Peagle Dog Breed

Below are details and specs for the Peagle dog breed.

Beagles are usually medium-sized dogs but they can be small too; they are usually 6-16 inches high and their weight is generally 12-15 pounds.

Your Peagle's behavior can encompass a wide range, from aloof and demanding to playful and friendly. They can be very good with children, most other pets and strangers who are gentle and non-threatening.

Like her behavior, maintenance of your Peagle can range from moderate to great, and again it depends on how much Pekingese or Beagle she has in her. They may get nearly enough exercise on their own but may need to be walked daily.

The Peagle is a somewhat new hybrid dog and because of this does not have much history. They are produced from cross-breeding a Pekingese with a Beagle, and getting to know these two parent breeds will help you greatly to know your Peagle.

The Pekingese is a pure breed whose history goes back nearly 3,000 years and whose origin is in China. Because of their peak position in society, they are remarkably precious and their temperament to this day reflects this. Pekingese were not known to Western society until the mid-19th century after the Second Opium War (in 1860); one of them was given to Queen Victoria and she named it Looty. Since then, the Pekingese has been a very popular dog and continues to be so. The Pekingese was officially recognized by the American Kennel Club (AKC) in 1906.

The Beagle is a pure breed that is well-known for possessing an extraordinary sense of smell, and by these olfactory talents (and floppy ears), they have been traced back to their basic beginnings in the 5th century B.C. in ancient Greece. In the 11th century, William the Conqueror took the Talbot Hound to England and it was there that he may have bred the dog with a Greyhound so as to produce a faster dog that retained the Talbot's sharp sense of smell.

Several centuries later, in 1830, Great Britain's Reverend Phillip Honeywood was credited for producing the groundwork for the modern-day Beagle. The Beagle was one of the first breeds to be recognized by the American Kennel Club (AKC), and was done so in 1885.

Peagles are hybrids who will inherit characteristics from both parent breeds. Not all Peagles will inherit the same traits, however; some will display more Pekingese, others will show more Beagle. Still, they will be small dogs with rounded heads but if they have more Pekingese, they will have much shorter snouts and longer hair whereas a pup with a predominance of Beagle will have short hair and a medium snout. They may have a very short coat or one with long hair. The tail will almost certainly be of medium length.

Just as the great range in height, so too is there a significant spectrum along which a Peagle's temperament may fall. Beagles are fun-loving, affectionate and always seeking attention whereas Pekingese are bred to be precocious, demanding and treated very gently; your Peagle may be very stubborn or extremely friendly or somewhere between. He may also be very curious (if he has more Beagle) or almost always aloof (if he has more Pekingese).

Training is tricky; Beagles tend to be very curious and their focus may not be what you desire, and Pekingese must be led to believe that what you are training them is what they want to do. As such, a great amount of patience and persistence must accompany your positive reinforcement training methods.

Peagles come from two parent breeds with a number of health concerns, and unlike most hybrids, cross-breeding has done little to mitigate most of these problems.

As such, your Peagle may be prone to eye and ear diseases, joint ailments, cleft palate, heart problems, back pain, thyroid illness, epilepsy, skin infections and respiratory issues. The shorter the snout, the more likely they will have these respiratory issues — especially in extreme weather when the hot or cold air either condenses too quickly or fails to heat up quickly enough as the air enters the lungs.