Papillon

[Kathy29]

Just a question out of curiousity:

Who here has owned a Papillon before? How was he/she like? Personality, trainability, grooming, etc.?

I'm drawing up a list of possible dog breeds for someone who's interested in a smaller dog.

Thanks.

[RD]

I have one. Ripley is a Doberman Pinscher in a Papillon suit. 100% personality and attitude. He has no clue how tiny he is.

He's feisty and very active. Ripley never sits still when he can run around the house at 20mph. He will wear himself out eventually and sleep for a few minutes, and then he's back up and exploring again. The house never gets boring to him, there are always things to check out.
He loves to play with toys. He has extreme prey drive for such a small dog (and a spaniel at that!) and can't resist chasing a ball. If you can wrestle the ball away from him after each fetch, he'll play for hours.

Ripley isn't really typical of the breed, though. He's more aggressive and dominant than most Paps I've met - while a lot of Paps I know tend to indiscriminately love people and other animals, Ripley is a bit pickier about who he considers a friend. He's more terrier-like in his tendency to react aggressively to something/someone that's intimidating to him. He will follow us from room to room, but he is still quite independent. He'll sit on our laps but he's not a cuddler. He's very vocal (makes noises ranging from very quiet "wrrrrroooooo" to piercing screams) but not unbearably barky. On occasion he'll bark at nothing, but it's usually pretty easy to stop him and redirect his attention.

Ripley loves to go shopping. He actually ENJOYS being one of those "purse dogs". If I'm getting ready to go somewhere, Ripley will hop into my purse and squeak at me until I pick it up. As rotten as he can be at home, he is PERFECTLY behaved in public. He's quiet and still; people hardly ever notice that I have a dog with me.

He's quite intelligent and is a fast learner. I've never met a dog that could figure out tricks better than Ripley.
We've had a lot of house training problems; after a good 2 years of training he still isn't reliable. I've heard from other Pap owners that this is a problem with their males, too, although I have been told that they eventually were able to house train them. I hope the same holds true for my dog.

Grooming is really easy. He has a silky coat that isn't really prone to tangles or mats. He doesn't have doggy smell and the smell of shampoo stays in his coat for a few weeks. I comb him out thoroughly twice a week and keep his ear fringes and tail tangle-free and trimmed. Bath once every 2 weeks, and every few months I trim his feet and the hair around his butt. Our biggest problem with grooming are his tear stains - I can't get them to go away because he's always tearing. His ducts are just too small for his large eyes and they don't allow adequate drainage.

[Ashlea]

I have a rather badly bred Pap, as seen in my avatar. She is a real sweetie though. She is tough and quite balsy. She also has no idea that she is only 8lbs. I sometimes get nervous for her because she will walk right up to large dogs and sniff and greet them. She has ratehr bad knees so she prefers to be a little quieter. She really enjoys her walks and loves to be outside.

She is very affectionate and loves her cuddles, she is quite dependant on me for attension and doesn't like to be alone too much. She is also a clever little bugger. She learns quickly and almost without any coaxing. My BF taught her to retrieve and drop and wait in about 20 minutes. He has never had a dog before and didn't even know what he was doing. I was cooking and thinking how he would never get her to do it, low and behold, he called me to watch and she was doing a perfect retrieve.

With regards to grooming, I bath once a week in summer and trim her feet and round her butt about once a month. She does have bad teeth that have to be cleaned as often as possible, which is hard because she fights it so hard. She doesn't have tear stains, but I do clean her eyes once a day.

All in all, she is a tough, robust and brave little dog who loves her family dearly, she is not a barker and makes very little noise. She snorts and grunts and the occasional yip. She will bark at anyone outside my door but usually only one or two yips and that is it.

She loves to play and is very dedicated to me and my BF, she walks nicely off leash in heal and has a great recall.
I find her bright, easy and a pleasure to have around.

[britishbandit]

I had a Papillon as a child, and he was an awesome dog. Cuddly, smart, playfull.......let's just say there's a lot to offer from those small bundles...LOL. He lived till he was 14, and got a bit grumpy in his old age, but hey, who doesn't...haha.
He did have a few health problems, a heart murmur or something that required him to be on medication for most of his life, but I don't think that was due to breed, more to him individually. He was the runt of the litter, and my parents had picked him up on a whim. I doubt he was from a reputable breeder. I was only 6 when we got him.

[~Dixie's_Mom~]

Papillons sound like absolutely wonderful dogs. I've been reading up on them lately, as my sister is looking for a dog. :rolleyes: She already has a 6mo Silky Terrier mix, but my parents are way too soft on the dog issue. :p I have a Yorkie that I'm going to show, so I'm not getting a dog anytime soon, but after reading up on the Papillons with my sister (she's totally computer oblivious) I've added them to my list of possible dogs for the future. They really seem like all around great dogs, and RD's Ripley sounds like my Dixie. :D Anyway, I haven't had one, so I can't be of much help, but I read this, and it's pretty informative. http://www.papillonclub.org/papillon_right_for_you.htm

[~Dixie's_Mom~]

Oh, and P.S.

