in referring to these pets as "pugs," their resemblance to a tiny poodle being more marked. The chances are that the word "pug" is used in the sense of a pet.
One would not care to say that four centuries later many ladies are not wholly free from a charge of extravagance in their relations with toy dogs, although this is a reproach that cannot be directed against the owners of Poodles, who prefer to treat these intelligent creatures with due regard to their dignity. If in size the miniature Poodle approaches the toys, he still retains the sagacity and sense of his larger brother, who is a sportsman, in spite of the fantastic, not to say grotesque, guise under which he is compelled to masquerade. The curious manner in which Poodles are clipped is to a large extent responsible for the estimate in which they are held by the general public, who are blind to their virtues. In reality, it would be difficult to find a more faithful or a wiser companion, or a safer guard than a Poodle. Examine his head and and eye carefully, putting on one side the hair, and you will agree that the expression is indicative of wisdom and friendship.
Sixty years ago or more Youatt wrote what remains true unto this day: "These dogs have far more courage than the water spaniel, all the sagacity of the Newfoundland, more general talent, if the expression may be used, and more individual attachment than either of them, and without the fawning of the one, or the submissiveness
