Pugs were most likely originally bred as lap dogs for Chinese monarchs and were originally known as the lo-chiang-sze, or the foo dog. It is unclear as to how long ago the breed actually first appeared.
The breed was “refined for centuries for the sole purpose of entertaining the inhabitants of the Imperial City” (Pug History). Many early emperors were known to have kept pugs in their company. Emperor Ling To was said to have given his female pugs the same rank as his wives (Sutherland). Emperor Qin Shi Huang is believed to have destroyed all records, scrolls, and art depicting the pug during his reign between 221 and 210 BCE (Pug). When pug puppies were born, their forehead wrinkles would be inspected for a W shape that resembled the Chinese character for “prince,” which was the most highly favored wrinkle configuration (Sutherland).
The pug most likely shares a common ancestor with the Pekingese. The short-coated pug and the long-coated Pekingese share similar features, most notably their flat faces and coloring. The now-extinct Chinese Happa dog, which looked remarkably like the modern-day pug, is widely accepted as the forerunner of the Pekingese and is believed to have given rise to the pug as well. Chinese Happa dogs have been recorded in Chinese history as far back as 1115 BCE. Though the Chinese Happa dog isn’t well known, there is a specimen on display in the natural history section of the British Museum (Swainston-Goodger 12).
Credit : PetsHelpful
Picture Credit : Google
