Pug (dog)

“ A large, coffee-colored pug-dog was lying before the fire. This interesting animal served as a footstool for his mistress, stretched in her easy-chair, and recalled to mind the lions which sleep at the foot of chevaliers in their Gothic tombs. As a pug-dog and an old maid pertain to each other, it was only necessary, in order to divine this venerable lady’s state, to read the name upon the golden circlet which served as a collar for the dog: “Constance belongs to Mademoiselle de Corandeuil.” ”

“ He is a pug-dog, of rather intelligent appearance, in good condition, and with very short legs. He has been tied to a curtain-peg in a dark room, and is howling dreadfully."
" Ten minutes to nine. "The dog has just been rung for. With an instinct which would appear almost the result of reason, the sagacious animal seized the waiter by the calf of the leg when he approached to take him, and made a desperate, though ineffectual, resistance. ”

“ The elephant plush and the calico cat and my new little pug had a fight,
And though an elephant's great and strong, and a cat has powerful claws,
My little pug-dog came out on top with the aid of his teeth and paws. ”

“ MISS JEMIMA.—"Will you believe it, I say, when I returned to Cheltenham, only three months afterwards, Miss Smilecox had seduced his affections from me, and the ungrateful creature did not even know me again? A pug, too—yet people say pugs are faithful! I am sure they ought to be, nasty things! I have never had a gentleman dog since,—they are all alike, believe me, heartless, selfish creatures."
MRS. DALE.—"Pugs? I dare say they are!" ”

“ When pussy's claws were disengaged I was not a little relieved, and I need hardly say that this was the last time I ventured to experiment on the cat's patience. My friend was also much alarmed, and I have no doubt thought, as I too did, that I had escaped almost better than I deserved, under the circumstances, for I had only a few scratches.
A pug-dog, the pet of a lady in this neighborhood, has a favorite tune which he distinguishes from all others. Nugget is a musical animal, and has a way of putting in occasional notes of his own when his mistress plays the piano. ”

“ They are short and thick-set, with flat noses like a Dutch pug dog, very thick lips, and large mouths, having very white teeth, but very long and ill set, some of them sticking out of their mouths like boar's tusks. Their hair is black, and curled like wool. They are very nimble, and run with incredible speed. They are generally covered with a sheep's skin, each man having a quiver full of arrows on his back, and a bow in his hand. ”

“ The Pug-dog isn't much use but he's playful and intelligent. If you tell him to go to the post-office for your mail he'll rush out of the front door, down the road to the grocer's and bring you back an apple or an orange, because he always knows that there isn't any mail. ”

“ A PUG'S INTELLIGENCE. [Feb. 1, 1890.]
Several newspaper cuttings have been sent to me with the story of my dog which appeared in the Spectator of January 18th, and one or two of them suggest a doubt as to the veracity of the story. I write, therefore, to tell you that it is literally true, only that the policeman was away for his holiday instead of having influenza, and the case came off on Tuesday instead of Saturday. My dog is a pug, a very choice specimen of his kind, and was given to me by the late Dr. Wakley, editor of the Lancet, who was a great connoisseur in dogs. ”

“ The black Pug is a recent production. He was brought into notice in 1886, when Lady Brassey exhibited some at the Maidstone Show. By whom he was manufactured is not a matter of much importance, as with the fawn Pug in existence there was not much difficulty in crossing it with the shortest-faced black dog of small size that could be found, and then back again to the fawn, and the thing was done. ”

“ The Sleeve Dog is a degenerated, long-legged variety of Pug, rigidly kept on low diet, and never allowed to run about on the ground. They are kept very much on the top of a kang, or stove bed-place, and not allowed to run about on the ground, as it is supposed that if they run on the ground they will derive strength from the ground, and be able to grow large. ”