They're pretty Doggone adorable too. :D

http://www.pedigree.co.nz/breeds/images/papillon_03.jpg

[Jynx]

My sister has a son of the westminster winner Kirby. He was going a little oversized so they pulled him from the show ring, and my sister was able to obtain him from kirby's breeder. he is a cute little sucker, just turned 3 years old, and is competing at the excellent levels of agility..

a big mouth, who I'm sure picked that up from her two labs *vbg*, has no idea he is a tiny dog, loves his immediate family, but indiscriminate about his other friends,,fine with all dogs, but chooses to play/wrestle with cats vs dogs!!!

We call him her "foo foo" dog, and he acts quite stuck up at times, but he is a nice little dog full of energy.
Diane

[~Dixie's_Mom~]

Diane, not to get off subject, but, does the breeder have a website? My sister wants a papillon and I would assume being the breeder of a Westminster winner, that they must be a fairly good, responsible breeder. You can PM me if you want. THANKS! :D

[Jynx]

I'm not sure if they have a website, they are in Mass, their last name is "Sohn".
If you look on the official papillon site, I'm sure you will see them listed there.
He is a vet, and also I believe heads the medical stuff for the papillon club , articles and such,,and she runs a grooming/boarding thing out of the same office..They live within their business..Very nice couple, humble people, and The kennel name I think is L'ete. Not sure of spelling there..A friend of mine just this week got a puppy from a breeder named Susan Pollard also in Mass, that is SOME cute!! She says's he's a very smart eager boy to..

I'm sure the Sohn's if you hook up with them, could even recommend a breeder in your area. They are a very tight bunch, (which I don't blame them,) trying to preserve their breed as best they can and let me tell ya
they are NOT cheap,,,1500 +,,my sister hit it at one of those, being in the right place right time and got quite a discount..Now he turns out not oversized and i think they are kicking themselves,,but they are happy he is in a good home and racking up titles left and right..
Good luck to your sister
Diane

[~Dixie's_Mom~]

I'm not sure if they have a website, they are in Mass, their last name is "Sohn".
If you look on the official papillon site, I'm sure you will see them listed there.
He is a vet, and also I believe heads the medical stuff for the papillon club , articles and such,,and she runs a grooming/boarding thing out of the same office..They live within their business..Very nice couple, humble people, and The kennel name I think is L'ete. Not sure of spelling there..A friend of mine just this week got a puppy from a breeder named Susan Pollard also in Mass, that is SOME cute!! She says's he's a very smart eager boy to..

I'm sure the Sohn's if you hook up with them, could even recommend a breeder in your area. They are a very tight bunch, (which I don't blame them,) trying to preserve their breed as best they can and let me tell ya
they are NOT cheap,,,1500 +,,my sister hit it at one of those, being in the right place right time and got quite a discount..Now he turns out not oversized and i think they are kicking themselves,,but they are happy he is in a good home and racking up titles left and right..
Good luck to your sister
Diane


Thank you very Much Diane!! I will look at the site. Would it just be Papillon Club of America? When we got our show quality yorkie she was $1500 also. It's not cheap, but definately worth every penny. Especially if she decides to show, like I did with my Yorkie (I haven't shown yet, but I have decided to soon). Thanks again!

Lauren

[Jynx]

yes the pap club of america I believe..
diane

[~Dixie's_Mom~]

THANKS! :) Sorry to have been off-topic. :D

[Kathy29]

Well, here's the thing.

My friend lives in an apartment and she's heard from some people that Papillons can be barkers. Is this true?

I know it also depends on the individual dog but they can be sometimes incorporated into the breed. That's her only concern and I'd like to help her out as much as possible to find a dog that's suited for her lifestyle. Thanks all.

[Jynx]

kathy my sister's is a big mouth *vbg*..however, he didn't start off that way, when she got him at 5-6 mths old, he was a very quiet dog, but she also has two labs that tend to be big mouths, and I think "Jacque" picked it up quickly from them, soooo I couldn't say if they "tend" to be barkers..

Diane

[RD]

Ripley is a big mouth too, but he's typically not incessant.

Paps are rather excitable, I can see how that would make them a little more prone to yapping, but Ripley has never been a really big yapper. He barks when he thinks he sees something outside, or when Dakota starts barking.

Even when he isn't barking, he's not quiet. He "talks" almost nonstop, with little grunts and growls and howls. I get greeted with "WOOOOO!" about 20 times a day. It's not piercingly loud, but definitely not something that's easy to ignore. I can't hear him making noise when I'm outside the house though, so I imagine his woo's would be okay in an apartment.

The Paps I've met have been considerably quieter than most terriers, Poms, Chihuahuas etc but they are more barky than the quiet, calmer breeds like Shih Tzus, Pekes, Pugs etc.

[Jynx]

yes, Jacque is like that to,,a real wooo hooer,,and yes less barky than a pom or chi,,he does normally bark for a reason, whether it's the others that start in or something outside,,he doesn't just "bark" for no reason..
diane