 The Papillon has been a "pure" breed for a few hundred years. Also known as the Continental Toy Spaniel, most historians will agree that both France and Belgium can share the credit for this little dog we know today.
There are many articles and books that can give you specifics on the origin of the breed, but the information found at the Papillon Club of America's website is probably the most accurate, as well as extensive.An excerpt from Britannica.com reads: Breed of toy dog known from the 16th century, when it was called a dwarf spaniel. A fashionable dog, it was
favoured by Madame de Pompadour and Marie Antoinette, and it appeared in paintings by some of the Old Masters. The name Papillon (French: "butterfly" was given to the breed in the late 19th century, when a variety with large, flaring ears resembling the wings of a butterfly came into vogue. There is another variety of Papillon, with drooping ears. A slender, graceful dog with a plumed tail, the Papillon stands 11 inches (28 cm) or less and weighs up to 11
pounds (5 kg). The coat is soft, full, and usually white with patches of black or of pale tan to dark reddish brown. Papillons are most easily defined by size, color and ear carriage. They are a Toy breed and the AKC standard
states they should never be over 12 inches in height at the shoulder, preferably between 8 and 11 inches. Weight can be an illusion as they are quite fine boned and with all that light, silky fur, they may weight less than they look! All proper Papillons are parti-color, really. Ideally, a white body with splashes of color or not but the ears and eyes MUST be totally colored ñ no white at all. Any dog with either no white or is entirely white is out of the
question. Mars has quite a bit of color ñ lots of red all over his body whereas Venus is totally white with the only color being on her ears and eyes. Now our Papillons are of the erect ear type, where the ear and fringe provide the butterfly shape the breed is named for. What is interesting is that there is a drop-ear variety called a Phalene, which translates to a type of moth. So here we have two flying insects sitting atop the canine bodies! The two ear
types are not shown separately so you might see both in the ring at a dog show.This ear carriage has changed throughout the years ñ it seems that the erect ear is relatively recent. You can see many photos of French nobles with these little dogs in the paintings but with the dropped ear. Nevertheless, it is primarily the same breed with other subtle changes in head type bred centuries ago. It was a wonderful dog then and has remained so! |