“ The picture on the further side is still more suggestive—three roe-deer, hotly pursued by a dachshund; a pug-dog would have an equal chance of success. Cheerful pictures of this kind should hang in every room. I shall look at them whenever I feel jaundiced. Our tavern by the way is famous for its dachshunds. They have a couple of thoroughbreds, with faces like orchids, who eat and sleep most of the day and whose descendants are rapidly stocking the neighborhood. Their numerous progeny drop in for a visit from the remotest villages, and are coldly received by the parents. ”

“ It [163] is not every one that has seen a Dutch pug and the Duchess of St. Albans alive.
Body of me! here am I wasting my time among the dog-fanciers— (when the name of the man in the iron mask, the authorship of “Junius,” the murderer of Caspar Hauser, and the date of the laws of Menu, shall be known, it shall also be patent to all men why trafficking in dogs and horses seem necessarily connected with roguery) —here am I descanting on poodles and pug-dogs, when, with quick observant eyes, I should be noting the hundred little trades that are being driven at three o’clock in the afternoon. ”

“ A beautiful black-and-tan spaniel, of Charles the Second's breed, popped its short snubby nose and long silken ears out of each coat-pocket. A pug was thrust into his breast, and he carried an exquisite Blenheim under either arm. At his feet reposed an Isle of Skye terrier, and a partly cropped French poodle, of snowy whiteness, with a red worsted riband round his throat. This person, it need scarcely be said, was a dog-fancier, or, in other words, a dealer in, and a stealer of, dogs, as well as a practiser of all the tricks connected with that nefarious trade. ”

“ Where a sire must be chosen from among strangers, his points should correct any in which the bitch is deficient; your toy pug may have too small a head, with little wrinkle—you must look for a dog with good head properties as her mate; your Pom may be long in back, and you must seek a male with the opposite quality, and a plume well over and touching his frill.
The first puppies of two young dogs are generally larger than the parents, but I do not believe the theory often advanced that the first litter is always the best. Puppies by a very old sire are usually small. ”

“ The shepherd's dog, generally speaking, cares little about it; he is scarcely ill a day. The cur is not often seriously affected. The terrier has it more severely, especially the white terrier. The hound comes next in the order of severity; and after him the setter. With the small spaniel it is more dangerous; and still more so with the pointer, especially if he has the disease early. Next in the order of fatality comes the pug; and it is most fatal of all with the Newfoundland dog. Should a foreign dog be affected, he almost certainly dies. ”

“ They make good house dogs, and are seldom or never noisy, while those of a comparatively active strain, bred to plenty of outdoor fun, and not indulged in the greediness which, alas! is generally a feature [Pg 40] in their character, need by no means acquire the stout, snoring wheeziness which some folk think an elderly pug cannot escape. All the same, I can but say that I prefer the black variety on the whole, for they unite the sweet temper, faithfulness, and gentleness of the fawns with an untiring energy, to my mind one of the best qualities a dog can possess. ”

“ The weight of a dog or bitch, according to the standard, should be from 13 lb. to 17 lb., but there are very few dogs indeed that are winning prizes who can draw the scale at the maximum weight. One of the most distinctive features of a fawn Pug is the trace, which is a line of black running along the top of the back from the occiput to the tail. It is the exception to find a fawn Pug with any trace at all now. The muzzle should be short, blunt, but not upfaced. Most of the winning Pugs of the present day are undershot at least half an inch, and consequently must be upfaced. ”

“ The little pug watched me for a few moments, and as soon as he felt quite assured that my intentions towards the sick dog were friendly, it ran to me wagging its tail, leapt up to my shoulder, and licked my face and hands, nor would it touch the water till the invalid had had all it wanted. ”

“ Fawn and black Pugs are continually being bred together, and, as a rule, if judgment is used in the selection of suitable crosses, the puppies are sound in colour, whether fawn or black. In every respect except markings the black Pug should be built on the same lines as the fawn, and be a cobby little dog with short back and well-developed hind-quarters, wide in skull, with square and blunt muzzle and tightly-curled tail. ”

