WHAT MAKES A PUG, ROUND HEAD, SQUARE BODY, CURLY TAIL A PUG?
by Patt Kolesar Stoltz, JEC PDCA | Photos provided by PDCA.
W e are all excited to get back to dog shows after our COVID hiatus. We want to restore that little bit of normal back into our dog life. It feels like we were all put on pause, there was a rewind, and nowwe are starting fresh. We are rar- ing to go. With this inmind, I would like to take the opportunity to refresh readers’ understanding of some of the points of the Pug standard. I want to empha- size a few of the nuances that make a Pug, a Pug. I want to address the high points of type in our standard. I would certainly hope that anyone officiating in the ring already has a firm grasp of what moderate angles, moderate reach and drive, double tracking, and a level backmean. So, I’ll leave that for another discussion.
I would like you to remember three important words when you think about a Pug; round head, square body, curly tail. These three words sum up the shape a Pug is expected to be. Say it again, “Round head, square body, curly tail.” Pugs are short-bodied, thickset, and square. We measure square from the point of shoulder to the ischium, and from the top of the withers to the ground. The standard calls for a Pug that is “ multum in parvo ,” which liter- ally translate to “a lot in a little.” Ba- sically, we are the concrete block of the Toy ring. Calling for a lot in a little requires substance that is not over- done; nor should it ever be coarse. A fat Pug doesn’t have substance, he is just fat, and a scrawny adult clearly lacks substance. Admittedly, our standard can be confusing because it only addresses substance in terms of weight, stating weight from 14 to 18 pounds (dog or bitch) as desirable. And admittedly, today’s exhibits are often slightly larger than the “desired” weight we address in the standard. However, the Pug should be evaluated on the merit of its bone, muscle, and cobbiness as it relates to breed type. Always keep in mind that the Pug is a Toy breed of moderate angles. We never want to see Pugs that are excessively large, weedy, leggy, short-legged or long- bodied. Pugs never have a tuck-up.
Our back is parallel to the ground and our underline is virtually the same. Think thick as a brick. Let’s move on to the curly tail. Our standard says the tail is curled as tightly as possible over the hip. The double curl is perfection. A Pug’s tail is a very distinctive characteristic, and a Pug carries his feelings on his tail. While a double curl is perfection, a tight single or 1-1/2 twist is perfectly acceptable and pretty much what you can expect to find. No daylight should ever be visible from within the curl. The tail should always remain curled tightly to the body—and this applies when moving too. A low-set tail, a tail that doesn’t hold a curl, flops open when moving or shows daylight are all undesirable. It is not unusual for a puppy, or an exhibit that may have been startled by a noise, to drop its tail for a moment. However, when recovered, the tail should be carried high with that tight curl. (I joke that there are only three times a Pug’s tail comes undone; when he is ill, when he’s sleeping or when he’s dead.) I have saved the discussion of the head for last as the head is complicated. Remember that word “round” head? If only it were that simple. I find that understanding the correct head is the hardest thing for many to grasp. Yes, the standard says our head is large, massive, and round. However, keep in mind that our head is large and round
Here is a beautiful example of square, level back, the correct underline, and profile.
38 • T op N otch T oys , A pril 2022
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