“Pekingese Poodle mix”
Peekapoo is a crossbreed of Pekingese and Poodle. This “designer dog” is known by many names like, Peke-A-Poo, Pekapoo, Pekingese Poodle Mix, Pekepoo, and Peke a Poo. This dog is hypoallergenic, low-shedding, and has a wavy coat that is soft and comes with a variety of colours. The Pekepoo has a life expectancy of 13-15 years, so if you’re planning to adopt one, you’ll surely have more years to spend together given proper care and hygiene.
Parents
The parents of this charming designer dog are the Pekingese and the Toy Poodle. Both are friendly, alert, and loyal companions.
Pekingese
These dogs were popular at the Chinese Imperial Court, but remained unfamiliar in the West until the year 1860. Known as Pekes, they are originally called “sleeve dogs” because they can easily be carried in the sleeves of a courtier’s garment. To this day, these small dogs have retained their aristocratic characteristics, such as their bowed legs, which prevent them from wandering too far, and their hair covering their paws, allowing them to move silently. Pekes are alert dogs and make for excellent guardian.
Toy Poodles
This is a hypoallergenic dog, playful, and very responsive. The toy poodles are scaled down from the larger standard variety, creating companion breeds. The miniature poodle was intended to be the only smaller variant, not until the Toy poodle was created and was even smaller. Both forms are bred in a classic Poodle range coat colors, requiring the same grooming. The most common coat styling are the puppy clip or the lamb style.
Appearance
The Peekapoo comes in variety of coat colors such as white, black, apricot, red, cream, chocolate, grey, and silver. You can chance upon a Peekapoo with solid coat color, while there are also those that have diverse patterns of colors across their small bodies.
This dog is hybrid so there is really no well-defined standard. Their weight is between 10 to 20 pounds. They are bred from toy and miniature parents, so their average height is up to 11 inches.
Life Expectancy
A Peekapoo can live from 13 – 15 years depending on how an owner can keep the dog well-groomed, happy, and healthy.
Behavior
These fabulous dogs have active and outgoing characteristics. They love to cuddle, walk, and play with their humans. Since these dogs are crossbreed, they may display more behavioral traits from their Pekingese parent than Poodle parent or vice versa. However, both dogs are intelligent, trainable, and friendly ones, so you wouldn’t really spot the difference between the two.
When they are with their humans, the Peekapoo is affectionate, sweet, and gentle. They love to cuddle on the lap of their masters and always want to be by their side. These dogs are also ideal watchdogs, something that they have inherited from their Pekingese parents. They are watchful and alert, and lets you know of a possible intruder.
The Peekapoo is a loyal companion and loves to follow you around the house. When they are away from you, expect whining, barking, and even a slight destruction. Because of their toy size, these dogs are not suitable to be around bigger dog breeds. While there are dogs who have learned to live with other breeds, there are still some who don’t.
Ideal Environment
A Peekapaoo can be at risk of heat stroke especially if they are placed in an area with little to no shade at all. If you plan on taking this dog to the beach, ensure that you get your Peekapoo a good clipping. This will help avoid heat-related problems.
Diet
This dog is pretty small in size, somewhere between 8-20 pounds. Given the size, 40 calories of balance meals per day per pound of weight is advised. Just do the math. So if your Peeakpoo weighs 20 lbs, feed him with an estimate of 800 calories on a day to day basis.
For puppies, 500 – 1300 calories are advised. For adult Peekapoos, you may feed him with 300 – 800 calories per day. Just remember that your pooch must be fed depending on the weight he is currently in.
It may be a bit challenging to foresee how big your dog will become, so looking at the parents’ size will be your hint as to how big your pooch once he reaches adult age.
For pups, they can eat feeds that you can divide into 4 equal meals in a day. This can be done for the next 6 months of his life. To make sure that you are feeding him right, watch his weight closely. As with hybrids, it could be hard to predict as some could easily put on weight, while there are those who are picky eaters and are slow in gaining pounds.
It is also best to visit a veterinarian to know quality nutritional food that you can give your puppy, his feeding routine, and the right amount of food to give based on his current weight and height.
