KENNEL NOTES

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 7026, 14 January 1910, Page 7

KENNEL NOTES

By "Fitzroy.

OFFICIAL ORGAN OF THE WELLINGTON KENNEL CLUB.

Correspondence is invited from canine fanciers and others interested in. this column. Letters will bo treated confidentially, iind questions answered (through the column) at tho earliest opportunity." Correspondents are requested to sign their names, but a nom do plume may also bo used if necessary. tetters should reach this offioe not later than Wednesday for reply in the iollowing Friday's issue.

There has bbon a noticeable increase lfl tho number of pugs owned in Wellington and suburbs during the past year, and the affectionate little animal now bids fair to become one of tho most popular of house pets. Several inquiries have been made of late concerning the featuree of the fawn pug, and it will probably be more ex-

and a long body are equally objectionable.

Size and Condition.—The pug should he a multum in paxvo. but this condensation should be shown by compactness of form, well-knit proportions, and hardness of developed muscles. Weight.—l3lb to 171 b. Point Values.—Symmetry, 10; eizo, 5; condition, 5; body, 10; legs, 5; feet, 5; head, 5; muzzle, 5; ears, 5; eyes, 10; mask, i; wrinkle. 5; tail, 5; trace 6; coat, 5; colour, 5; general carriage, s—total, 100.

The pug is a breed of ancient origin. Models of pugs (or dogs resembling tho breed) are to be seen in many ancient I sculptures, often accompanied by figures of greyhounds, "The Sportsman's Cabinet" (printed in 1804) says:—"Without adverting to the conjectual theses of Button (the famous naturalist, who died in 1788). which, in Tact,. afford no matter of information or elucidation it* respect to the subject before ns (that every race of dogs arc from an original species), it is clear that the pug-dog, from its singularity, affordßmore doubt in tho certainty of its origin than almost any one of the species. It is asserted by some that the genuine breed was introduced to this island (Great Britain) from Muscovy (in Eussia). and that they were, originally, the undoubted natives ofthat country; others assert tho pug to have been produced by a commixture between the English bull-dog and tho little Dane,—" Thus it will bo seen from the above that the pug's ancestry was questioned over a hundred years ago. < About forty years ago "Stonehenge" (the noted sporting writer and canine authority) wrote:—"Tho pug-dog is now again in fashion, but between the years 1836-46 it was the rarest breed in Great Britain. About the year 1843, one or two specimens were obtained by a member of tho Willoughby family, and, under his fostering 'care, admirable examples were produced. Tho old and absaTd system of cropping off tho whole of the ears prevailed, and this cruelty was excused because it occasioned that wrinkling and puckering of tho forehead considered essential in a pug dog. 'The barbarous fashion was continued simply because it had been followed in the days of our grandfathers and great-grandfathers —at any rate up to tho year; 1804—when tho dog was the rage; and very beautiful specimens thus mutilated have been exhibited at our modern (forty years ago) dog shows. Within the last few years this unhappy custom has been on the wane, and where expediency, cannot be pleaded, owing to the dog's . occupation, we trust such torture will be abandoned." (Tor several years past a British Act of Parliament has forbidden cropping, and all British' kennel olubs disqualify cropped dogs).

"Two varieties of 'fawn' pugs were in evidence in England for many years'. About sixty years ago Lady Willoughby do Eresby, of Grinithorpe, near Lincoln, and Mr Morrison, of Waltham Green, each independently established a kennel of these dogs, with such Buccess (writes Mr Fred. Gresham, a present-day English expert on pugs) that eventually the fawn pugs were spoken of as either the 'Willoughby' or the 'Morrison' pugs. At that period the black variety was not known. The Willoughby pug was duller in colour than the Morrison,. which was of a brighter, ruddior hue, but the two varieties, have since been so much interbred that they are now indistinguishable, and the fact that they were ever familiarly recognised aB either WHloughbys or Morrisons is almost entirely forgotten. A 'fawn' pug may now bo either silver grey of apricot, and equally valuable." The tail of a pug may be curled on either the right or the left side. , The tighter it is curled the better. ; Some pugs carry their tongues protruding from one side of. the mouth almost continuously. It will come as a surprise to novices to know that this is a blemish arising from partial paralysis of the tongue. , s An English authority writes:—"One of the most distinctive features of a, fawn liug 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 (in England) to And a fawn pug With any trace at all now." Thiß is a remarkable failing, which' is very noticeable among pugs in New Zealand.

'-Another - indictment by the same writer lis" that although the pug should not be ..up-faced, most of the winners in. England pf the present day are undershot (lower jaw longer than the top jaw) by at least half an inch/ and consequently must be up-faxed. Only one champion pug In England of the present day possesses a, level ftnouth. The toe-nails should be black, 'according to the standard, but Home judges ignore this point altogether.

Fawn pugs sometimes have a defect of a flesh-coloured nose, and oven when 'black the noso in ,png bitches sometimes igoes lighter in colour owing to their health and' condition. Pugs are essentially house'pets, and if. they have to live out-doors their coats are likely to, become is- little coarse. '

The fawn, or putty colour of a pug ohauld bo clear, and not smutty. The latter defect detracts znuoh from its appearance. . /

Voro Shaw gives the average weight of pugs as' followst—Full-grown dog, 161 b; full-grown bitch, 151 b; puppy, 12 months old, 151 b; 9 months, 141 b; 6 months, 121 b; 3 months, 81b; 6 weeks' old, 41b. Ho states that the points to look for in a fawn pug puppy- at Bix weeks old are: Straight legs, dark eyes, curly tail, black mask, trace,, and toe-nails, In a puppy six months old (in addition to the above), small ears, square face, full eye, and short coat. The average ago at which a pug arrives at maturity U two years. In conclusion, the chief features desirable in a pug are compactness, and roundness of body,; a very short, square muzzle, big skull, large eyes, great wrinkle, small drop-ears, double twist of tail, with straight - fore-legß. The- unpardonable blemishes are—Supiness or long muzzle, long baok, and straight tail. The distinctness of the trace i» most desirable.