“THE STANDARD CALLS FOR A HIGH SET CURLY TAIL CURLED OVER THE HIP. A double curled tail is perfection.”
your consideration in the ring is color. Fawn does consist of many different shades and they may have black hairs mixed in. Smuttiness in the Fawn col- oring is only a minor fault. When the standard says clear color that is to say there is a clear delineation between the fawn and the black of the mask and ears on the Fawn dogs. Black pugs are just that—black. By saying only Fawn or Black this should eliminate any other off color. Just remember that Fawn does come with black hairs mixed in. If you are a judge of junior showman- ship and don’t know what to do when you ask the junior to show the bite. I ask of all juniors, “Please showme the bite and mouth as you do in the con- formation ring.” I expect the junior to either explain to me (politely) that we do not open the mouth of the Pug or to show how the examination is done. I hope this helps all of us to under- stand our wonderful breed and how it should be judged.
The standard says 14 to 18 pounds for a dog or bitch but many today weigh slightly over 20 pounds and are still cobby. Pugs are square (dog or bitch). Mea- sured from point of shoulder to point of rump and ground to top of withers. They should never be too long in body nor too short on leg. Pugs have only a slight tuckup. The front legs when viewed from the front should appear straight. Theremay be somemuscling on the outside of the front legs and that should not be taken as not being straight. They are set well under when viewed from the side. The pasterns are only slightly bent. The neck should be strong and of suf- ficient length to hold the large head proudly. The head with no neck and set on the shoulders is not correct. The straight topline should remain level moving or standing. A sloping topline is not level. The standard calls for a high set curly tail curled over the hip. A double curled tail is perfection. You see tails curled tightly directly on top of the back and this certainly is acceptable. A Pug with the tail down when mov- ing is an unhappy Pug and today that Pug should not win. The Pug has a double tracking gait. There is a slight convergence as speed increases, but look at a normal speed and you will see a slight convergence. The front and rear legs should be in a straight line. If you look at the rear going away you should see only the rear and when coming at you only the front. This would be a true double track gait. I ask that the handler take the Pug down and back on as loose a lead as possible so that I can see the gait. If the Pug is on a tight lead you will not see the proper double track. The last thing you want to look at for
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
My family raised Samoyeds when I was growing up. One time my fa- ther brought a Pug home to stay with us for awhile as he was showing it for someone. I fell in
love and decided this was the breed for me. I showed several different breeds in junior showmanship when I was young, but never forgot the breed I wanted. My husband, Del, and I purchased our first Pug, a little black girl, Kim Su of Toyah Dell, CD, in 1965. We bred her and this litter produced our first home- bred Champion, “CH. Donn-Del’s Kyling, CD. We have owned and co- owned several different breeds through- out the years, but will always have a Pug. Our current Pug is “Howdy”, he is the result of frozen semen from our CH Glory’s Rowdy Moran, CD x Ch. Riv- ersong’s Miss Molly, and is the love our lives. He has his CDX degree in obedi- ence and his RE degree in rally. I was an AKC licensed professional handler. I handled all breeds until I began judging in 1999. As a judge I am approved for the Hound group, the Working group, the Toy group, and the Non-sporting group, all Miscellaneous breeds, plus Best In Show and Junior Showmanship all breed. I have been a member of the Pug Dog Club of America since 1970 and have been honored with lifetime member- ship. I am a founding member of the Northern California Pug Club and a lifetime member of the Gavilan Kennel Club, our local all-breed dog club. I was chairman for the National Spe- cialty in 2008 and 2012. I was Judges Education Chairman for many years.
“THE NECK SHOULD BE
STRONG AND OF
SUFFICIENT LENGTH TO
hold the large head proudly.”
54 • T op N otch T oys , S eptember 2021
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