KENAI
Papillon

The breeds · companion

AKC Toy · UKC Companion · FCI standard 77

Papillon.

FCI 77: utilization Toy, group 9 section 9 Continental Toy Spaniels, 'without working trial'; the standard covers two varieties, the erect-eared Papillon and the hanging-eared Phalene. AKC: 'a small, friendly, elegant toy dog'; the standard admits both ear types. RKC: a dwarf spaniel of France and Belgium, popular in the royal courts of Europe, competing in obedience and agility. PCA (editorial): the Phalene is the original variety, and 'the larger type of the CTS was purported to be used on farms for herding geese'; Papillons 'fancy themselves great hunters of birds, squirrels, spiders', and some are mousers..

Breed sets the odds. The parents set the dog. Every number here shows its source, its spread and how sure we are. Nothing on this page is a prediction about one dog.

14.5YRMedian lifespan14.1 to 14.9, measured on real dogs.
0INHeightall null. An ideal from the standard, not a range.
3–11LBWeight, all linesbreed dogs 3 to 10 lb; breed bitches 3 to 11 lb.
0.5HRSExercise, every dayUp to 30 minutes per day (Royal Kennel Club band). PCA FAQ: 'indoors dogs without substantial exercise requirements' that enjoy the outdoors; Wikipedia: 'a very active breed' that enjoys a job, with agility, rally or obedience recommended.. The constraint most homes get wrong.

The body

What the breed is built like. Registry standards give an ideal, not a range.

Height at the shoulder

8 to 11 in

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 1991

The AKC and UKC print a range and FCI an approximate figure; center is blank. The standards' disqualifying height (over 12 inches) sits outside the range.

Weight

dogs 3 to 10 lb · bitches 3 to 11 lb

Breed clubAKC

High is the FCI 5 kg limit for bitches (11.0 lb); low is the PCA 3 lb. Breed-wide figures (AKC page, PCA) count in both sex rows.

Coat

AKC: abundant, long, fine, silky, flowing, straight with a resilient quality, flat on back and sides; profuse chest frill; no undercoat; ears well fringed; hair short and close on skull, muzzle and front of forelegs. UKC: single-coated. FCI 77: no undercoat, abundant, glossy, wavy 'not to be confused with curly'; undercoat indicates Spitz cross-breeding (a fault). Always parti-colour: white with patches of any colour.

Breed clubAKC breed standard, 1991

Shedding

Shedding 3 of 5 (AKC breed page trait score)

Breed clubAKC

AKC breed page trait score, 1 to 5: a breed-club tendency, never a measurement.

Heat tolerance

3 of 5 · Long, fine, silky single coat with no undercoat on a fine-boned dog with a moderate-length muzzle (AKC, UKC, FCI)

DerivedAKC breed standard, 1991

Derived: a long single coat without undercoat, taken as 3 on the rubric. The standards do not describe a short, flat face.

How long they live, and what they cost

Measured on real dogs, with the sample and the spread. Never a guess.

Median lifespan

14.5 years (14.1 to 14.9)

MeasuredMcMillan KM, 2024

Dogs Trust table, McMillan et al. 2024. Not in Teng 2022.

The dog at home

What the breed asks of a day. The first thing most homes get wrong.

Exercise need

Up to 30 minutes per day (Royal Kennel Club band). PCA FAQ: 'indoors dogs without substantial exercise requirements' that enjoy the outdoors; Wikipedia: 'a very active breed' that enjoys a job, with agility, rally or obedience recommended.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC band 'up to 30' maps to 30.

Exercise need

Up to 30 minutes per day (RKC); PCA: no substantial exercise requirement, 'fancy themselves great hunters of birds, squirrels, spiders, even butterflies'

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

Energy

AKC Energy Level 4 of 5. PCA: 'active, lively dogs, although generally not nervous or yappy'; most retain puppy playfulness. The AKC standard: 'lively action'.

