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Pug
is one of the oldest breeds in the world since its history begins before
at least 2500 years. It has always been a pet, which looks after humans
faithfully. Nobody knows where Pug really comes from. It’s a mystery but
many people believe that it has many common roots with Peking and it comes
from the East. It is believed that Pugs were a good companion for the
Buddhist monks in Tibet. It is said that time there were three types of
short- headed dogs: Lion dog, Peking and Loze, which seemed to have been
the old Pug.
As we all know, today Pugs are
those dogs with the big expressive eyes and some wrinkles on their
faces. One could say that those small dogs looked like small and short-
headed Tibetan Mastiff or another version of Peking. After China, those
dogs appeared in Japan.
People, who went around the world
and were occupied with commerce, took the first Pugs before the 16th
century from Near East to Europe and especially to Netherlands,
where they became very popular at the Royal Court of the House of Orange.
They became the official dogs of the Court when in 1572 they saved the
Prince’s life, William, warning him that Spanish invaded to Hermingy.
Pompey, the silver Pug was sleeping near the Prince and as soon as he saw
the soldiers, who went to kill him, he woke him up and then he ran away
and was rescued. Since then he had always had a Pug by his side and after
he had died since 1584 there is a statue of his lovely dog on his grave at Delf Cathedral.
Pugs were taken to England by
William II when he arrived to Torbay in order to become the king of
England and soon they became very popular in that country. In the
beginning there were the blonde Pugs and that was contributed to two
people who were fond of that breed, Lady Willoughbyde Everby of
Greenthorpe and Morrison of Wathan Green.
Many years later, black Lady
Brassey took Pugs to England. More Pugs were taken to England in 1860,
when British soldiers took the palace in Peking; they took Pugs and Peking
with them. That was the first time, after the 16th century,
that so many dogs left China.
Until 1790 the breed had been
spread to France too, where Josephine, Napoleon’s wife carried, under the
belt of the Pug “Fortune” secret massages to her husband when he was in
prison Les Carmes. Fortune seemed to have been arrogant enough against his
boss, since, as it is said, he bited Napoleon when he went into their
bedroom in the first night of their marriage.
It is possible for the first Pugs
to be bigger than they are today and they might have taken part in the
creation of other short headed breeds in Europe, such as the Affepinsters
or the English Bulldogs. There are many opinions about where this breed
took its name from and each one can support whatever they consider
correct. Some people believe that it took its name from the Latin word
pugnus, which means punch, because it describes the dog’s shape. Some
others believe that it comes from the old word "pugg”, which describes
someone being loved who was used in England before the breed’s arrival. It
is also said that they took the name “Pugg Dog” because they looked like
the monkeys Pug, which were known as pets in the beginning of 1700. So the
name “Pug Dog” was used so that they look different from those monkeys. In
Netherlands Pugs are known with the name <<Mposhond>>, which means
“murmur”, whereas in Germany the name is “Mops” and in France “Carlin”.
The first original of the breed
was published in 1883 and the breed was recognized in England and two
years later it was recognized in the other side of Atlantic too. An
expression, which describes Pugs completely and it is included in the
original of the breed, is the <<multum in parvo>>, which means “a big dog
in a small package”. With these we can describe perfectly the dense Pug
with the harmonious proportions and the developed muscles. They may not
have many funs because of their short muzzle and their wrinkled face, but
those who live with them; they don’t want to leave them because they are
very kind. Their popularity has grown throughout the world and today many
would have nothing but
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