When it comes to temperament, appearance, and general experience as a dog parent, Chihuahuas, and Pugs are, for the most part, worlds apart. This is exactly what makes the Chug mixed dog such a fascinating designer breed. It is a personal favorite, and there is just something about their unique aesthetic and endearing personalities that makes them a hit in the designer doggie world. Here is all you need to know if you are also interested in getting one.
A Chug dog is a mixed dog produced by breeding a male Chihuahua and a female Pug. It is one of the many mixed-breed varieties that existed naturally before making its way into the designer dog market in the 21st century. The Chug is known for its small build, eclectic combination of the parent’s features, and its cheerful and playful personality. Today, they are popular picks as guard dogs and companion pets.
After all that is said and done, the Chug dog is a pretty cool doggy with a lot to offer. However, given its big personality as well as health and grooming needs, you need to know exactly what you are getting yourself into if you want to bring one of these lovely pooches home with you. Let’s take a look at what you have to expect.
What Does A Pug And A Chihuahua Mix Look Like?
A Chihuahua Pug mix is also called a Chug dog and is one of the most varied mixed dog breeds when it comes to appearance. This is because its appearance depends on the strength of the genes of the vastly different-looking parent breeds. To give you a better idea of what to expect, let’s first look into what Chihuahuas and Pugs actually look like.
Chihuahuas are the smallest dog breeds out there, with a weight range at maturity of 4 to 6 pounds and an average height of 8 inches. They are known for their apple-shaped heads, large eyes, and perky ears. When it comes to their coats, they have short or long types in brown, tan, fawn, red, and cream.
On the other hand, Pugs are also considered small but are considerably larger than Chihuahuas weighing in at 12 to 18 pounds with an average height of 10 to 16 inches. They have a compact and lean body with a signature flat, wrinkly face, small ears, and a curly tail.
How big a Pug Chihuahua mix will get depends on genetics. They more often than not come out larger than Chihuahuas and have a weight average of 10 to 20 pounds and a height range of 10 to 14 inches. They also tend to have the more compact and muscular build of the Pug parent.
Other common defining features include a combination of the Pug’s wrinkly face and folded ears with the Chihuahua’s head and face shape. Their eyes shape and size are often an almost equal toss-up between the two parents. Finally, Chugs also frequently take after the curly tail and smooth, short coat of the Pug side.
How Long Do Pug Chihuahuas Live? Health Problems Of A Chug
Chihuahuas have an average life span of 12 to 20 years, while Pugs live for up to 11 years or longer. The Chug dog is a relatively healthy dog with few and often non-life-threatening conditions.
A Chihuahua Pug mix can actually live up to 10 to 13 years with proper care.
This, however, does not mean that they have no health issues. For some perspective on what to expect, here are the most common health problems that Chugs have.
Hypoglycemia
This is common with active dogs as they love to play a lot and often burn through their energy reserves. This may explain why your Chug shakes a lot, as symptoms of hypoglycemia include tremors.
Bone And Joint Problems
Chug dogs suffer from several skeletal issues due to their small build. These include hip and shoulder dysplasia as well as patellar luxation.
We recommend that you add glucosamine supplements, like Doggie Dailies Glucosamine, to the dog’s diet to reduce issues like pain and limited mobility. The supplement contains compounds, such as chondroitin, glucosamine, MSM, and turmeric, for these functions.
Dryness Of The Nose
This mainly affects the nose with flat-faced Chugs. It could result in cracking and even sunburns, which are uncomfortable for the dog. The Blissful Dog Nose Butter for Dry Dog Nose is perfect in this case with its toxin-free and shea butter-based formula to remoisturize and soothe the dryness.
Eye Problems
These include cataracts and cherry eye. They are also likely to suffer from dryness of the eye surface, especially if they get the large and disproportional eyes of the Chihuahua side of the family.
Are Chihuahua Pugs Good Dogs? Temperaments Of A Chug
Chihuahuas are known for their energetic, yappy, and mistrusting personalities, while Pugs are considered calmer and more affectionate. Despite these differences, there are a variety of similarities that define the Chug’s personality and make it a good pet.
Intelligent
Chugs are considered very smart, which is to be expected given how intelligent both parents are. They are particularly easy to train, but the earlier you start, the more successful the training will be.
Playful
These dogs are little balls of energy who love nothing more than playtime. Due to their size, they thrive in both indoor and outdoor spaces when it comes to staying active. So plan for a lot of toys and walks to the park if you want to bring a Chug home.
