PUG (variant of puck, from Ir. puca, Welsh pwca, pwei, goblin, sprite). A small, smooth, short-nosed house-dog, introduced into England probably from Holland, to which country it seems to have come, according to general testimony, from the East Indies. The breed was well established in England by the year 1700, and continued so from the reign of William II. to George II. By the first quarter of the nineteenth century pugs had nearly or quite disappeared from Great Britain. The fawn variety was reintroduced from Holland, and now there are two recognized strains — the Fawn and the Black (the latter brought from China about 1875 by Lady Brassey). An inferior quality has long been bred in Italy and in France, where they were called ‘carlins,’ after a celebrated Harlequin. The pug is essentially a house-dog, and a very good one, and for that purpose a smaller dog than the standard allowed in competition (13 to 17 pounds) is the better. The general appearance is that of a large-headed, smooth-coated, black-faced, pug-nosed, bright little dog, compact in form, with well-knit proportions and well-developed muscles. In color he is (in the ordinary variety) fawn all over, except on the muzzle or ‘mask,’ the ears, the moles on his cheeks, the ‘thumb-mark’ or ‘diamond’ on his forehead, and his back trace, which should all be as black as possible. His face is deeply wrinkled, and he carries his tail curled as tightly as possible over his hips. His coat must be short, smooth, soft, and glossy, neither hard nor woolly.
The ‘black pug’ differs only in color; he is entirely black.