PEKINGESE IN BRAZIL

Pekingese used to be a very popular breed in Brazil during the sixties and seventies – it was The popular choice for small house pets and it could be found everywhere. Because of the great popularity the breed suffered and the dogs became more and more distant from the Standard. Bad temperament also arised as consequence of improper breeding and commercial selections and the breed was plagued with a bad public image. The consequence was the virtual extinction of Pekingese in Brazil.
In the nineties the breed start to appear again, this time very slowly with a small group of breeders that made several imports. That was the beginning of an exciting adventure that culminate in 2001 with a Pekingese being the Top Dog All Breeds in  Brazil!

Contemporary History

We, Alexandre Bastos Baptista and Fernando José Cauduro, of AleFer Kennels, were always fascinated by this ancient breed. As previous Pomeranian breeders and exibithors we decided to reintroduce the Pekingese to the Brazilian show rings with carefully selected specimens from USA and England, trying not just to bring the breed back but also guarantee its success in the show rings. We live in the Southeast, in  São Paulo, South America’s biggest city, but show all over the Country and abroad. Another group of breeders followed with other imports, as Rosalda Schneider and Adalberto Doering, of Chyld Dog Kennels, located in the South, who get some stock from Canada, USA and Europe and also many dogs from us, Constantino Metropoulos, who have dogs from England and Canada and some very interested new people who got dogs from the above kennels and started their own breeding programs, as Leila Azevedo from the Northeast – St. Patrick Kennels and Andrei Bosco Freire, in the Mideast. All these people are working together nowadays to bring the Pekingese at its best to the Brazilian show rings. Even in small numbers the quality is high, the breedings are carefully chosen and there is an interchange of dogs and information between those breeders, so we could say that Pekingese is in a very good shape right now on these tropical shores!

Brazilian Dog Shows

We are filiated to the Federation Cynologique Internacionale (FCI) a major governing body that rules all over Continental Europe and most of Latin American Countries.
To understand the Group division in FCI shows you have to understand that, unlike the KC and AKC divisions, that were conceived keeping in mind first the purpose of each breed, the FCI division is based on their conformation first, so you have a group for Sighthounds, other for Dachshunden, for Pointing dogs, and so on. The majority of toy breeds, including Pekingese, are allocated in the Group IX, called Toys and Companion Dogs, that also contains many breeds of the American Non-Sporting and British Utility groups, what makes this group a very strong one. The toys that are in other groups are the Affenpinscher and the Miniature Pinscher (allocated in the Group II; Mollosian, Pinschers and Schnauzers Group), the Yorkshire Terrier and the Silky Terrier (both in the Terrier Group), the Pomeranian (that is in the Group V – Spitzen and Primitive breeds) and the Italian Greyhound (that is in the Sighthound Group).
The judgement has  a grading system. Each dog is judged first against the Standard and receives a note (that goes from insufficient to excellent). The first dog of each class compete against each other for best dog and best bitch. The certificates go to the best dog and the best bitch, if they received Excellent grade and if the judges consider them deserving of the certificate. After that the Best of Breed is chosen and the rest of the show runs similar to the other systems.
The Pekingese breed is very well represented in Brazil nowadays, even in small numbers a Pekingese is the top toy in the Country for 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001  and the breed is leading also in 2002. Brazil doesn’t have a large number of dogs competing, if you compare with Europe, but anyway the quality is very high and the final line-ups could win anywhere.

Famous Pekingese in Brazil

The first Pekingese who started to win in modern times was an American Multi Group Winner import – Multi Champion Denlar’s Imperial Crown. We were the owners of  this handsome red dog who won 5 Bests In Show in Brazil  before he died.
Following this we had “Thumper” – another multi group winner American import, this dog -Multi Champion Denlar’s Take the Lead at Barmee was the first responsible to put Pekingese on the map: he won 32 Bests In Show in two years of campaign, being Number 3 Top Dog in Brazil for 1998 and 1999. Thumper, besides being a top winner was a wonderful ambassador of the breed, had won not just in USA and Brazil, but also is a Americas & Caribean and Mexican Champion, titles that he won in the World Dog Show cluster in Mexico.

“Dreamer” – a special chapter

1999 was a turning point for the history of the breed in Brazil, as Multi Champion Taloola Mr Dream Maker for Delwin arrived in the Country. “Dreamer” was a Best In Show winner in England (where he was born) and USA, and a winner of many specialties and groups in America. Owned by us Co-owned in USA by Pat Harrison Dreamer had to wait till 2000, when Thumper finished his succesful career,  to start his South American campaign, and then nothing stopped him: a winner of 34 Bests In Show in Brazil, Dreamer is the Top Winning Pekingese in Brazilian history. Number 3 Top Dog in Brazil in his first campaign year, he leaded the line all the way in 2001, ending as Top Dog All Breeds In Brazil 2001. That’s a first for the breed in the Country and we suppose also in the whole Continent!
We also showed Dreamer in Portugal, at the World Dog Show, where he won Best of Breed over 37 of the very best Pekingese in Continental Europe. And, showing that he is more than just a Top Show Dog, Dreamer sired AleFer Pekenic, the Top Dog All Breeds in Brazil for 2002 at this time, a father/son double never seen before. All the above dogs were owner/handled what, in a Country dominated by excellent professional handlers, made each victory even more special.

Brazilian Pekingese abroad

Many Brazilian bred or owned Pekingese did very well in other Countries. Multi Champion Harcum’s Summer Song, owned by us, was Best Bitch both in the USA National Specialty as in Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show. Thumper won the breed twice at the World Dog Show cluster in Mexico, Dreamer won Best of Breed in the World Dog Show in Portugal and  is also a Multi Group Winner in Argentina, and AleFer’s Thunder Ally was Reserve Winners Bitch at the NJPC Specialty, a day before the USA National. AleFer Pekenic was first Bred By Exibithor Dog at the USA National and will now start his International career.

The Future

Pekingese came a long way in the last few years in Brazil and its situation right now is just fantastic for a breed that had disappeared from Brazilian rings just a little time ago. As we have new serious people interested we see a continuos success for the breed in the next years and a bright future to it.