fawn Pug’s friend. Fawn does include a variety of acceptable shades and tones. Some fawns may appear very pale, like clear butter. Others may have apricot tones and some may go toward silver shades. All are accept- able and very appealing with the nec- essary separation between these gor- geous variety of fawns and the black points, those being the ears, mask, toenails and moles on the cheeks. Here we need to address the tricky amount of fawn which can be prob- lematic, that being the word smutty. Fawns will on occasion have black hairs placed throughout. If these are evenly placed in a pleasing way they are normal and fully accept- able but like other color issues they can be overdone and can stray away from true fawn and present an unpleasing brownish tone which is not in line with a true fawn. We do not want these dark areas to appear as dark broad saddles or a blanket over the back. This color anomaly could also appear on the legs and could also hamper the clarity of color separa- tion on the face which could distract from the charmof a proper head. True clarity would ensure the desired dia- mond or thumb print in the wrinkle pattern on the forehead essential for expression. This sort of smuttiness is distracting and can hurt the essential type of an exhibit. Said smuttiness is indeed a fault but not a disquali- fication. Another color issue which is completely acceptable is having a few black hairs around the edge of the toe which shows proper pigment and will usually assure the necessary dark toe nails. To assure a true fawn, one should de- sire the trace. That being a darker line of fawn which starts at the top of the neck and extends to the tailset. This is not seen as often as we would like but faint hints of the trace are pleas- ing and desirable. Now we’ll move on to black. A Pug in black is indeed pleasing to the eye and if done well it is charming in ev- ery way. Black on the Pug is simple. It is just that. Black, true jet black. On occasion one may find a few white
(Fawn Bitch Ch. Sheffield’s
Keepsake Bred and Owned by Margery Shriver)
THE PUG AND COLOR
by Patrick Archer McManus
body with sturdy gear fore and aft and yes, its most amusing temperament which can easily sway from naughty to fiercely amusing. Quite a combi- nation I must say! Along with these critical essences following along is the Pug’s color. It is very specific and shows instantly that recognizable Pug look that we all love and strive for. Let’s start with the basics. Pugs come in two colors, fawn and black. Sounds basic enough but within these pe- rimeters there are several subtle variations that we’ll discuss in detail. The fawn Pug carries with it several peccadillos, the first being that the fawn should be in total contrast to the required black mask, ears and toe- nails. The fawn itself should be clean, clear and noticeably possess a sharp definition between the colors. That is essential to ensure breed type. We do not need any bleeding of color or any overdone smudges of black or smutty dark browns. Clarity in color is the
Patrick Archer McManus
E ach Purebred Breed has its own unique qualities that set it apart from other breeds. These is- sues may involve purpose, make, shape, size, head, coat, what have you. Today we will discuss the Pug and its very special color. Essentials for the Pug start with head and its fancy twist of a tail. These critical points are worn upon a cobby, square little
66 • T op N otch T oys , S eptember 2018
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