Pet Health And Care >> Dog Breed >> Papillon dog

Papillon Dog Facts:

The Papillon dog breed is aptly named primarily for the shape of their ears – which closely resemble the outline of a butterfly.

The word “Papillon” means butterfly in French. The animal is a rather small dog and is likely to remain very sprightly and active over the course of the entire day. They are also known as ‘toy’ dogs because of their small frame. The Papillons dog breed are a relatively rare breed and were originally bred by mating a Bicon and a smaller breed of spaniel about some 700 years ago – primarily around the regions of Spain and France.

The pure Papillon dog breed sports a coat of any color with some white markings. Any Papillon that has absolutely no white markings, or is completely white is not considered to be a pure Papillon. The most common coat colors of this breed include black and white, white and red, lemon and sable. Its very distinctive ears are made even more prominent by the presence of fringes that are colored.

While covering the ears, the coloration will also cover the eyes causing the appearance of the outline of a butterfly on the animals face.

The dog has slowly started to make a name for itself in the dog sporting circles for its amazing agility, greatly helped by its small frame. They compete in events that include tunnels, humps and a-frames with great success. Papillon dog training is not very difficult as long as the trainer shows enough strength in character. If the owner or trainer has a meek approach, the dog will not tend to be dominated, thereby prompting it to make its own decisions and choices. When taking the canine for a walk, make sure that you are always in front of it as the dogs mentality is that the leader always leads from the front. The dog is widely considered to be the easiest to train amongst all toy breeds and is extremely polite even when confronted by strangers. What makes it especially easy to train is the fact that it loves to learn new things. The best method of training these dainty dogs is with a certain amount of gentleness and consistency. The dog will regularly look for the owner’s approval through verbal and edible acknowledgment. The fact that they have a tendency to bark at every suspicious movement they notice, makes them god watch dogs as well as a little bit irritating at times.

While papillon dog grooming is not overly complicated, they do require consistent brushing of their coats in order to prevent matting. They also tend to shed quite a bit – causing a significant amount of hair being lost when you comb them. The amount of vacuuming you do around the house is also likely to increase.

Submitted on May 7, 2010