Home             History             Breed standard          Barking  Help            Nipping & Jumping Help         Potty Training Help  

The History of the Papillon

Let's take a quick world tour and discover the amazing history and beginnings of the Papillon shall we?

The  Papillon (pah-pee-yown) breed originates back to the early 16^th century, making it one of the oldest toy breeds in recorded history. 

Europe

 Although there are many theories as to the origin of the Papillon, it is believed that they were originally from Western Europe (in Italy or Spain) and that those countries played a very big part in making the Papillon popular. 

  Many hundreds of  years ago Belgium and France both claim that they were equally responsible for the refining and perfecting of this breed.  The precise country of origin of the Papillon is very difficult to trace.

The Royal Toy Spaniel, Continental Toy Spaniel and Papillon were all bred as companion or “lap” dogs, and the history of these were almost impossible to separate in the very early years. 

Nobility favored toy dogs and could afford to breed them specifically for leisure pursuits.  Toy dogs were bred to be ornamental and dainty, with loving and faithful personalities - while hunting dogs were bred to work and serve their masters.

Because of the many paintings depicting the Papillon (dwarf spaniel) by the Old Masters of the Renaissance period, a lot of this breed’s development is known today. 

 Many of these painting show children of Royalty at play with their Papillon. The ladies of Italian and French courts adored these tiny dogs finding them very personable, unique, fascinating, intelligent and easy to train. 

The Papillon and Marie Antoinette

It is thought that both Marie Antoinette and Madame de Pompadour helped the Papillon become fashionable and they both admired and owned this breed.  

Madame de Pompadour was the mistress of King Louis XIV, and owned Inez and Mimi which were her two pet Papillons.  Marie Antoinette had a Sevres porcelain model of a Phalene (Papillon with drop ears) in her room that was only found after her death. 

She was beheaded at the guillotine and her two pet Papillons were looked after by the inhabitants of the house until they died. Her house in Paris, France is known today as ‘The House of the Papillon’.

In France, the City of Lyon in the late 16^th century was known for breeding these miniature dogs. 

  Until the French revolution, Papillon dogs were the most popular breed of dog in the courts in France. In Italy, the Bologna region probably had the largest trade in Papillons, as they sold many of the dogs to the court of Louis XIV.  It was said that they were transported on the back of mules through Spain.

 Over The Centuries

Over the centuries, the tiny Papillon has been far luckier than many of the Royal Families that owned them! 

 In Europe the ruling families knew about  Papillons but this breed was not introduced into Great Britain until 1905 and not recognized by the A.K.C. until 1915.

Despite how popular they were among the Royalty and titled of Europe, they were very slow to be embraced by the English speaking people.

The first English champion wasn’t born until 1922, and the Papillon (Butterfly Dog) Club wasn’t formed until two years later in 1924. 

 In 1935 the Papillon Club of America (PCA) was founded, with the United States holding their first specialty show in 1936. Interest in the breed faltered, and then regenerated in 1948.  In 1954 the second specialty show was held.

The Papillon has become a family favorite of men, women and children who not only love them sitting on their laps, but have a special place in their hearts for this breed of dog.

 The Name

The name Papillon means ‘butterfly’ in French. 

The name was developed as the breed acquired its distinctive large, luxurious, erect ears which are fringed with very long hair that resemble the wings of a beautiful butterfly.  Running down the top of this dog’s head is a white blaze that adds to its butterfly appearance.

The Papillon dogs were always found in portraits of ladies of the French court, as they would never feel a portrait was complete without their faithful little dog somewhere in their picture.

Over the centuries the Papillon has had many different names.  Some of the more common ones are:

• Belgian Toy Spaniels
  
   
• Dwarf or Continental Toy Spaniels
  
   
• Dwarf Spaniel
  
   
• Epagneuls Nains
  
   
• Little Squirrel Dogs or Squirrel Spaniels

Because of their tails that were heavily plumed and carried the same way as a squirrel’s tail is carried over his back, they were know as Squirrel Spaniels.

Both the erect ears and drop eared dogs can appear in the same litter, but the Papillon with drop ears are called Palene Papillon (Moth).

Today the Papillon is mostly white or parti-colored with colored markings, but the early dogs were very often solid-colored.  The liver Papillon which were once very common are now very seldom in evidence.

 Thanks for visiting us and we hope  you enjoyed learning a little about the amazing history  of the Papillon.

Feel free to look around some more at our other pages on our  website.