Pugador

The Pugador is a relatively new hybrid, though the two breeds that make the hybrid have long histories. The Pug first originated in China between 206 B.C. and 200 A.D., during the Han dynasty. There is evidence that there were dogs similar to the Pug in ancient Tibet and Japan. When Dutch traders brought these dogs to Europe in the 1500’s and 1600’s, the dogs were called Mopshond and they became a popular among royalty. By the 1800’s there were two dominant breeding lines in England; the Morrisson line, founded on Queen Charlotte’s royal dogs and the second line started by Lord and Lady Willoughby de Eresby on dogs that came from Hungary and Russia. The breed made its way to the United States after the Civil War and became recognized by the American Kennel Club in 1885. Named after the capital of Newfoundland, the Labrador was known as the St. John’s Water Dog in the 1700’s. During this time, he helped fishermen with their nets and brought back fish that fell from the nets. Eventually the breed was named the Labrador after the Labrador Sea. According to records, the Labrador arrived in London in the 1820’s where the second Earl of Malmesbury was one of the first to own one of the breed. The popularity of the breed was the result of the ability of the Labrador to retrieve while hunting with his human. In the 1880’s the breed almost became extinct, however the Malmesbury family and various English breeders worked to continue it. In the 1920’s the Labrador arrived in the United States.