1 74 THE BOOK OF THE DOG. 



between Carlins and masks lay in the fact that formerly there was a famous and very 

 popular harlequin in France whose name was Carlin, and hence the appellation as applied 

 to Pugs. 



The Pugs of the present are popularly supposed to belong to either the Willoughby or 

 the Morrison strain, which at one time were almost identical in shape, but of different colours. 

 So many breeders have, however, either from motives of economy or curiosity, been in the 

 habit of crossing the above two varieties with each other, that a pure-bred specimen of either 

 strain is not an easy thing to come across. Hundreds are advertised, and sold, as genuine 

 Willoughby or Morrison Pugs, which have no claim whatever to so grand a distinction. 

 The chief difference between the two breeds is that the Morrison Pug is a richer colour, 

 and not so heavily marked with black as the Willoughby strain. The latter blood fre- 

 quently shows too much tracing, and is apt to be smutty in colour, which in a Pug should 

 be as pure a fawn as can be procured, but relieved by black in the proper places. This 

 was certainly the opinion of authorities early in the century, for we find the following 

 description of a Pug in a work published many years ago : 



" A yellow colour of various shades, small and moderate size, round and fixed shape, full 

 breast, short neck and legs, arched tail, round prominent eyeballs, bluff head, black muzzle, 

 lightly pendulous ears, prominent inferior jaw, or underhung ; and a grave, often savage, 

 countenance." 



The above may even now pass as a very good description of a Pug, and helps to 

 assist the belief in the Bull cross, which we have before remarked probably exists in the 

 Pug, but which it is undesirable to perpetuate. Upon one point we personally disagree 

 with an expression used by the author of this description, and that is the term " short " as 

 applied to the legs. This breed of dog most certainly should not be leggy, but a very 

 short legged or " ferret-fronted " Pug is an abomination, and should be avoided. A serious 

 fault in so many Pugs now before the public is snipiness of face, and another coarseness in ear. 

 As a rule the orthodox markings are present in full force, and the carriage of tail is also, in most 

 specimens exhibited, good. How to eradicate the evil of snipy faces is a serious difficulty 

 without resorting again to a dash of Bull. But we hold that a cross with the long-coated 

 Japanese Pug would be beneficial as regards shape, though as the majority of these animals 

 do not represent our Pug in colour, there would be some labour in getting their offspring to 

 breed correctly-marked Pugs, and there would always be a chance of their throwing back. 

 Nevertheless far more difficult crosses have been successfully carried out, and we strongly 

 recommend a cross with a black Japanese Pug to enterprising breeders of this variety of 

 dog. 



.With reference to the Pug as it at present exists amongst us, it is pleasing to discover 

 that, in spite of its rarity some fifty years ago, the Pug classes are now in the majority 

 of instances usually well represented in point of numbers at all important shows. Yet there 

 is a want of uniformity of type which proves that there is yet much to be done in the way 

 of improvement of this breed. A very undesirable advance is being made in the size of 

 several of the best-shaped dogs, and this is greatly to be regretted, as a ladies' pet dog of 

 about thirty pounds weight is an anomaly which almost refutes itself. It is in many of 

 the inferior large-sized specimens that the Bull cross is so plainly evident, and this has been 

 most probably resorted to in the hopes that increased size of skull and a blunter muzzle 



