446 



THE NEW BOOK OF THE DOG. 



Palace dog and the Pekin Spaniel, or 

 any other name which would enable the 

 breeds to be kept distinct. The following 

 extract from a letter on this subject from 

 Lord John Hay to the writer, dated several 

 years ago, may be of interest : 



" Now there is another breed which is con- 

 founded with the Palace dog ; they present the 

 same characteristics ; appearance very similar, 

 and disposition equally charming, but they are 

 much larger ; they are also called Pekin Spaniels ; 

 but they are as different breeds originally, I 

 feel sure, as a Pegu pony is from an English 

 hunter ; they are seldom so well provided with 

 hair on the feet, and the trousers do not go 

 down far enough ; also the hair on the stomach 

 and sides does not grow long enough." 



The writer is quite in accord with Lord 

 John in his appreciation of the larger type, 

 for they are just as attractive and in many 

 ways as handsome as the Palace dog ; but 

 they certainly should not be judged in the 

 same class at shows. Also it should be 

 understood that the word "imported" does 

 not necessarily imply that the dog has ever 

 seen the inside of the Imperial Palace at 

 Pekin. 



The following is the scale of points as 

 issued by the Pekinese Club : 



1. Head. Massive, broad skull, wide and flat 

 between the ears (not dome shaped) ; wide 

 between the eyes. 



2. Nose. Black, broad, very short and flat. 



3. Eyes. Large, dark, prominent, round, lus- 

 trous. 



4. Stop. Deep. 



5. Ears. Heart shaped; not set too high; leather 

 never long enough to come below the muzzle; not 

 carried erect, but rather drooping, long feather. 



6. Muzzle. Very short and broad ; not under- 

 hung nor pointed ; wrinkled. 



7. Mane. Profuse, extending beyond shoulder 

 blades, forming ruff or frill round front of neck. 



8. Shape of Body. Heavy in front ; broad chest 

 falling away lighter behind ; lion-like ; not too long 

 in the body. 



9. Coat and Feather and Condition. Long, with 

 thick undercoat ; straight and flat, not curly 

 nor wavy ; rather coarse but soft ; feather on 

 thighs, legs, tail and toes, long and profuse. 



10. Colour. All colours are allowable, red, 

 fawn, black, black and tan, sable, brindle, white 

 and parti-coloured. Black masks, and spectacles 

 round the eyes, with lines to the ears, are desirable. 



11. Legs. Short ; forelegs heavy, bowed out at 

 elbows ; hind legs lighter, but firm and well shaped. 



12. Feet. Flat, not round ; should stand well 

 up on toes, not on ankles. 



13. Tail. Curled and carried well up on loins ; 

 long, profuse straight feather. 



14. Size. Being a toy dog the smaller the 

 better, provided type and points are not sacri- 

 ficed. Anything over 18 Ib. should disqualify- 

 When divided by weight, classes should be over 

 10 Ib. and under 10 Ib. 



15. Action. Free, strong and high ; crossing 

 feet or throwing them out in running should not 

 take off marks ; weakness of joints should be 

 penalised. 



Scale of Points. 

 Head ...... 10 



Nose ...... 5 



Eyes 5 



Stop . 5 



Ears . . ... 5 



Muzzle . ... 5 



Mane ...... 5 



Shape of body . . . .10 



Coat and feather and condition . 10 

 Colour . . . . 5 



Legs . .... 5 



Feet . ... 5 



Tail . . . 10 



Size . . . . 5 



Action ...... 10 



Total .... 100 



The writer has occasionally been criticised 

 for her advocacy of whole-coloured specimens, 

 but in support of this preference it can be 

 proved that the original pair brought to 

 Goodwood, as well as Mrs. Murray's Ah 

 Cum, were all of the golden chestnut shade ; 

 and, as no brindled, parti-coloured, or black 

 dog has ever been born at Goodwood or 

 Broughton, we have some authority for 

 looking upon whole-colour as an important 

 point. This view was in the first place con- 

 firmed by the late Chinese Ambassador in 

 London, and further by Baron Speck von 

 Sternburg, at present German Ambassador 

 in Washington, who was for many years 

 Minister at Pekin and had very special 

 facilities for noting the points of the Palace 

 dogs. 



In every case a black muzzle is indis- 

 pensable, also black points to the ears, 

 with trousers, tail and feathering a some- 

 what lighter shade than the body. There 

 is considerable divergence of opinion as to 



