Breed of the Day! (Friday)

The papillon (pronounced pap-ee-yawn):




Other Names: Continental Toy Spaniel, Papillon; Epagneul Nain Continental, À Oreilles Droites

Description: Papillons are a small, dainty, elegant, and playful dog breed devoted to their owners. "Papillon" means butterfly in French and describes this dog breed's ears, which look like beautiful butterfly wings. The Papillon dog breed is typified by a fine-boned structure and a lively but graceful gait.

Country of Origin: The Papillon originated in France.

Height: Male Papillons range from 8 inches to 11 inches. Female Papillons range from 8 inches to 11 inches.

Weight: Male Papillons range from 8 to 10 pounds. Female Papillons range from 7 to 9 pounds.

Colors: Papillons have white coats with markings of any other color except liver. Some Papillons are tri-colored.

Coat: Papillons have silky, flowing straight coats. This dog breeds hair is long and is prone to shedding. Daily brushing of the coat is required.

Temperament: The Papillon is an intelligent dog breed who is easy to train. Friendly and playful, the Papillon gets along with all the family members and pets.

Health Concerns: The Papillon is susceptible to patella luxatiois (problems with the knees) and progressive retinal atrophy.

Life Expectancy: The expected life span of the Papillon is 12-15 years.

Living Environment: Papillons make good apartment dogs as long as this playful dog breed gets a sufficient amount of exercise.

AKC Group: The Papillon is in the Toy group.


Once a favorite pet of French and Spanish nobility, the Papillon is thought to have originated in Italy. The breed type has remained true for more than 700 years, and this unique breed has been portrayed in works of art dating back at least that long. Papillon means "butterfly" in French - a name likely given the breed thanks to it's ears, which, when erect resemble the butterfly. The white blaze that runs down the top of this dog's head adds to the butterfly appearance. If you are thinking about adding a Papillon to your family, you can be assured of getting a very dainty, lively, clean and affectionate pet, measuring from just eight to 11 inches at the shoulder. It's fine, soft and silky coat is white with patches of any color or tri-color (black and white with tan markings). The nose, eyes and lips are black, and the gorgeous tail is thickly plumed and carried proudly over the body. To watch a Papillon move, one gets the impression of a proud little dog that literally prances. The Papillon makes an excellent family pet for any size accommodation and is ideally suited to the stay-at-home. Regular brushing and the occasional bath are all the grooming required, and exercise needs are minimal. Because of the breed's diminutive size and stature, the Papillon is not suited to households with children under 6 years of age. Loyal, loving and protective, Papillons make good watch dogs, too!


Papillon Club of America (including rescue): http://www.papillonclub.org/
AKC page: http://www.akc.org/breeds/recbreeds/papp.cfm
Some nice photos here: http://www.pets4you.com/pages/zelicaon.html


Jamiya

 

Cool!!!!

THey look so much like the poms!

 

OK. I have a tendancy to lean towards the large breed dogs (duh!) and I really like dogs that look strong. But, these are just the cutest little baby dolls! I never got to have a girl of my own and these just look like they should be girls! I love how it looks like they have ponytails in!

 

Ok this may sound stupid but as a kid my parents had long haired chihuahuas and I can never tell the papilion and them apart what are the differences?

 

cute pup. Too much maintenace for me though. I love my short haired Harley. Still surprised how much mud she can get caked on her though.

I do like the pap's ears. They do look like butterfly wings.

 

I have always wanted a Pom, but from talking to other people I think I may get a Papillon instead when the time comes (we are talking at LEAST 5 years from now). I saw one run at the agility trial last weekend and he was great! Very energetic little dogs, good workers and supposedly easy to train. And cute as the dickens!

As for the difference between a Papillon and a long-haired Chihuahua.....well, they are different dogs! I believe chi's are more suspicious by nature and often don't like any dogs other than more chi's. They can also be very much a one person dog and be very protective of their one person. They are also smaller. Here is a little excerpt about chi temperament:

And here is a photo:




(I love chihuahua's, too. I'm just a sucker for tiny dogs. Someone ran a tiny Japanese Chin at the agility trial and by the time the little thing got to the end of the run, the whole place was cheering for her.)


Jamiya

 

My father has a Chi. It is so attached to his wife it is scary. He will bark and try to lunge at my dad if they are close to each other or try to kiss - anything sets this dog off. He is constantly barking.

Whoever he is sitting with at the time he feels he is protecting. If anyone comes to close he will go into attack mode and bark or try to bite you if you come to close to him.

personally, I could not handle this breed of dog. They researched about 8 different breeds before hand, and this was the one for them.
To each their own.

 

Part of the problem with ANY small dog, bullylove, is that their owners don't think they need to train them (no offense intended to your parents, of course). A lot of people who get teeny tiny dogs pamper the living heck out of them. They think it is cute when it barks "ferociously" at big dogs or when it is protective of one person. They think it's okay for it to jump around like a demented salmon and let it get away with murder. Or it's just plain too cute to correct.

Of course, some of them are naturally more high strung than others. The intentional breeding of tinier and tinier dogs has not helped either. These irresponsible breeders breed for size and not temperament or even health.

If I ever do get a small dog like this, I am going to go through a good breeder to get a dog from a good line that has the traits that I want.


Jamiya

 

Papillon agility page: http://www.papillonclub.org/Agility/index.htm

 

Jamiya, I completely agree with you on that one and I am constantly telling them that. Just because the dog can perform a couple of tricks does NOT mean it is trained.

Ugh! I get the dirtiest looks over Harley when we go out, JUST because of her breed. YET, I have to constantly look over my shoulder while doing yard work in the front so my neighbours chi doesn't coem after me. Vicious little thing.

Our neighbour really hates us, and is constantly letting her dog out to bark at us when we are outside. Even with Harley's dog aggression, she has never once barked at this dog while we are in the backyard. Finally when we yell at the dog to shut up, she will take it inside. When we were putting up our satellite she let it out to bark right in Curts face for over 2o mins. She has a balcony off her bedroom which is right in front of the shed we were putting the satellite on. ARGH!!

Next house we get, NO neighbours!!

 

In defense of small dogs.... I agree with you for the most part. A lot of little dog owners think it's okay for their dogs to be obnoxious. But since getting Rusty (the smallest dog I've ever owned, 11 lbs.), I've made a point of holding him to the same standards as any dog should be..... That's why we are currently attending obediences classes. And as it turns out, Rusty is WAY smaller than the other dogs. All of the others are large breeds. The instructor said she was glad to see us there with him, that more small dog owners should obedience train there dogs....very few do, because they are smaller and easier to contain.
But I know how it is to be on the recieving end of an obnoxious, yapping, snapping little dog and I won't let mine be that way.
And there really are some breeds that are way worse than others... I personally don't think I'd ever own a Chiuahua![/quote]

 

Ok, the differences I see, is the ears on the pap are bigger, the hair on them grows longer. Their coats are not as dense. Also in any litter of papillions a phalene can be born, you don't know it until the ears either go up for good or not. If the ears stay down the pup is considered a phalene. I believe thats the name. A pap always has up ears. Theres my papillion tidbit. I think they are adorable.

 

They are so cute, the long haired Chi also looks alot like a pom. Cool bread though. Oh and as an owner of two poms I know all to well the importance of training cause they will drive someone insane! LOL