Over recent years (10 - 15) there have been a number of brindle "Pug like" dogs appearing in New Zealand, America, Canada and Australia. These dogs are being passed off as pure bred Pugs. Pugs do not carry a brindle gene, the fact that these dogs were being registered, and were born to registered parents.......makes a mockery of the pedigree database.

Standard colours for the Pug are fawn, apricot, silver and black. Some breeders of these brindle "Pug like" dogs have steadfastly refused any genetic testing and insist that the Pug world has kept brindle dogs secret for the past 2000 years of breed history and 130 years of the breed standard.

A few years ago, the American Kennel Club (AKC) registered brindle dogs as Pugs, despite the outrage of the Pug Community and over the objection of the President and Board of Directors of the Pug Dog Club of America. The AKC had three judges examined the brindle dogs, and stated with the exception of color, the dogs look like Pugs. That was sufficient evidence for the AKC and they therefore registered the dogs as Pugs. This resulted in considerable turmoil in the USA, and at the May 2007 meeting of the AKC Board of Directors a motion to permit the Pug Dog Club of America to vote on adding a disqualification to the colour section of the breed standard was unanimously supported.