Breed Priorities – The Pekingese

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322 – September, 2025

By Nikki Riggsbee

The stocky, compact Pekingese was developed in ancient China and treasured by royalty. They are characterized by their wider than long rectangular head, flat envelope-shaped face, heavy coat, pear-shaped, low-to-the-ground body heavier in front, rolling gait, and dignified, self-important attitude.

Over the centuries, they were developed with crosses with several other eastern toy breeds. Mythology has the Pekingese being a cross between a lion and a marmoset (tiny monkey). The first to reach Europe were taken from the summer palace when it was sacked by French and English forces in the later eighteen hundreds. Others were given as gifts to visiting dignitaries, including to some wealthy Americans, around the turn of the twentieth century.

While the Pekingese may be as heavy as fourteen pounds, there is a miniature version called a Sleeve Pekingese. This smaller version weighs six pounds or less.

We invited forty-three Pekingese experts to take a survey on their breed’s conformation characteristics. Twenty-four agreed to participate. Seventeen surveys were returned, although two were incomplete in some sections. The contributors have been in the breed nearly forty-one years on average. Over half are approved to judge the breed and have been doing so for an average of eighteen years. Most of the judges have judged their national specialty as well as other Pekingese specialties.

Pekingese Virtues

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322 – September, 2025

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