 15-30 pounds and like both pugs and beagles tend to be short and muscular. Colours vary completely, some puggles closely resemble pugs, either fawn or black, with other have white bodies and spots more like the beagle.

Temperament: Like all breeds, temperament varies greatly from dog to dog but overall, these are happy little guys! The puggle is a higher energy dog that does require regular exercise; but this is equally matched with a serious case of the cuddlies as this dog will love to curl up with you on the couch for an afternoon nap. Puggles are generally quite good with strangers, tend to get along great with children and are generally satisfied to be close to people. Training can be an issue as puggles can be stubborn, independent and have selective hearing for commands, but with positive reinforcement, lots of treats and consistent effort the puggle can be a very well trained companion.

So, who’s the dog with the curly tail, the black ears and the bright pink harness? Well, in my case, she’s a sweetheart named Mia, only her harness is green and pink with little bones all over it.

It was long speculated that dogs were completely colour blind, seeing the world in black and white. In recent years, studies have confirmed that dogs, although not able to see the full colour spectrum as humans, can see limited colour because they have a red-green colour deficiency known as Protanopia. 1% of human males also have this phenomenon. With Protanopia, the eye lacks the long-wavelength sensitive retinal cones making it impossible to differentiate between the green-yellow-red section of the colour spectrum.

For the protanope, the brightness of red, orange, and yellow is much reduced compared to normal. This dimming can be so pronounced that reds may be confused with black or dark gray, and red traffic lights may appear to be extinguished. They may learn to distinguish reds from yellows and from greens primarily on the basis of their apparent brightness or lightness, not on any perceptible hue difference. – from Wikipedia

Continue reading →

This breed likely doesn’t need an introduction. Chances are you either own, or have owned, a Labrador Retriever. Or you’ve got a friend or family member who does.

Commonly known as ‘Labs’, these delightful, friendly and extremely fun-loving dogs are the most most popular dog breed in North America. According to the American Kennel Club, Labs have been the number one dog in the U.S for the last 16 years!

As their name suggests, Labs are a type of retriever. Just like their cousins, the ‘Golden Retrievers’, Labs are part of the Gun Dog group. They were bred to retrieve game and waterfowl for hunters.

Labs are fairly large dogs with a sturdy, athletic build. Their coats are usually yellow, black or Chocolate. They are also very intelligent dogs, and have a mild-mannered, easygoing temperament. We’ve had many Lab clients over the years and they have all had wonderful personalities.

Continue reading →