THE PUG-DOG. 
253 
is equally their wont, has again returned in due course of time, and with renewed impetus. 
Although, in the interregnum that elapsed between the two periods of the Pug-dog’s ascend- 
ancy, it was in very little request, yet in its recent popularity it has acquired so great a 
conventional value, that a thoroughly well-bred Dog will fetch as much as a hundred dol- 
lars, or even more, if it be a peculiarly fine specimen. The purity of the breed has been 
scrupulously preserved by one or two British Dog-fanciers, and to them the Pug-dog is 
indebted for its present position in the popular esteem. 
It is a cheerful and amusing companion, and very affectionate in disposition. Sometimes 
it is apt to be rather snappish to strangers, but this is a fault which is common to all lap-dogs 
which are not kept in proper order by their possessors. For those who cannot spend much 
time in the open air it is a more suitable companion than any other Dog, because it can bear 
the confinement of the house better than any other of the canine species ; and, indeed, seems 
to be as much at home on a carpet as is a canary on the perch of its cage. Moreover, it is 
almost wholly free from the unpleasant odor with which the canine race is affected. 
The head of the Pug-dog ought to be round, and its forehead high, with a short, but not 
a turned-up, nose. The whole of the fore-front of the face, extending to the eyes, and tech- 
nically termed the “mask,” ought to be of a jetty black, marked clearly on the lighter ground 
of the face. The line which separates the two tints should be as sharply cut as possible. The 
tail should curl sharply and tightly round, lying on one side of the hinder quarters, and never 
standing upon the back. The height of the Pug-dog ought not to exceed fifteen inches, or its 
weight to be more than ten pounds. 
The number of puppies which the Dog produces at a single litter is very large, varying 
from three or four to fifteen, or even a still greater number. They are born, as is the case 
with kittens and several other young animals, with closed eyes, and do not open their eyelids 
for the space of several days. As it is manifestly impossible for the mother to rear the whole 
of a very large family, their number must be reduced, either by destroying several of the little 
ones, which of course ought to be the weakest and smallest specimens, or by removing the 
supernumerary offspring and placing them under the care of another Dog which has lately 
taken upon herself the maternal duties. In this case it needs not that the wet nurse should 
be of the same kind with her charge, as it is found that health of constitution and a liberal 
supply of milk are the only necessary qualifications for that responsible office. 
Sometimes the health of the mother will not permit her to rear her progeny ; and in that 
case, if no worthy substitute can be found, the most humane mode of action is to remove the 
young puppies in succession, and so to avoid too severe a shock to the maternal feelings of their 
progenitrix. If they are all removed at the same time, the sudden deprivation is very likely to 
bring on a severe fever, and to endanger the already weakened life of the mother. If the 
process of removing and destroying the young ones has been repeated more than once, the 
mother becomes so watchful over her progeny that it is by no means easy to withdraw them 
without her cognizance. As an example of this maternal vigilance, I am enabled to give an 
anecdote which has been forwarded to me by Mrs. S. C. Hall, which exhibits not only the good 
memory of an often bereaved mother, but a most touching instance of maternal affection. 
“In our large, rambling, country home, we had Dogs of high and low degree, from the 
silky and sleepy King Charles down (query, up V) to the stately Newfoundland, who disputed 
possession of the top step — or rather platform to which the steps led — of the lumbering hall- 
door with a magnificent Angora ram, who was as tame and almost as intelligent as Master 
Neptune himself. After sundry growls and butts the Dog and the ram generally compromised 
matters by dividing the step between them, much to the inconvenience of every other quad- 
ruped or biped who might desire to pass in or out of the hall. 
“The King Charles, named Chloe, was my dear grandmother’s favorite ; she was a meek, 
soft, fawning little creature, blind of one eye, and so gentle and faithful, refusing food except 
from the one dear hand that was liberal of kindness to her. Chloe’ s puppies were in great 
demand ; and it must be confessed that her supply was very bountiful, too bountiful, indeed, 
for out of the four which she considered the proper number at a birth, two were generally 
