With Pugs, you get two. Two choices of coat colors (fawn or black), and two ear types. While both types of ears feel like velvet, the rose ear is a small drop ear that folds over and back to reveal the burr, or the inside of the ear.  So named for resembling the petal of a rose, the rose ear tends to give the Pug’s head a more rounded look.

In the more common, and preferred button ear, the ear flap folds forward, the tip lying close to the skull to cover the opening. The skin fold is longer, and therefore, covers a larger amount of the ear. The name “button ear “comes from from the ear’s resemblance to the buttoned fold seen on the pockets of a shirt.

We know from 18th and 19th century artwork that Pugs often had their ears cropped, and the only reason we could find for this was the thinking that cropping accentuated the wrinkles and puckering of the dog’s forehead.

Image: Pug Study II by Justine Osborne
Stockbridge Gallery
http://www.dogsinart.com