Breed clubAKC

Grooming load

3 of 5 · Grooming: more than once a week; coat length medium; sheds (RKC). AKC Coat Grooming Frequency 2 of 5. PCA: silky coat 'not prone to matting', no undercoat to shed out, though 'Papillons DO SHED'; no trimming for a pet, feet may be tidied.

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

RKC 'more than once a week' maps to 3; the AKC band reads lighter.

Grooming

More than once a week (RKC); AKC band 2 of 5; PCA: 'sensible glamour', no undercoat

Breed clubThe Royal Kennel Club

The work

What it was built to do in the field, and what a test or trial asks of it.

Role

FCI 77: utilization Toy, group 9 section 9 Continental Toy Spaniels, 'without working trial'; the standard covers two varieties, the erect-eared Papillon and the hanging-eared Phalene. AKC: 'a small, friendly, elegant toy dog'; the standard admits both ear types. RKC: a dwarf spaniel of France and Belgium, popular in the royal courts of Europe, competing in obedience and agility. PCA (editorial): the Phalene is the original variety, and 'the larger type of the CTS was purported to be used on farms for herding geese'; Papillons 'fancy themselves great hunters of birds, squirrels, spiders', and some are mousers.

Breed clubFederation Cynologique Internationale, 1990

How common the problems are

Evaluated dogs skew toward breeding stock; the numbers are still the best there are.

Hip dysplasia

1.6% · 124 OFA hip evaluations to date: 98.4% normal, 1.6% dysplastic (all mild); rank 216

MeasuredOrthopedic Foundation for Animals

OFA breed statistics are voluntary submissions and skew toward breeding stock; the OFA itself warns that abnormal results are under-submitted. Current all-data figure read Oct 9 2026; the service prints no period. Small n (124): the percentage rests on few dogs. No elbow row for the breed.

Most common disorders

PCA FAQ: 'few hereditary/congenital diseases', though problems common to small dogs occur: patellar luxation, 'open' fontanels, bite or palate defects; PRA found in the breed and bred against with eye testing; Papillons are 'among the more anesthetic-sensitive breeds'. Wikipedia: patellar luxation, seizures and dental problems; at risk for PRA, intervertebral disk disease and allergies. RKC: DNA tests for PRA (pap-PRA) as Good Practice, and for neuronal axonal deficiency (NAD, PLA2G6) and von Willebrand's disease (vWD1) as Best Practice. Neuroaxonal dystrophy is described as an autosomal recessive monogenic disease associated with the PLA2G6 c.1579G>A mutation (Tsuboi 2017, a small sample).

Breed clubPapillon Club of America

Club and registry statements with one small genetic study; no VetCompass paper on the breed was found. Population-level, never a prediction for one dog.

More

akc bands

AKC breed page trait scores (1-5): Energy Level 4; Mental Stimulation Needs 5; Trainability Level 5; Barking Level 5; Watchdog/Protective Nature 4; Good With Young Children 5; Openness To Strangers 5; Good With Other Dogs 3; Shedding Level 3; Coat Grooming Frequency 2; Drooling Level 1; Affectionate With Family 5; Playfulness Level 5; Adaptability Level 5.

Breed clubAKC

Fourteen AKC bands in one row; the selector reads each by name. Breed-club ratings: a tendency, never a measurement.

What to ask a breeder for

The health clearances the breed’s own club and registry name. Reference only: what to ask for, never a statement about any dog’s health.

How to read this page

Every value carries a label. Measured means peer-reviewed data on many dogs. Studied means peer-reviewed, smaller or indirect. Breed club means a club or registry states it. Editorial means expert opinion with no measurement behind it. Where two good sources disagree, both are shown and neither is averaged.

Published when the entry rests on the best information available from no fewer than three independent sources, checked by a second pass that did not write it. 8 sources on this page. Found something wrong? Tell us and the correction is logged with its date.

Also called
Phalene, Phalène, Continental Toy Spaniel, Epagneul Nain Continental, Butterfly Dog

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