Exercise
The Peekapoo is specifically enthusiastic and full of life, thanks to his poodle parent. This dog has the capacity to walk for an hour especially when he reaches his maturity age. As for puppies, take note of the 5-minute rule. Walk your pup for 5 minutes per month of his total age. So, if your pup is 4 months old, walk him for 20 minutes each day. This is so he won’t overdo it and to avoid injuries as well.
Keep in mind that Peekapoos are of Brachycephalic type, which means that they are susceptible to heatstroke. Therefore, make sure that when he does his physical activities, he doesn’t get too hot and you are aware of the symptoms.
Training
Peekapoos are a high energy hybrid. They are also intelligent pups that come from their Poodle parent. Therefore, they need frequent interaction to burn off their energy and work their brains. The Peekapoo is also ideal for families who are fond of going out.
One thing that their human owners must work on is their chewing problem. Peekapoos are aggressive chewers just like their poodle parent. So give them toys to chew on especially during their teething stage.
The Peekapoo can be stubborn, aloof, and independent. One of the main challenges of owning one is the housebreaking part. To help you in raising one, here’s a simple guide:
- Set up a routine every after meal for relieving and defecating. Once your puppy is done eating, signal the leash and walk him through a particular spot where he can relieve himself. Doing this on a frequent basis at the same spot every time will help him familiarize himself where he should really do his thing.
- Always give him praises – Peekapoos are appreciative dogs. They love being praised by their humans and appreciate getting rewards.
- Avoid giving punishments – Do not scold or hit your pooch because this will only make him more aggressive. If you catch him doing the act, move him outside the house and show him where to relieve. Do this every time he does his thing in a diffident spot.
- Keep the area where he soiled clean at all times. Dogs have the ability to smell where they soiled, so it’s important that you thoroughly clean the area especially if it’s not where he is supposed to relieve himself.
- Part of their training is socializing them to other animals and humans – Peekapoos love to hear their barks. This trait they got from their Pekingese parent. If you find excessive barking a pain, start introducing them to people in your household, in the neighborhood, and even to the mail man. You may also want to help them get familiarized with the sounds of the appliances in the house such as the television, blender, and radio among others.
The best time for training? Wait until your Peekapoo has reached his 8th week before fully house training him. This is considered most ideal since he can now focus more on the task at this stage.
Grooming
The Peekapoo’s coat is somewhat easy to manage. Their soft, wavy coat does not shed that much because they do not have an undercoat weigh against other breeds.
The most dominant coat comes from their Poodle Parent rather than their Pekingese parent. The coats could be mid to long. But if you don’t want the hassle of regularly brushing their coat, you can have it clipped short. During summer season, it is advisable to trim their coat. On the whole, frequent grooming and coating are necessary to maintain their coat well.
Health Concerns
Some of the health problems that this breed could possibly face are:
Brachycephalic airway syndrome– this is where the dog experiences difficulty breathing in the upper airways, heavy breathing, gag and cough. Some of the other irregularities include hypoplastic trachea, elongated soft palate, and stenotic nares among others. But don’t worry, this can be cured with medication.
Collapsing trachea – this is another health concern that is irreversible, oftentimes progressive. The trachea is the one responsible in keeping the airways exposed when breathing. Dogs will present with coughing, difficulty breathing, exercise intolerance, and wheezing. This can often be treated with lifelong medication.
Tooth overcrowding – this is most common among designer breed dogs. The poodle is also the ones responsible for this. This condition is when the Peekapoo doesn’t lose all his milk teeth, and then the adult teeth begin to grow. Too much crowding of teeth increases the risk of periodontal disease where the teeth rub against each other, wearing out the enamel.
Where can you get a Peekapoo
Like any designer hybrid, it is a must that you make a careful consideration when getting a Peekapoo for a pet. For starters, you would need to look for a reputable breeder in your area.
Specifically ask for the parents’ medical history and make sure you have access to the pup’s medical records as well.
It would also help to get a health certificate from your trusted veterinarian to ensure that your Peekapoo does not have BOAS.
With one brachycephalic parent, it is essential that you get a certificate of health from a veterinarian. Make sure you have evidence that the Pekingese parent does not have BOAS.
While you’ll be lucky to have someone give you this breed for free, buying one would cost between $500-1500 dollars. But they are soooooo worth it!