Page 174 - ShowSight - May 2020

mentor with a dog I bred. That truly made everything come full circle for me.
I’d also like to share that living with Pekes is truly an experience; everything revolves around their little world. They are in no hurry to move out of your way and usually their day starts when they feel up to it. I have continuously been involved with breeding, showing and handing Pekingese for 50 years and I’m still very excited with raising puppies and watching for future stars to develop.
PAMELA WINTERS
My husband and I retired after nearly 30 years of being in the pet grooming and boarding indus- try. We moved from Reno with our aging and also retired show Pekingese to Southern California near San Diego. Even though I have had a Pekingese in my home most all of my life, I considered my dog-days over and even gave up my judging license, but found myself unable to stay out of the dog world. I have been on the Peking- ese Club of America’s board, and
am currently the President of the Pacific Coast Pekingese Club and a PCA mentor for Pekes. I began concentrating on helping new persons interested in the breed obtain a good Pekingese, and taught them what I could about showing, while occasionally breeding a litter and showing a little again.
Although I wish that the Pekingese enjoyed a little more popu- larity, I never like seeing any breed reach such a popular status that the quality falls and nearly everyone thinks they should own and breed such a breed.
The hardest thing to teach a breeder or a judge is exactly what the “rolling gait” of a Peke is. I have known a reasonably successful breeder happily exclaim how wonderful their Peke rolls as it labori- ously lumbered from side to side due to faulty elbows and shoul- ders. A good gait allows the topline to remain pretty much level and smooth as the Peke gaits. There is a gentle “rolling-like motion” over the shoulders, contained by elbows close to the barrel chest, and without bounce or the head swinging side to side as it walks. The front is driven by hind legs that are placed not too far apart, and not too close; very much like most other breeds. Since the front part of a Peke is much heavier than the rear, it is my belief that sound fronts are very important. Another hard thing for people trying to learn the breed is understanding how so many different individual looks—face and head—a Pekingese can have and yet be correct to the Standard. The flat topskull and “envelope-shaped” (meaning the face appears wider than it is tall) appearance of the head is one of the first things my eye looks for.
Most breeders concentrate on the physical qualities rather than worry about what color the puppies will be. But some breeders who
have made a strong commitment to a color such as white, parti- color or black, have learned how to hold the physical attributes while breeding for a specific color. Most breeders want a white or a black in the pedigree somewhere because it seems to clarify colors of future puppies. The fact that the standard states that black eye rims, lips and nose are absolutely important, and that colors such as liver or blue cause the pigment to be liver or blue, also causes the liver and blue coloration to become a color not wanted. Showing a black, white, cream or parti is challenging. Judges don’t alway see through the coloring and realize there can be an absolutely amazing body in the dog. I think this is the reason so many breeder/exhibi- tors don’t often breed for those colors. A Peke with a faded muzzle color is still correct as long as the rest of the standard’s qualities are met. Because we want a strong, correct body, we breeders shy away from the term “a head breed,” but the fact is a Pekingese without the correct head and face features is disappointing. That beautiful flat face and large luminous eyes melts one’s heart.
Nigel Aubrey-Jones once told me, when I visited his kennel to purchase a Peke, that anyone selling or buying a dog before it is six months old was taking a huge chance on saying the dog is “show quality.” As a long-time breeder, I have been fooled even recently in thinking a three or four month old puppy was going to be wonder- ful, and it ended up severely disappointing me. I have also been able to see potential greatness in some very young ones that actually were great Pekes when they matured.
One of my favorite things about the Pekingese breed is their per- sonalities. The stubbornness, in my opinion, is often the Peke’s way of telling us they are too smart to do things that simply don’t matter to them. They are generally a more quiet breed than many, barking only to warn or in excitement over a visitor. They are a very adapt- able breed, doing well in a condo in a city or being able to run on large acreage. They keep to themselves rather than being constantly needy. They can be a sweet little baby-doll to love at times, and other times a bold, strong-willed dog. I have had a Peke stand-off my horse when it came too close to an item the Peke thought it was guarding. I often say a Peke is a large dog (mentally) in a small body.
My dogs get to go for a ride every time I run an errand, and peo- ple see them and nearly always ask, “Which breed are they?” Those who do recognize that they are Pekes say they don’t look like the Pekes they or their grandma had, referring to much less coat, longer legs and less flatness to the faces. And in my experience, the “old style pet Pekes” also had some bad attitudes. The Pekes of today have been carefully selected for good temperaments and to keep wide open nostrils, so the fact that we have a flat-faced breed doesn’t seem like a problem. A pet Pekingese coat can easily be trimmed down into a cute lion trim or even shaved down if the owner desires; such as are many Shih Tzus, Lhasas and Poodles when they are liv- ing the happy life of a pet. After owning a Pekingese, many people say they must have another when their old one leaves them. They are a unique, interesting, charming breed.
PEKINGESE Q&A
“One of my favorite things about the Pekingese breed is their personalities. The stubbornness, in my opinion, is of- ten the Peke’s way of telling us they are too smart to do things that simply don’t matter to them.”
172 | SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, MAY 2020