PAPILLON Breed Standards
The Papillon is one of the oldest Toy breeds. Its roots can be traced back almost 700 years to a trading route between Asia, France, Italy, and Belgium. It is believed that when Marco Polo opened up the trading route between China and Italy, he also opened the path by which the small breed was transported from China to Italy. The Italians brought the dropped-eared variety of the breed into other European countries, such as France and Spain, where the nobility became fascinated by the tiny personable dogs. European royalty loved the dogs because they were friendly, easy to train, and light-weight. The dog became most popular in French courts, where they were named Papillon (French for “butterfly”), and also where they were featured in tapestries, sculptures and paintings with their owners.
Until 1923, the Papillon still predominantly consisted of the dropped-eared variety. Around this time, the Papillon was cross bred with the Pomeranian in an effort to create an erect-ear Papillon. Luckily, the erect ear of the Pomeranian is a dominant trait, and the breeders were successful in creating their hybrid. From then on, the popularity of the erect-eared Papillon skyrocketed. The Papillon was recognized by the American Kennel Club in 1935.
SKILLS: The Papillon is a small, friendly, elegant toy dog of fine-boned structure, light, dainty and of lively action; distinguished from other breeds by its beautiful butterfly-like ears.
SIZE: Size - Height at withers, 8 to 11 inches. Fault - Over 11 inches. Disqualification - Over 12 inches. Proportion - Body must be slightly longer than the height at withers. It is not a cobby dog. Weight is in proportion to height. Substance - Of fine-boned structure.
COAT: Abundant, long, fine, silky, flowing, straight with resilient quality, flat on back and sides of body. A profuse frill on chest. There is no undercoat. Hair short and close on skull, muzzle, front of forelegs, and from hind feet to hocks. Ears well fringed, with the inside covered with silken hair of medium length. Backs of the forelegs are covered with feathers diminishing to the pasterns. Hind legs are covered to the hocks with abundant breeches (culottes). Tail is covered with a long, flowing plume. Hair on feet is short, but fine tufts may appear over toes and grow beyond them, forming a point. Color - Always parti-color or white with patches of any color(s). On the head, color(s) other than white must cover both ears, back and front, and extend without interruption from the ears over both eyes. A clearly defined white blaze and noseband are preferred to a solidly marked head. Symmetry of facial markings is desirable. The size, shape, placement, and presence or absence of patches of color on the body are without importance. Among the colors there is no preference, provided nose, eye rims and lips are well pigmented black. The following faults shall be severely penalized - Color other than white not covering both ears, back and front, or not extending from the ears over both eyes. A slight extension of the white collar onto the base of the ears, or a few white hairs interspersed among the color, shall not be penalized, provided the butterfly appearance is not sacrificed. Disqualifications - An all white dog or a dog with no white.
CARE REQUIRED: Daily combing and brushing of the long, silky, single coat is important and fairly straightforward. These dogs are usually clean and odorless. Bathe or dry shampoo when necessary. Keep the nails clipped and have the teeth cleaned regularly because they tend to accumulate tartar. They are average shedders and do not matt or tangle.
CHARACTER: Temperament Happy, alert and friendly. Neither shy nor aggressive.
EXERCISE: These playful little dogs love to go for a run but won't fret too much if confined to the house for days at a time. Like any dog, they benefit from a regular exercise regiment.
SOCIAL BEHAVIOR: Although they can be good city dogs, they are sometimes not good apartment dogs, because the dog has a strong instinct to protect their property, and many will bark excessively at nearby noises, not making the distinction between casual noises and those worthy of a real alarm.
TRAINING: They are steady, obedient and are not yappers. Papillons can be trained to perform small tricks. Some blood lines can be nervous, high-strung and timid. They can also be difficult to housebreak, but are in general easy to train otherwise. Papillons do best with older, considerate children.
