The Papillion Breed

[gisellebebegirl 0]

Anyone looking for a dog??? i currently own a papillion mix, and i love her to death.The Papillion (French for butterfly) first originated around 1500, with no defined purpose or function, yet this breed fascinated European royalty, because of its intelligence, poise, and spiciness. Paps are good butterfly, & bird hunters, yet because of their thin bones and overload of courage, they are better off as companion dogs. The Papillion is part of the toy spaniel family (often just called toy spaniel), its main aspect characteristics is their butterfly like ears (always a dark color, never white), and their somewhat coat, which like some breeds of cats is always multicolor & always includes a combination of white plus some other color. Even though they have a lot of fur (not hair) they do not have to be groomed a lot, unlike most long fur breeds. Papillions are fairly light, weighting anywhere between 7-20 pounds, yet amusingly they act as if they are the big dogs in town, from experience, I know that they tend to bark, and chase, huge dogs as if they are actually capable of beating them in a fight (they will also bark at any stranger, or person that walks near the house); they also don?t really have to be potty trained, as just simply placing a mat, or leaving them out for 5 minutes is enough signal for them to know it is time. Papillions for the most part tend to have problems with their patella, and in the hind legs (because of how thin their actual bone structure is), which can be fixed through surgery. Because of their small head they also tend to have problems with their opening at the top of the skull, which is similar to baby?s soft spots, so like a baby, the dog needs to be protected. Another problem they might have is Intervertebral disc disease (has to do with their spine discs not working correctly, and like in humans is extremely painful). Because of their thin bone structure they also tend to have problems when administered anesthesia, since even though anesthesia is given based on weight, their bones quickly absorve it, giving the dog an overdosed effect; Penicillin should never be given during anesthesia, as it might give them a reverse effect, causing them to die. Nails should be clipped constantly, and teeth should be brushed as well, as tartar may accumulate, causing mouth infections. Some of the diseases that they might have inherited are Mitral stenosis (has to do with the blood flow in heart, usually increases heart size, making it difficult to compensate normal actives, leading to death), Entropion (eye irritation caused by eyelashes and hair near eyes curling inside the eyelid, causing severe pain), von Willebrand"s Disease (has to do with the way their blood cells act, for the most part causing the animals to bleed to death during operations etc), Progressive Retinal Atrophy (affects both eyes and causes the animal to progressively go blind, yet its not painful to the animal). They also sometimes start getting seizures (from age 2-5 usually start) or degeneration (lost of eyesight) as well, so monthly checkups are a must.Papillions are very loving dogs, yet they should be socialized with other animals at an early age to prevent some behavioral problems. For example, having them socialize with other dogs, might calm down their constant instinct to bark and act like a big dog to other animals, such as cats, which they have different reactions to. For example my dog was at first fearful of cats when introduced to them, such as my dog would not leave my side if the cat was anywhere insight. If you are considering obtaining a papilion as a pet you must have lots of time and affection for animals, as this type of dog will always want to be by your side, and will stand on your door crying until you come out etc.

[rob86 2]

Papillions are cool dogs. I don't own one, but yeah, all dogs are pretty cool! You should post some Papillion pictures to spice the thread up a bit!