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Pekingese

An ancient Chinese breed that probably achieved its present form inythe eighteenth century when the Empress dowager Tzú Hsi An took a great interest in these little dogs.The Pekingese was first bred to have the likeness of the spirit-lion of Buddha, which was first introduced with Buddhism into China between ad 25 - 221. A few dogs were brought to England in 1860 after the sacking of the Yuan Ming Yuan Summers Palace in Peking, the most famous of them being Looty, the dog presented to Queen Victoria by Captain Dunne. The pekingese was first seen in the show-ring in 1894 and by 1904 it was considered sufficiently well established to split from the Japanese and pekingese Club and form its own breed organization.

Often thought of as lap dogs for elderly ladies, nothing could be furher from the truht. The Pekingese is an aristocrat, whose ancestry can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty. He has a sense of humour, but lots of dignity which he dons when the mood so takes him. Mischievious and playful, loving and sensitive, he reputed to have the heart of a lion, and upholds this reputation by guarding his toys and other possessions. Not naturally aggressive, he stand up for himself if forced to do so. Although he likes exercise he prefers to take it at his own pace, and is not the long country walk type! Strong and heavy for his size he is., however, easy to tuck andur an arm and take anywhere.

General Appearance** The Pekingese is a well - balanced, compact dog with heavy front and lighter hindquarters. It must suggest its Chineses origin in its directness, independence, individuality and expression. Its image is lionlike. It should imply courage, boldness and self-esteem rather than prettiness, or delicacy. So well balanced thick set dog of quality.

Size*Substance** The Pekingese should be surprisingly heavy when lifted. It has a stocky, muscular body. The bone of the forequarters must be very heavy in relation to the size of the dog. All weights are corect within the limit of 14 pounds, provided that type and points are not sacrificed. weight over 14 pounds.

Proportion** The length of the body, from the front of the breast bone in a straight lin to the buttocks, is slightly greater than the height at the withers. Overall balance is of utmost importance.

Head and Skull** The topskull is massive, broad and flat not dome-shaped. The topskull, the high. wide cheek bones, broad lower jaw and wide chin are the structuralformation of the correctly shaped face. When viewed frontally, the skull is wider than deep and contributes to the rectangular envelope - shaped appearance of the head. In profile, the Pekingese face must be flat. The chin, nose leather and brow all lie in one plane. In the natural position of the head, this plane appears vertical but slants very slightly backward from chin to forehead.

Nose** Nose is black, broad, very short and in profile, contributes to the flat appearance of the face. Nostrils are open. The nose is positioned between the eyes so that a line drawn horizontally across the top of the nose intersects the center of the eyes.

Eyes** They are large, very dark, round, lustrous and set wide apart. The look is bold, not bulging. The eye rims are black and the white of the eye does not show when the dog is looking straight ahead.

Wrinkle** It effectively separates the upper and lower areas of the face. The appearance is of a hair covered fold of skin, extending from one cheek, over the bridge of the nose in a wide inverted "V", to the other cheek. It is never so prominent or heavy as to crowd the facial features nor to obscure a large portion of the eyes or the nose from view.

Stop** It is deep. The bridge of the nose is completely obscuredfrom view by hair and / or the over - nose wrinkly.

Muzzle** This is very short and broad with high,white cheek bones. The color of the skin is black. Whiskers add the Oriental expression.

Mouth** The lower jaw is slightly undershot. The lips meet on the level plane and neither teeth nor tongue show when the mouth is closed. The lower jaw is strong, wide firm and straight across at the chin. An excesively strong chin is as undesirable as a weak one.

Ears** They are heart - shaped and set on the front corners of the skull extending the line of the topskull. Correctly placed ears frame the sides of the face and with there heavy feathering create an illusion of additional withd of the head.

Pigment** The skin of the nose, lips and eye rims is black on all colors.

Neck** It is very short, thick and set back into the shoulder,

Body** This is pear - shaped and compact. It is heavy in front with well - sprung ribs slung between forelegs. The broad chest, with little or no protruding breast bone, tapers to lighter lions with a distinct waist. The topline is level.

Tail** The baseis set high, the remainder is carried well over the center of the back. long, profuse straight feathering may to either side.

Forequarters** They are short, thick and heavy boned. The bones of the forelegs are slightly bowed between the pastern and elbow. Shoulders are gently laid back and fit smoothly into the body. The elbows are always close to the body. Front feet are large, flat and turned slightly out. The dog must stand well up on feet.

Hindquarters** They are lighter in bone than the forequarters. There is moderate angulation and definition of stifle and hock. When viewed from behind, the rear legs are reasonable close and parallel and the feet point straight ahead.

Soundness** Well soundness is essential in both forequarters and the hindquarters.

Coat** Body coat it is full - bodied, with long, coarse textured, straight, stand of coat and thick, softer undercoat. The coat forms a noticeable mane on the neck and shoulder area with the coaton the remainder of the body somewhat shorter in length. A long and profuse coat is desirable providing that it does not obscure the shapeliness of the body, nor sacrifice the correct coat texture .

Feathering** Long feathering is found on the back of the thighs and forelegs, and on the ears, tail and toes. The feathering is left on the toes but should not be so long as to prevent free movement.

Color** All coat colors and markings, including parti - colours, are allowable and of equal merit.

Gait** The gait is unhurried and dignified, with a slight roll over the shoulders. The rolling gait is caused by the bowed front legs and heavier, wider forequarters pivoting on the tapered waist and the lighter,straight parallel hindquarters. The rolling motion is smooth and effortless and is as free as possible from bouncing, prancing or jarring.

Temperament** A combination of regal dignity, self - importance, self - confidence and exasperating stubbornness make for a good natured, lively and affectionate companion to those who have earned its respect.

Well the foregoing is a description of the ideal Pekingese. Any deviation should be penalized in direct proportion to the extent of that deviation.