50 Fun Facts About Pugs

From which country were Pugs brought to Europe in the sixteenth century?

The Dutch East India Company carried them west; they later spread to Tibet and other parts of Asia.

Which two colours are Pug coats most often?

Apricot fawn and silver fawn are also recognised shades.

What shape does a Pug's tail normally take?

The breed's other signature traits are a wrinkly, short-muzzled face and a compact, square body.

How does the American Kennel Club describe the Pug's personality?

The breed was developed purely as a companion, not for hunting, herding or guarding.

The Pug's Latin motto, multum in parvo, translates as what?

The AKC glosses it as 'a lot of dog in a small space'.

What nickname do Pugs earn for following their owners from room to room?

They tend to be sensitive to their owners' moods and eager to please.

Which pet monkey is one theory for the origin of the name 'Pug'?

The flat face was thought to resemble the 'pug-monkey', a fashionable 18th-century pet.

The theory that 'Pug' comes from Latin pugnus links the breed's head to what shape?

Cropped early Pugs supposedly cast a fist-like shadow when seen from the side.

In what year is 'Pug-dog' first attested, according to the Oxford English Dictionary?

The word 'pug' had been applied to squirrels, hares, foxes and monkeys since the late 16th century.

What are the two recognised Pug ear shapes?

Breeders prefer button ears; rose ears are smaller and fold back against the head.

What colour should a Pug's claws be under the breed description?

The feet are small and the toes well split-up.

What dental trait is normal in Pugs?

The lower teeth protrude further than the upper ones.

What was the name of the short-coated Chinese dog considered the Pug's ancestor?

The full name, Lo-Chiang-Sze, distinguished it from the similarly built Pekingese.

During which Chinese dynasty was the Lo-Sze popular at the imperial court?

It was carried to Europe in the sixteenth century by the Dutch East India Company.

Which trading firm brought the Pug's ancestor from China to Europe?

The breed was popularised in Western Europe by the House of Orange.

Which animals, looted from the Old Summer Palace in 1860, reshaped the modern Pug?

They had shorter legs, the modern-style nose and were often black and white.

In which Asian region did Buddhist monks keep Pugs in their monasteries?

Pugs had earlier been guarded by soldiers as prized pets of Chinese emperors.

Of which royal dynasty did the Pug reportedly become the official dog in 1572?

A Pug named Pompey had alerted the Prince of Orange to approaching assassins.

What was the name of the Pug said to have saved the Prince of Orange from assassins?

The rescue is the story behind the breed becoming the House of Orange's official dog.

A Pug travelled with which royal couple when they took the English throne in 1688?

The Pug may then have been crossed with the old-type King Charles Spaniel.

Which toy breed may have acquired Pug-like features from 17th-century crossings?

The crossing is thought to have happened after William and Mary arrived in England.

Which Spanish painter is noted for painting Pugs?

In Italy the dogs rode up front on carriages in jackets matching the coachman's.

Which English painter's 1745 self-portrait includes his Pug, Trump?

The painting hangs in London's Tate Gallery.

Josephine's Pug Fortune carried secret messages while she was confined in which prison?

The dog alone had visiting rights, before her marriage to Napoleon.

Which of these was one of Queen Victoria's Pugs?

Her kennel also included Pedro, Minka, Fatima and Venus.

Which Pug colours did Queen Victoria favour?

Lady Brassey later made black Pugs fashionable after bringing some from China in 1886.

In what year was the Kennel Club, which Victoria's dog interest helped establish, formed?

The American Kennel Club recognised the Pug twelve years later.

Which two British Pug strains became prominent in the 19th century?

Willoughby dogs were a stone fawn with too much black; Morrison dogs a richer yellow fawn.

Which famous stud Pug, bred from Moss and Lamb, merged the two British lines?

He was bred to bitches from both the Willoughby and Morrison strains.

Which British aristocrat made black Pugs fashionable after a trip to China in 1886?

Until then fawn shades dominated the show ring.

With which breed were Pugs reportedly crossed in the 19th century to broaden the head?

The crosses cost the Pug some of its small size and lap-dog temperament.

In what year did the American Kennel Club recognise the Pug?

The Pug Dog Club of America followed in 1931.

In what year was the Pug Dog Club of America founded?

It was recognised by the American Kennel Club the same year.

Which Pug won Best in Show at Westminster in 1981, the only Pug ever to do so?

The show has run since 1877.

A Pug was Best in Show at the 2004 World Dog Show held in which city?

The winner was Double D Cinoblu's Masterpiece.

Which country placed limits on breeding short-faced breeds including the Pug in 2023?

A 'retro pug' counter-trend, aiming for longer snouts, began around 2006.

What do breeders of 'retro pugs' aim to change?

They also want less protruding eyes and fewer facial wrinkles.

What is the term for the Pug's shortened snout and pushed-in face?

It deforms the upper airway and can obstruct breathing, which is why airlines restrict the breed in cargo.

Why are Pugs especially prone to overheating?

Hyperthermia is one of the effects of brachycephaly.

UK research found Pugs are how many times more likely to become obese than other breeds?

One in five Pugs is diagnosed as obese in a given year.

A UK study of veterinary records put Pug life expectancy at what figure?

Another UK study found 11.6 years, and a Japanese cemetery review found 12.8.

A 2008 study found the UK's 10,000 Pugs had a gene pool equivalent to how many individuals?

The finding came from Imperial College London for a BBC documentary on pedigree dogs.

Pug Dog Encephalitis is another name for which condition?

It also affects other small breeds such as the Yorkshire Terrier and Chihuahua.

In which Jane Austen novel does Lady Bertram think 'more of her Pug than her children'?

The novel was published in 1814.

Which 1984 David Lynch film features a Pug as a family pet?

Lynch 'refused to answer' questions about why the dog was included.

Willy the Pug was the companion of which EastEnders character from 1985 to 1992?

Ethel was played by Gretchen Franklin.

What is the name of the talking Pug in the Men in Black films?

He was played by an animal actor named Mushu and returned for a cameo in Men in Black: International.

Which company's Indian adverts with the Pug Cheeka caused Pug sales to more than double?

The campaign, directed by Prakash Varma, began under the Hutchison Essar name.

The 18th-century Order of the Pug was a secret society founded by members of which faith?

It is believed to have been set up to sidestep a 1738 papal bull against Freemasonry.

What did novices of the Order of the Pug have to kiss during initiation?

Members carried a silver Pug medallion; the rite was exposed in a 1745 book printed in Amsterdam.