CHAPTER X. ' 

 THE PUG. 



NOTWITHSTANDING what some writers have said 

 to the contrary, I believe that little change has been 

 made in the appearance and in " the points " of the 

 pug during the past forty years. Twenty years ago 

 " Idstone " (the Rev. T. Pearce) said there were not 

 half a dozen good specimens to be found in the 

 country, and that a quarter of a century before he 

 wrote the pug was the rarest of all " toy dogs." 



I must, however, take exception to the remarks of 

 that pleasant writer, for when he published his book 

 of the dog, pugs of great excellence were to be found 

 in considerable numbers throughout the length and 

 breadth of the land, nor at any time within the 

 present century have they been so rare as either the 

 Italian greyhound, the Maltese terrier, or even as the 

 Yorkshire terrier. Unfortunately, prior to the intro- 

 duction of dog shows, cruel custom had insisted that 

 the pug dog looked most lovely when robbed of its 

 ears. They were not merely cut off and artistically 