Protective
These dogs are absolutely loyal and affectionate with their families. While they are, for the most part, quite peaceful, they can become aggressive when they feel that those they care about are in some form of danger.
Wary Of Strangers
Chug dogs are also not particularly fond of strangers. They, more often than not, just avoid them and get aloof around unfamiliar people. However, if they get anxious, they can actually attack either through barking, chasing, or even biting. For this reason, it is absolutely important to socialize your Chug as early as possible just to get them used to see new people and even new pets.
Loud
Despite contributions from the peaceful and quiet Pug, Chug doggies can be very yappy. This happens mainly when the dog feels threatened or uncomfortable in unfamiliar situations. Fortunately, they are smart and can easily be trained to only bark when necessary.
Do Pug Chihuahuas Shed? Grooming Tips For The Chug
Chug dogs are not considered hypoallergenic because they shed minimally to moderately. With this in mind, you will have to take special measures when raising one if you have allergic family members or guests. This includes everything from grooming to house cleaning, which we will look into shortly.
When it comes to grooming to control shedding, it all depends on the coat type that the Chug inherits. They usually end up with short and smooth coats common to both the Chihuahua and the Pug. This coat type is quite easy to maintain. You can actually get away with brushing them once or twice a week because they rarely tangle.
The long hair type, on the other hand, is more laborious to maintain and is fortunately rarer. Despite popular belief, long fur does not shed any more or less. It is just more visible. It is also more prone to tangling and matting, which in the long run, can reduce coat health and actually cause more shedding.
To deal with this, you will have to brush your pooch’s hair more frequently with a 3 to 4 times per week schedule deemed to be ideal for the long coat Chugs.
Getting rid of fur on surfaces in your house will also help minimize exposure to Chug dander that triggers allergies. There are many ways to do this, including wiping, using fur rollers, and vacuuming. With the latter, the Meiyou Cordless Vacuum is fantastic for dealing with a shedding Chug. The portable vacuum is designed to get rid of fur not only from the floor but also from carpeting and furniture upholstery.
How Do You Train A Pug Chihuahua?
Pug Chihuahuas are smart, but they are not intuitive. This means that if left to their own devices, they can be very mischievous and generally not very pleasant to deal with. Whether you are potty training the dog or socializing it, here are a few foolproof tips to help you ensure success with your efforts.
Start Early
Chugs are highly impressionable when they are young and this is, therefore, the best time to start training with them, especially with socialization. As they grow older, they become more stubborn, and this will definitely make work a lot harder for you.
Be Patient
Chug dogs are always eager to please. However, they can be a little slow to pick up on things, especially dog tricks and obedience training. Don’t let this slow you down or discourage you. Just make sure to be consistent with your efforts, and your pooch will eventually get with the program.
Don’t Be Harsh
Chihuahua Pug mixed doggies are particularly sensitive and thus easily scared by harsh training methods. This means that measures like punishments or yelling at the dog for not learning will only set you back further.
Use Positive Reinforcements
On the other hand, Chug doggies respond very well to rewards and positive reinforcement. They love to eat so a treat here and there for doing the job or at least attempting will help a lot. They also love attention so praises could work just as well in encouraging the dog to keep trying.
Keep The Sessions Short
These dogs do not have the best attention span, and if your session is too long, they will get bored and cranky. So keep it to 10 to 15 minutes or even less. Just make sure to be consistent.
Related Questions
How Much Is A Pug Chihuahua Mix? Chihuahua Pug mixes are among the most commonly found both from designer breeders and random finds in shelters. They are thus not very expensive and range between $500 or less and $800. If you are lucky, you can actually get your very own Chug dog for free through dog adoption agencies.
Which Is Better – Pug Or Chihuahua? This depends on your personal preferences. Chihuahuas are ideal if you have limited space or just want a small dog with a big and highly spirited personality. Pugs, on the other hand, are similarly doing alright in small apartment spaces and will certainly not pass up a chance for more freedom, making this dog breed ideal for dog owners who want a friendly and easy-going doggy.
Are Chihuahua Pug Mixes Healthier Than Purebred Pugs And Chihuahuas? With mixed-breed doggies, there is a high chance of breeding out diseases associated with either breed. They thus generally tend to be much healthier than their parent breeds, suffering fewer of the specific illnesses. The same can be applied to Chihuahua Pug mixes which tend to be healthier than pure Pugs and Chihuahuas.
