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Although we lack documentation on the arrival of the first Pugs to America, we do know that some dogs were in the country shortly after the Civil War. The breed gained attention because of its uniqueness and, during the 1880s, many Pugs were shown. The breed gained recognition from the American Kennel Club (AKC) in 1885 and was classified in the Toy Group, as it is in other countries around the world.

The breed fell into relative obscurity at the turn of the 20th century as other breeds gained favor, many of which were “exotic imports” at the time. Breeders on the East Coast began stirring up interest in the Pug again, and by 1931 a club was formed. Twenty years later, the Pug Dog Club of America (PDCA), the current parent club for the Pug, was established as the breed’s principal promoter and protector in the US. The first members of the PDCA were prominent Pug people such as Dr. Nancy Riser, Filomena Doherty, Mrs. Joseph Rowe, Suzanne Bellinger, Dr. James Stubbs, Ralph Adair, Mary Lou Mann, Miriam Dock, Mr. and Mrs. John Madore and J. Hartley Mellick, Jr.

JOSEPHINE’S “FORTUNE”

A Pug by the name of Fortune belonged to Napoleon Bonaparte’s first wife, Josephine. Fortune was reputed to have had a somewhat possessive nature, and when the dwarfish man who was to become Emperor entered the bedchamber on his wedding night, the dwarfish dog promptly bit him!

William Hogarth’s famous Self Portrait with his dog, painted about 1740, may be the most celebrated of all Pug renderings.

By the 1940s, Pug breeders began producing consistent winners. Such kennels as Catawba, Winna Pugs, Paramount, Gin Rickey, Lucky Ace, Clavone and others began to dominate the show scene in North America. The following decade, breeders such as Filomena Doherty, Frederic Soderberg, Mrs. Edwin Pickhardt, Gordon Winders and Rolla Blaylock produced top winners, including an early Best in Show winner, Ch. Pugholm Peter Punkin Eater. To add to the growing Pug fraternity, Peter and Carolyn Standish, Ann Crowley, Shirley and Rayne Thomas, Esther and Gus Wolf, Hazel Martens, Barbara Minella and Agnes Miner represent just some of the important breeders responsible for the Pug’s climb to fame in the US in the 1960s and 1970s.

Since those decades, the Pug has remained a popular breed, frequently seen in the show ring and counted among the top 20 breeds according the AKC’s registration statistics. Although the Pug is not as flashy and intense as other top contenders in the Toy Group, including his relatives, the Pekingese and Shih Tzu, the breed does well in conformation shows and has racked up an impressive number of Best in Show awards over the years. In 1981, the first Pug ever to win the famous Westminster Kennel Club Show was named Ch. Dhandys Favorite Woodchuck, owned by Robert A. Hauslohner. To date, “Chucky,” as his friends called him, is the only Pug to receive this great honor. He was bred by Mrs. W. U. Braley and Mrs. R. D. Hutchinson and was handled to the win by Robert Barlow.

Pugs are photogenic and blooming with personality. There is no wonder that they have won the hearts of many throughout the years.

The Pug’s popularity continues to grow and there are quality specimens in most countries around the world. This handsome Pug was photographed in the Netherlands, a country with which the breed has strong ties.