Margery A. Shriver of Sheffield Pugs (d. 2015) felt that the biggest problem in the pug breed continued to be incorrect shoulder structure and the accompanying faults of low shoulders and often straight stifles (Interview in The New Pug book by Shirley Thomas, 1990): "An astonishing number of Pugs currently being shown (and bred from) have steep shoulders and very short upper arms. This often makes them loose in the elbows and too wide in front, as well as causing a topline low in shoulders and high in rear. The length of the shoulder blade and length of the upper arm should be approximately equal, with the shoulder laid back so that the neck blends smoothly into the back. A quick check is to feel the width between the shoulder blades at the withers -- good shoulders are about 2 fingers apart, while steep shoulders can be as much as four fingers apart. A straight front is more than two straight legs. Those legs must be attached to correct shoulder assembly in order to move freely. Correspondingly, the rear legs must have adequate bend of stifle to balance out movement. It should be noted that a Pug with wide, muscular thighs (as desired) might appear to have a slight bend of stifle, but if you identify the points of the knee and the hock, you will see that the angulation is there." Shriver's biggest frustration with Pugs was the incorrect movement she saw prevalent in the ring. "It is the result of the above-mentioned structural flaws. When a Pug moves toward you, his hind feet should not be visible on the outside of the hind leg. No judge of working or sporting dogs would tolerate in those breeds the movement that is so commonly accepted in Pugs. Pug structure and movement belong in the same category as normal dogs, a majority of breeds, not in the same category as exceptions for normally structured dogs." She also notes that a Pug moving away from you in wet grass often moves in a sloppy fasion even though it may move perfectly true on a hard surface. A matter of controversy is the "pug roll" which Margery described as just a springy or jaunty rear action that should not prevent the Pug from double-tracking. 

CH Sheffield's Little Red Wagon: A fawn dog, 23 lbs, light golden fawn and good shoulders, moderate length of back, high tail set, soft expression, very dark eyes, black nails, very wide muzzle and deep underjaw, good strong rear with good angulation, and extremely good rear movement. His detriments were a somewhat muscled-up front, legs that weren't always conducted well, and some of his pups did not have much pigment around their eyes and/or nose-roll, while some had light nails. "Reddy's pups just about always are a clear light fawn, no matter the color of the mother, and they usually have a sweet, soft expression. Shriver would not recommend him for a bitch who was washed out and needed pigment however ears always get black. The size of the pups usually is dominated by the bitch.

In AKC conformation dog shows points toward a championship can not begin to be counted until the dog is at least 6 months of age. Eliza, Pickwick's Too Generous to Trifle With (from the Jane Austen litter) won all sorts of prizes before she was 6 months of age (including Best of Opposite Sex at the Pug Nationals in the 4-6 month Beginner Puppy class, and Best in Show in the BPUP just before that in Knoxville, TN), but at her very first 'official' show in Jackson, MS, she earned her first major win (thank you judge Jon Cole) with Winners Bitch, Best of Breed Owner Handler, and also won Best of Breed the first day of the show cluster. Her 2nd official show was the beginning of February in Atlanta and, for this major win, she had to beat out over 20 bitches and some pretty amazing pugs. She also won Best of Opposite Sex, Best of Breed OH and went onto win 3rd place in the Toy Group! Go Eliza. She and her sister Emma had a blast socializing and seeing all the sites at this huge show. Probably their favorite part was the treats and fun time in the Airbnb watching old Westerns with their mom ;) (At least that was their mom's favorite part of the trip!) So now, after just 2 show clusters, Eliza just needs a single point (or perhaps if my math is correct?) she has finished at 8 months with 2 show weekends. Wow.