of the great ladies of the land. The late Queen
Victoria possessed one, of which she was very proud. The Pug has,
however, now fallen from his high estate as a ladies' pet, and his
place has been usurped by the Toy Pomeranian, the Pekinese, and
Japanese, all of which are now more highly thought of in the
drawing-room or boudoir. But the Pug has an advantage over all these
dogs as, from the fact that he has a shorter coat, he is cleaner and
does not require so much attention.

It was not until the establishment of the Pug Dog Club in 1883 that a
fixed standard of points was drawn up for the guidance of judges when
awarding the prizes to Pugs. Later on the London and Provincial Pug
Club was formed, and standards of points were drawn up by that
society. These, however, have never been adhered to. 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. Only one champion of the present day possesses a
level mouth. The toe-nails should be black according to the standard,
but this point is ignored altogether. In fact, the standard, as drawn
up by the Club, should be completely revised, for it is no true guide.
The colour, which should be either silver or apricot fawn; the
markings on the head, which should show a thumb-mark or diamond on the
forehead, together with the orthodox size, are not now taken into
consideration, and the prizes are given to over-sized dogs with big
skulls that are patchy in colour, and the charming little Pugs which
were once so highly prized are now the exception rather than the rule,
while the large, lustrous eyes, so sympathetic in their expression,
are seldom seen.

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 siz