THE PEKINESE. 



447 



the penalisation of what, in other breeds, 

 is known as a " Dudley " nose, but on this 

 point there must be some difficulty at shows ; 

 in the Pekinese the colour of the nose varies 

 in a remarkable way, especially in the case 

 of the bitches. For instance, a pinkish 

 tinge was always visible on the nose of 

 Goodwood Meh before the birth of her 

 puppies ; but it resumed its normal colour 

 when the puppies were a few weeks old. 

 As a representative 

 type Chu-Erh of 

 Alderbourne, when 

 seen by the writer 

 last year, resembled 

 most nearly, I be- 

 lieve, the old Good- 

 wood dogs. He has 

 the same square, 

 cobby appearance, 

 broad chest, bowed 

 legs, profuse feather, 

 and large, lustrous 

 eyes points which 

 are frequently looked 

 for in vain nowa- 

 days and hisbreeder 

 and owner may well 

 be proud of him. 



The Pekinese dif- 

 fers from the Japan- 

 ese dog in that it appears to be far stronger 

 in constitution, and withstands the changes 

 of the English climate with much greater 

 ease ; in fact, they are as hardy, under 

 healthy conditions, as any English breed, 

 and the only serious trouble seems to 

 be the weakness which is developing in the 

 eyes. Small abscesses frequently appear 

 when the puppies are a few months old, and, 

 although they may not affect the sight, they 

 almost inevitably leave a bluish mark, while 

 in some cases the eye itself becomes con- 

 tracted. Whether this is one of the results 

 of in-breeding it is difficult to say, and it 

 would be of interest to know whether the 

 same trouble is met with in China. 



The Pekinese bitches are excellent mothers, 

 provided they are not interfered with for 

 the first few days. This was discovered 

 at Goodwood years ago by the fact that, on 



GOODWOOD PUT-SING (IN OLD AGE) 

 BRED BY LADY A. GORDON-LENNOX. 



BY AH CUM GOODWOOD QUEENIE. 



Photograph by T. Fall. 



two or three occasions, one Celestial lady, 

 who had been given greater attention than 

 she considered necessary, revenged herself 

 by devouring her own family of puppies ! 

 One thing seems from experience to be es- 

 pecially advisable as far as can be arranged, 

 to breed in the spring rather than autumn. 

 The puppies need all the open air and exercise 

 that is possible, and where rickety specimens 

 are so frequently met with it is only 

 natural that a puppy 

 who starts life with 

 the summer months 

 ahead is more likely 

 to develop well than 

 one born in the 

 autumn. Great at- 

 tention should be 

 paid with reference 

 to the frequent 

 almost certain pres- 

 ence of worms, 

 which trouble 

 seems more preva- 

 lent with Pekinese 

 than with any other 

 breed. Wherever 

 possible, fish should 

 be given as part of 

 the dietary ; some 

 Pekinese devour it 



with relish ; others will not touch it, but 

 there is no doubt it is a useful item in 

 the bill of fare. Bread well soaked in 

 very strong stock, sheep's-head, and liver 

 are always better as regular diet than 

 meat, but in cases of debility a little 

 raw meat given once a day is most 

 beneficial. 



It would not be fitting to close an article 

 on Pekinese without bearing testimony to 

 their extraordinarily attractive character- 

 istics. They are intensely affectionate and 

 faithful, and have something almost cat- 

 like in their domesticity. They display far 

 more character than the so-called " toy 

 dog " usually does, and for this reason it 

 is all-important that pains should be taken 

 to preserve the true type, in a recognition 

 of the fact that quality is more essential 

 than quantity. 



