THE PUG 571 



Size and Condition. The Pug should be a mitltum in parvo ; but this conden- 

 sation (if the word may be used) should be shown by compactness of form, well- 

 knit proportions, and hardness of developed muscle. Weight to be from I3lb. to 

 I7lb. (dog or bitch). 



Body. Short and cobby, wide in chest, and well ribbed up. 



Legs. Very strong, straight, of moderate length, and well under. 



Feet. Neither so long as the foot of the hare, nor so round as that of the cat : 

 toes well split up, and the nails black. 



Muzzle. Short, blunt, square, but not up-faced. 



Head. Large, massive, round (not apple-headed), with no indentation of the 

 skull. 



Eyes. Dark in colour, very large, bold, and prominent, globular in shape, 

 soft and solicitous in express on, very lustrous, and, when excited, full of 

 fire. 



Ears. Thin, small, soft, like black velvet. There are two kinds the "rose" 

 and " button." Preference is given to the latter. 



Markings. Clearly defined. The muzzle or mask, ears, moles on cheeks, 

 thumb-mark or diamond on forehead, and back trace should be as black as 

 possible. 



Mask. The mask should be black ; the more intense and well defined it is, 

 the better. 



Wrinkles. Large and deep. 



Trace. A black line extending from the occiput to the tail. 



Tail. Curled tightly as possible over the hip. The double curl is 

 perfection. 



Coat. Fine, smooth, soft, short, and glossy ; neither hard nor woolly. 



Colour. Silver or apricot-fawn. Each should be decided, to make the 

 contrast complete between the colour and the trace and mask. 



In respect to size, it will be observed that the Club omits to 

 note that weight should be relative to height, which is rather 

 important. The Club has not given the Pug a neck, although that 

 is* not an unimportant part of the anatomy. In regard to " the 

 moles on the cheeks," they now receive no consideration in the 

 scale of points. 



It was in the autumn of 1886 that black Pugs were first brought 

 into notice, a class being given for them at the Maidstone Show, 

 all the exhibits being from the kennel of the late Lady Brassey. 

 Two or three of these were compact, good-coated specimens, Jack 

 Spratt, whose name appears as sire of all the early specimens, being 

 the largest that was benched. Where Lady Brassey obtained her 

 first specimen was never then clearly stated ; it was surmised that 

 she became enamoured of a black Chinese Pug when she visited 

 that country in her yacht the Sunbeam, and either purchased one, or 

 mated a fawn female to a Chinese black dog. There is, however, 

 some reason for thinking that black Pugs in England came from the 

 fawns of King Duke's strain. Indeed, some breeders profess to 

 have traced their history back to this dog. If they came from 

 fawns, it seems just a little remarkable that they bred so true to 

 colour as early as 1886. 



For some years the breed did not gain favour, as there was a 



