The Pekingese (also known as the Lion Dog, Peking Lion Dog, Pelchie Dog, or Peke) is an ancient breed of toy dog, originating in China.rs Flander's Mai Mai weighed only a little over 4 pounds and many other breeders had bred true miniatures of a similar size. He noted that miniatures may appear in a litter bred from full-sized Pekingese and were exhibited in classes for dogs less than 7 pounds at the major dog shows in Britain.