Pug Breed History

The story begins that in ancient times, Pugs were bred to live the high life and be companions for royalty in China later finding themselves living amongst Buddhist monks in Tibet.

In later centuries, Pugs would be regularly seen at European courts, where they reportedly became the official dog of the House of Orange in 1572 after a Pug named Pompey saved the life of William the Silent, the Prince of Orange by alerting him to the approach of assassins.

Then in 1688, William III and Mary II left the Netherlands to accept the throne of England in 1688 and travelled with their pet Pug. It is thought that this is when the popularity of the Pug increased across Europe as several paintings depicted images of Pugs travelling in private carriages, dressed in clothing that matched those of the coachman. They were also used by the military to track animals and people, and were employed as guard dogs.

One of the most famous early paintings of a Pug was by the English painter William Hogarth who was himself a devoted owner of Pugs. His 1745 self-portrait, which is now in London's Tate Gallery, includes his Pug, Trump.

The popularity of the Pug continued to spread across Europe where, in the 18th century, a pet Pug was used as a messenger. Prior to her marriage to Napoleon Bonaparte, Joséphine used her pet Pug, Fortune, to carry concealed messages to her family while she was confined at Les Carmes prison, as it was the only ‘visitor’ that was given visiting rights! The Pug continued living the high life in England, in 19th century England as Queen Victoria had many Pugs herself.

An avid breeder, her many Pugs, included Olga, Pedro, Minka, Fatima and Venus and her love for the breed carried on through down the generations. As a result of her involvement with dogs in general, 1873 saw the establishment of the Kennel Club.

As we progress through the latter centuries, this is when we started to see the change in the Pug’s appearance. In the early centuries, through their depiction in paintings and engravings, Pugs appeared with longer legs and noses and sometimes with cropped ears.

However, in the late 18th century, the Pug's appearance started to change when a new wave of Pugs was imported directly from China. These Pugs had shorter legs and what is now recognised as the modern-style Pug nose. It was also during this time, that ear cropping was made illegal in 1895.

Whilst it was more fashionable to see the apricot and fawn colours within the Pug breed, the British aristocrat Lady Brassey is credited with making black Pugs fashionable after she brought some back from China in 1886.

A further increase in their popularity during the 19th century, saw Pugs arrive in the United States and were soon making their way into the family home and the show ring. It was at this time that the American Kennel Club recognised the breed in 1885 followed by the Pug Dog Club of America being founded in 1931 and was recognised by the American Kennel Club that same year. The Pug’s popularity has continued to increase and is widely sought after as a family pet across the globe.

Anatomy of a PUG

Health has been and continues to be of paramount concern and I am pleased to say we have come quite a way in terms of health testing and working to improve the health of the breed, especially in the face of adversity with relentless negative social media coverage. Now the groundwork has been done, we can only hope to see the pug's health improve moving forward.

Whilst introducing rare colours it is important to retain the true to type structure of the Pug.

Coat Color

Pugs are generally thought to be found in four major colours, though not all are standard colours with certain kennel clubs. The two most common colours are fawn and black. Silver and apricot can also be seen with this breed, and while not standard colors per the AKC, these colors are indeed recognized by the FCI and other kennel clubs. Brindle Pugs do exist, though this is not without some controversy.

Another theory is that in developing the Pug breed, other breeds were mixed in to develop certain characteristics of the Pug standard. It is believed that in this process, non standard colors were also mixed into the gene pool.

There are some unique color markings that can appear on Pugs which include the trace and the thumbprint, found only on non-black Pugs. All non-black Pugs have black masks and black ears.

Queen Victoria is thought to have favoured apricot and fawn colours and Lady Brassey is thought to have introduced black Pugs to the UK.

Fawn

Pugs come in variety of colours, most well known being fawn. The Pug is considered an Oriental breed with ancestral ties to the Pekingese and perhaps the Shih Tzu. Pugs — named after the old word for goblin, or small monkey — are friendly, outgoing, fiercely loyal and wonderfully comical. They also have a wonderfully distinguished history dating back to the Shang dynasty (before 400BC) where they were bred to adorn the laps of Chinese Emperors, lived in extreme luxury and were watched over day and night by armed guards. And, give or take the odd corgi, they’ve long been the darling of royalty — Queen Victoria was mad on pugs, kept 36, bred them herself and preferred the apricot and fawn colouring to the more traditional black pugs imported from China in the late 1900s. Pugs were and are famous amongst kings and queens, political leaders, and other dignitaries. They were also popular amongst the literati and other socialites, including Voltaire, George Eliot, Andy Warhol, and Valentino.

Black

Around 1886 Pug breeders started to take the breeding of black Pugs seriously. The Tailor's Shop, painted by the famous Dutch artist Q. Brekelen-ham, proves that black Pugs were around as early as 1653, and The House of Caids; painted by William Hogarth, 1730, also included a black Pug. But the black Pug, born into a fawn litter, was not valued by the early breeder; black Pugs would be culled as soon as they were born. Due to the lack of recorded information on the black Pug, many writers said that Lady Brassey, a world traveller, brought the first two black Pugs into England when, in 1877, she returned in her yacht Sunbeam from China. Since authorities realized that there were black Pugs in England before her trip, few people believe she actually did introduce them into England. However, she certainly created interest in them. At the Madison show in 1886, Lady Brassey entered four black Pugs-Jacopo, Nap, Jack Spratt and Bessie Spratt-and they won, starting with Jacopo going first in his class. This dog show was very influential both in generating interest in black Pugs and in starting several kennels specializing in them. It is said that the original variety of black Pugs stem from Lady Brassey's lines, since they were the first black Pugs on record in England. The Brassey Pugs Nap II, Jack Spratt and his daughter Bessie Spratt have gone down in the record book as the foundation stock of all black Pugs.

Silver / Platinum / Blue

The Whilloughby family of England is credited with creating the Whilloughby strain of Pugs. Whilloughby Pugs were a silver-fawn colour with a distinct dark streak or trace along its back, from the base of the head to its tail, date to 1843 when the Whilloughbys acquired two specimens and bred them. They became very popular and were the rage of England for quite some time. They were so popular that they became the object of thieves who wanted to fill orders for the distinctive little dogs from around the world.

White

Many Oriental Pugs had a great deal of white on their bodies, and some were almost entirely white. These white and pinto spotted Pugs are documented in Europe as late as the end of the 1800s, but the lines that produced them were eventually allowed to be lost. There were a few famous white pugs’ owners, like Duke Of York and many royals. The AKC now recognises a white pug, so they are full blooded pugs.

Brindle

Brindle pugs were common place in the colour scheme of Pugs a couple of hundred years ago. Brindle pugs were originally Boston Terrier/Pug crosses. The Boston terrier is where the brindle colour comes from. Eventually breeders started breeding the Bugs (Boston terrier and pug crosses) back to full blooded Pugs. The brindle colour is very dominant & even 8 generations down, you still will get brindle puppies. The AKC now recognizes a brindle pug, so they are full blooded again.

Chocolate and Black & Tan

The pug family keeps growing and they now come also in chocolate and black and tan variety. Rare colours cause a lot of controversy among the breeders and pug lovers. The KC recognizes more and more varieties now which was not the case a few years back. I am sure you agree that they are just as gorgeous and sweet as ‘standard’ colour pugs.