“TODAY’S WELL-BRED PEKINGESE IS A WONDERFUL FAMILY DOG.
Like any small dog, Pekes are probably not a great choice for a home with toddlers, but they do well with older children, teens, and adults. Pekes are definitely a ‘people’ dog...”
heavy for their size, within that chest beats a heart surely as big as a lion. They are brave to the point of fool- ish—regardless of the size of their opponent. When ill or injured, they are stoic to the point of endanger- ing their own lives. They are quite intelligent, intuitive, and sometimes stubborn like a four-year-old tod- dler. They truly have this bigger than life personality. Living with Pekingese is one of the greatest joys of my life. My father once commented tome that they were charming little dogs in spite of their sense of self-importance. They are a dog that doesn’t require a lot of ex- ercise, although most love to chase a ball. Bring it back? Not so much. There are many fallacies about Pe- kingese, as everyone seems to have
an Aunt or Grandmother who kept a Peke back in the day, and those were always of the biting variety. Today’s well-bred Pekingese is a wonder- ful family dog. Like any small dog, Pekes are probably not a great choice for a home with toddlers, but they do well with older children, teens, and adults. Pekes are definitely a “people” dog; they require human interaction as much as they require fresh food and water everyday. Pekes do tend to bond strongly with their family, and will initially be cautious of those they don’t know. They are independent, strong-willed, and every one of them knows they have descended from Chinese royalty. Pekingese, just like people, have a va- riety of personalities. Some are out- going and have never met a stranger,
while others are aloof and take time to warm up to a new person. How- ever, once you get to know this de- lightful breed, they will capture your heart. As a whole, they are a cheer- ful little dog whose entire being exudes joyfulness. Pekingese are generally a healthy, long-lived, and sturdy breed. We are fortunate as we are not cursed with genetic conditions such as PRA, etc. Currently, the parent club has no recommendations for health test- ing. Breeders need to be constantly vigilant of potential breathing issues as with any brachycephalic breed. Brachycephalic Airway Syndrome (BAS) refers to a particular set of up- per airway abnormalities that affects brachycephalic dogs. Mildly affect- ed dogs will have noisy breathing,
T op N otch T oys , S eptember 2021 • 23
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