As Chinese ports opened to European traders, dogs were among the commodities offered. The Dutch East India Company probably brought the Pug to Holland, and from there the breed went to England. When William III landed in England in 1688 to assume the throne, he had several Pug Dogs with him that sported orange ribbons, symbol of Holland's House of Orange. The English Queen ended the practice of ear cropping for Pugs when she called a halt to the practice for all breeds in the country. Ear cropping remains against the law in England.
Plump Pugs are as undesirable as thin ones.
The head and tail are the breed's most distinctive features. The Pug has a muzzle that is foreshortened but not laid back as in the Bulldog or Brussels Griffon. The roguish face is marvelously wrinkled, giving the dog an expression of great wisdom or great sorrow. The tail is tightly curled over the hip. The Pug's skin is loose, but without wrinkle except on the head.