The origin of the Pug as a breed probably begins in ancient China, although it certainly
did not look the same as today's dogs. Dogs known as "short mouthed"
dogs are described in writings that date to about 600 BC and were probably
the forerunners of the modern breed that we call the Pug. Emperor Kang Hsi,
about AD 950, commissioned a dictionary of all the Chinese characters, and in
it there are two references which could describe the Pug: "dogs with the short
legs" and "a dog with a short head." By the 1300s there were three separate
types of dogs that are identifiable as founders of breeds of today: the Pekingese,
the Japanese Spaniel, and the Pug. |
