Pug

“ A large grass field, followed by a rough bare fallow, takes the remaining strength out of poor pug; and, turning short to the left, he seeks the friendless shelter of a patch of wretched oats. The hounds overrun the scent, but, spreading like a rocket, they quickly recover it; and in an instant, fox, hounds, horses, men, are among the standing corn,—one ring in final destruction of the beggarly crop, and poor pug is in the hands of his pursuers. ”

“ But Bess would not hear of so slow a manner of getting the pug-puppy down. In delirious joy the little mantle was flung on the ground and her arms were tightly clasped round the basket. When one has been sent a pug-pup there is only one place to go to—home. ”

“ Now he’s up to the high corner as though he were going to charge his lordship himself, and passing over fresh ground the hounds get the benefit of a scent, and work with redoubled energy, making the opener gorse bushes crack and bend with their pressure. Pug has now gained the rabbit-burrowed bank of the north fence, and has about made up his mind to follow the example of his comrades, and try his luck in the open, when a cannonading crack of Swan’s whip strikes terror into his heart, and causes him to turn tail, and run the moss-grown mound of the hedge. ”

“ 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. ”

“ At length pug finds it too hot to hold him. The rays of an autumnal sun have long been striking into the gorse, while a warm westerly wind does little to ventilate it from the steam of the rummaging inquisitive pack. Though but a cub, he is the son of an old stager, who took Dicky and his lordship a deal of killing, and with the talent of his sire, he thus ruminates on his uncomfortable condition. ”

“ What think you of the manner of a pug dog in a dropsy, exposed for air on a nipping December morning, his black nose turning almost white with indignation at the coldness of the flags?—There certainly is a resemblance; there is dignity in both animals, albeit to the daring eye of a grotesque character. ”

“ It has been said of the pug dog that he is applicable to no sport, appropriated to no useful purpose, susceptible of no predominant passion, and in no way remarkable for any pre-eminent quality. He seems, indeed, intended to be the patient follower of a ruminating philosopher, or the adulatory and consolatory companion of an old maid; but is now gradually becoming discarded as a pet, and is seldom seen peeping out of a carriage window or basking in a London balcony. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Toy pugs are, I think, invariably fascinating to those who have a liking for pug kind; they are big pugs in little, and everyone knows the points of a pug. My own toy fawn pugs loved their comforts too much to be perfect dogs for companioning a person of active outdoor habits, but they were sweet-tempered, gentle things, and, as such, to be commended. Pugs as a race seem strangely apt to skin trouble, and the toys are no exception. I have not seen many really good and very small fawn toys, but there are some, and where a pug is to be bought, a toy is really most desirable. ”

“ Far in front, a collie gave chase to a stately buzzard, which sailed away undisturbed by its pursuer’s shrill barking, while an asthmatic pug sought a Juggernautal fate between the ponderous wagon-wheels, and a little black-and-tan terrier, sniffing hither and thither among the mist-drenched weeds, reminded Roden of the accounts of certain mammoth ants as related by the credulous Herodotus. ”

“ 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!" ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ By this knowledge many ‘tips’ are gained, and occasionally he makes a good thing by selling a pup at a high price. He may even be seen, with his velveteen jacket carefully brushed, his ground-ash stick under his arm, and hat in hand, treading daintily for fear of soiling the carpet with his shoes, in the ante-room, gravely prescribing for the ailing pug in which the ladies are interested. ”

“ The very old word Pouke meant the devil, horns, tail, and all; from that word, as it grew more human and serviceable, came the Pixy of Devonshire, the Irish Phooka, the Scottish Bogle, and the Boggart in Yorkshire; and even one nursery-tale title of Bugaboo. Oddest of all, the name Pug, which we give now to an amusing race of small dogs, is an every-day reminder of poor lost Puck, and of the queer changes which, through a century or two, may befall a word. ”

“ 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. ”

“ They came and went, resided in the populous kennels, or lived obscurely in the recesses of the house after the fashion of Toots, the Japanese pug, or Ysabel, the Mexican hairless,—strange creatures that rarely put nose out of doors or set foot to ground. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The family coach was as big as a small parlour, and afforded ample room for the convalescent to recline at his ease on one seat, while Angela and the steward, a confidential servant with the manners of a courtier, sat side by side upon the other.
They had the two spaniels with them, Puck and Ganymede, silky-haired little beasts, black and tan, with bulging foreheads, crowded with intellect, pug noses so short as hardly to count for noses, goggle eyes that expressed shrewdness, greediness, and affection. Puck snuggled cosily in the soft lace of his lordship’s shirt ”

“ The sheep-dog guards with vigilance the flock entrusted to his care; the foxhound follows his prey with keen scent and unfailing ardour; the greyhound stretches his lanky form in eager pursuit of the unfortunate hare; the mastiff, seated in front of his kennel in the backyard, warns the inmates of the house of the approach of beggars or persons of doubtful character: the pug-dog, the terrier, the pomeranian, all have their separate employments and varied uses, in none of which does a cat seek to share, and with none of which does she ever wish to interfere. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Pug was nearing the corner where the ash pile is located, and stumbling over a tin can, he fell to the ground, and we three on top of him. Being such a fat fellow, he was much more easily exhausted than we, who are lithe and agile ”

“ 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. ”

“ The tail went up at once and stayed there; when it could go no higher, it curled over. But promotion breeds conceit only in base natures. The greyhound is a gentleman, respectful and self-respecting, and it shows that by the very carriage of its tail. Only a snob at heart, petted and pampered for many generations, could have produced that perfect incarnation of smug self-satisfaction, the pug. ”

“ The pug was sniffing at the fashionable world, as it passed him, with his little black muzzle, and was kept from extending his investigation by a large blue ribbon attached to his collar with an enormous rosette and held in the hand of a person seated next Newman. To this person our hero transferred his attention, and immediately found himself the object of all that of his neighbour, who was staring up at him from a pair of little fixed white eyes. These eyes he instantly recognised; he had been sitting for the last quarter of an hour beside M. Nioche. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Pug held out his paw, and very decidedly intimated that he did.
“Mrs Leighton wants Pug; I shall give him to her,” observed his mistress. “’Tis not quite so modish to keep monkeys as it was: I shall have a squirrel.”
“A bit more sugar?” asked Mrs Eleanor, addressing the monkey. “Poor Pug!”
Next door but one, in the cottage formerly occupied by Lady Betty Morehurst, were also seated three ladies at tea. Presiding at the table, in mourning dress, sat our old friend Phoebe. ”

“ 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. ”