Puggat Dog Breed Pictures, Characteristics, and Facts

The Puggat is a mixed breed, so they don’t have history as their own breed. With that being said, both of their parent breeds have their own rich histories. Pugs originated in China, dating back to the Han dynasty (B.C. 206 to A.D. 200). Some historians believe they are related to the Tibetan Mastiff breed. The breed was prized by the Emperors of China. In the latter 1500s and early 1600s, China began trading with European countries. Reportedly, the first Pugs brought to Europe came with Dutch traders, who named the breed the ‘Mopshond’, a name still used today (albeit infrequently). It is known that black pugs existed in the 1700s because the famous artist, William Hogarth, was also a Pug enthusiast. He portrayed a black Pug and many other Pugs in his famous paintings. In 1785, Goya also portrayed Pugs in his paintings. As the Pug’s popularity spread throughout Europe, the breed was often known by different names in different countries. In France, they were called Carlin; in Spain Dogullo; in Germany Mops; and in Italy, Caganlino. In the early 1800s, Pugs were standardized as a breed. Pugs were introduced to the United States after the Civil War, and the breed was recognized by the American Kennel Club in 1885. 

The Rat Terrier is an American breed that is the result of crossbreeding between the Fox Terrier, Bull Terrier, Manchester Terrier, and Old English White Terrier, to name a few. The need for the Rat Terrier to catch prey and pests drove breeders to start adding new strains to the breed in the 1910s and 1920s. A Rat Terrier appeared alongside Shirley Temple in the 1930s movie, « The Little Colonel, » which helped boost the breed’s popularity. President Theodore Roosevelt is said to have named the breed, but this is disputable. He called his personal dog, who had solved the White House rat problem independently, a Rat Terrier. There is debate on whether the dog that President Roosevelt owned was the same Rat Terrier that we know today. In 1972, the first hairless Rat Terrier was born and from that little hairless female a new strain of Rat Terrier was developed. The hairless Rat Terrier is now known as the American Hairless Terrier. The American Hairless Terrier comes in two sizes, miniature and standard. The American Kennel Club still does not recognize the American Rat Terrier as a breed.