“ A lean, leggy pug and a dog with short legs and a long body are equally objectionable. Size and Condition.—The pug should be multum in parvo, but this condensation (if the word may be used) should be shown by compactness of form, well-knit proportions, and hardness of developed muscle. Weight from 13 lbs. to 17 lbs., dog or bitch. Body.—Short and cobby, wide in chest, and well ribbed up. Legs.—Very strong, straight, of moderate length, and well under. ”

“ It is rather a shock to an amateur when this occurs, but as a rule little anxiety need be felt, for if the puppy is properly fed upon small dry meals of a very digestible and nourishing nature, say two tablespoonfuls of good underdone rump-steak, or the same quantity of roast mutton, three times a day for a dog the size of a pug, and given a one-grain dose of iron with two of these meals, he will be pretty sure to grow out of his troubles. ”

“ Among these are the Danish dog, the German Mastiffs, the Bulldog and the Pug. With the exception of the Pug, which is justly called a caricature of a dog, the group is remarkable for fidelity, courage, determination and strength. Great Britain is the home of the Hounds which, because of their intelligence and docility, are considered to be in the first rank of domestic dogs. All the varieties of this group are born hunters, being strong, swift and possessed of unusually keen senses, especially that of smell. ”

“ Pug-dogs. The chin, or Japanese pug, is a delicate, timid little creature generally black and white, weighing no more than a small cat, and having goggle eyes that stick out like glass marbles. If, at birth, the nose is not considered sufficiently snub, it is pressed in with the finger. Doubtless this process, by stopping up some passage, induces the habit of constant sneezing with which many of these animals are afflicted:—"She looks like a pug sneezing," is a common phrase to denote one particular kind of ugly face. ”

“ Ancient bas-relief and monumental delineations picture the dog as distinct in its characteristics thousands of years ago as at the present day, and fossil remains have been repeatedly discovered so little resembling either the wolf, jackal, or fox, and so different in type, as to be classified with the spaniel, terrier, hound, bulldog, pointer, and pug; and as we know these to be made dogs, or in other words hybrids, the species must have been fully as numerous as at the present time. ”

“ Just as soon as you have decided that he is almost human, he will straightway unmistakably indicate that he is still very much dog.
As example, select, if you please, the most pampered and carefully nurtured dog in dog tribe: some lady's dog—beribboned King Charles, bejeweled poodle, befatted pug—and give him the luxury of a half-hour in the nearest genuine alley. ”

“ A few years ago the slums of the East End provided Pug breeders with many a fortunate find; in Yorkshire and Lancashire Yorkshire terriers frequently serve as a source of income for the working men, who bring them up in their homes, converting the kitchen dresser into kennels ”

“ They should be set low on the head, and be heavily feathered. In this respect the King Charles is expected to exceed the Blenheim, and his ears occasionally extend to 24 ins. Size.—The most desirable size is from 7 lbs. to 10 lbs. Shape.—In compactness of shape these spaniels almost rival the pug, but the length of coat adds greatly to the apparent bulk, as the body, when the coat is wetted, looks small in comparison with that dog. Still, it ought to be decidedly "cobby," with strong, stout legs, broad back, and wide chest. ”

“ I next, with the forceps and knife, cleaned the others, and ordered the diluted chlorinated lime to be alternated with tincture of myrrh and water. The extraction of the loose teeth, and the removal of the tartar from those that were sound, occupied a full hour; for the dog resisted with all his might. He, however, soon began to eat; the lotions were continued; and five months afterwards, the mouth of the dog was not in the slightest degree offensive.
An old dog should not be quite abandoned. A pug had only four teeth remaining beside the canines. ”

“ The pugdog is a dwarf race, probably of mastiff origin, and kept solely as a pet. The Chinese pug is slender legged, with long hair and a bushy tail.
Terriers are small dogs of agile and light build, short muzzles, and very highly arched skulls. The brains are large, and the intelligence and educability extraordinarily high. The number of breeds is very large, the two extreme types being the smooth fox-terrier with compact shape, relatively long legs, and the long-bodied, short-legged Skye terrier, with long hair and pendent ears. ”