Puggat

The Puggat is an intentional hybrid, the combination of the Pug breed, a canine that has provided companionship to royals for thousands of years, and the Rat Terrier, a feisty farm terrier developed in the United States. The Pug breed is believed to be one of the oldest breeds still in existence today and Pugs were first recorded as the companions to royalty in China during the Shang dynasty, which lasted from around 1600 to 1046 BC. They were not only the cherished companions of the ruling class, but they were considered to be prized possessions as well, and were given as gifts to esteemed dignitaries and visiting royal families. In this way, the charming Pug dog was distributed throughout the world, becoming very popular with Royals worldwide. These little dogs were frequently seen at the English court of King William III and Queen Mary II during the 1600s and figured prominently in portraits of Princess Ekaterina Dmitrievna Golitsyna in 1700s Russia. In the 1800s, their popularity once again exploded when Queen Victoria took an interest in both showing and breeding Pugs. The Rat Terrier, on the other hand, is a much newer breed, although how old they are and where they originated is a somewhat contested issue. Many claim that the Rat Terrier was first developed in England in the mid-1800s, the offspring of Smooth-haired Fox Terriers and Manchester Terriers. Other experts state that the Rat Terrier is an American dog, developed in the United States as the descendant of the aforementioned terrier that was brought to America from England, due to the addition of breeds like the Whippet, the Italian Greyhound, and the Beagle, which were utilized to significantly increase the speed, stamina, and tracking ability of the breed. Initially employed as a farm dog in the United States, they became more popular as companion animals in the very early 1900s when Teddy Roosevelt took office and brought his dogs with him to the White House.