Dogs with the Job to love & be Royal

[B]Often we speak of or down of dogs that do NOT work today. Because of the loss of the breeds original function & or the lack of homes that can work the dogs in this function.
Thus new jobs are formed for these breeds to keep healthy minds and bodies.
But we cant forget for centuries dogs were also bred to just be a companion to at the time royalty ( the only ones that could afford the luxary).
Thus centuries later many dogs are simply bred to provide love and friendship.
Here is one founded in the history books.
Does anyone have others created just to be a lap dog?[/COLOR][/B]

The History of the English Toy Spaniel English Toy Spaniels, as they are called on the North American continent, have been seen in early writings and pictures since the 15th and 16th centuries. This breed is considered to be one of the oldest and rarest of canine breeds.

It is the common belief that this particular breed originated in China or Japan in very ancient times, and perhaps was crossbred with the spaniel, breeding the smallest dogs from the litters over the years.

According to Leighton, the Toy Spaniel had its origin in Japan, was taken to Spain, and then to England. There is a story that specimens of the breed were brought to England from Japan by Captain Saris, a British naval officer, in 1613. They were presents from the Emperor of Japan to King James I. Every Japanese royal present always included dogs.

The Chinese origin of the breed is mentioned also by Lady de Gex, who claims that specimens of these Toy Spaniels were carried from China to Italy during the 15th century.

It is documented that long before the restoration of the Stuarts (1660), the Toy Spaniel was a general favorite with the aristocracy. During the reign of the Stuart kings: James I, Charles I, Charles II, and James II, the Toy Spaniel became a royal favorite. A story is told that James II was fleeing from a sinking ship and wouldn't go back even to rescue some of his sailors. Yet when he realized that some of his spaniels were left behind, he quickly returned. Tragically, Toy Spaniels have not always been fortunate in their connection with royalty.

The early years of Mary, Queen of Scots, during the first third of the 16th century, were spent in France. When she returned to Scotland as Queen, she brought specimens of the breed with her. Her favorite pet was a black & tan Toy Spaniel which was found almost heartbroken, curled up in her royal mistress's gown a short time after her melancholy death at the axe of a headsman in 1587. Toward the close of the 16th century Dr. Caius, celebrated professor and the physician to Queen Elizabeth, referred to this breed as A Spaniell Gentle, otherwise called the Comforter in his work Of English Dogges. His other references stamp the English Toy in much the same manner of the modern breed.

King Charles II gave his name to the breed: King Charles Spaniel. It was in this era that a royal decree, still in effect to this day, was made to allow these spaniels free access to any court or palace in England. All Toy Spaniels up to the time of King Charles II appear to have been of the black and tan variety. These kings' favorites were brought over from France by Henrietta of Orleans, and one is described as black and white.

After William of Orange ascended the throne the popularity of the breed waned and little is written about it until Queen Victoria returned the breed to royal favor. Her pet Dash is well known because of the portrait that shows him in the arms of the Prince of Wales, which was in the mid-19th century. At that period of time the breed had an oriental look, was smaller with a rounder head, a snub hose, and very long ears; bearing little resemblance to its predecessor, and breeders attempted to name the breed Toy Spaniel. King Edward VII objected, so in Britain the breed name remains the King Charles Spaniel.

It is believed that these little dogs accompanied the early settlers to America.

The period from 1900 to World War II found the English Toy Spaniel to be a rare breed that was sought after by the upper class. Many of the best bloodlines were imported from England. World War II marked the end of the breed's popularity when many kennels were closed in fear of an invasion.

The Holland Spaniel, a black and white, was perhaps the oldest of the color varieties. The first known solid color was black. Later, the Toy Tawler introduced the black and tan pattern. Blenheim was originally known as the Italian Spaniel, which was a small hunting dog by the Dukes of Marlborough, from whose family palace they take their name. The development of Blenheim is credited to John Churchill, the first Duke of Marlborough. Churchill, famous soldier and diplomat, was made an Earl in 1689, and became a Duke in 1702. The solid red, or Ruby variety arrived much later. It can be assumed from pictures of the breed that the solid red, known as Ruby, was developed by crossing the red and white Italian Spaniel with the black and white Holland Spaniel.

The English Toy Spaniel coat has four color varieties, which are known by the following names: The black and tan color is King Charles; the black and white, with red markings called a tricolor, is Prince Charles; the red and white color is Blenheim; and the solid red color is Ruby.

Prior to 1885, only two varieties were recognized by the The Kennel Club in England: Blenheim and King Charles. In 1892 the Prince Charles and Ruby were also recognized by The Kennel Club.

In the United States the English Toy Spaniel has appeared in the American Kennel Club (AKC) records since the club was founded. Prior to 1903, the King Charles, Ruby, Blenheim, and Prince Charles were classified as separate breeds for show purposes, but were permitted to be intermixed for breeding. On January 1, 1904, they were combined as English Toy Spaniels, subdivided by color. Today for show purposes they are divided into two varieties. The solid colors, which are the King Charles and Ruby, and the broken colors, which are the Prince Charles and Blenheim.

The AKC Standard of the breed is attached as an addendum to this document. Generally speaking, however, the breed should be small and compact, weighing from eight to fourteen pounds, with a domed head, wide upturned muzzle, and large prominent eyes. The coat should be long, silky, soft, and wavy; the ears low set, full and long.

The English Toy Spaniel was bred originally to be a companion dog, and the dog remains a true lap dog to this day. This breed gets along very well other pets and will tolerate good children. They have a wonderful temperament overall and make desirable house pets. They are attentive but not demanding, and somewhat shy with strangers. The natural graces of the breed make them easy subjects to present at their best in the show ring. They are very intelligent and can easily be taught house manners as they are sensitive to the slightest scolding. They will cry real tears if too harshly reprimanded. This gentle, loving English Toy Spaniel only wants to be your faithful, loyal companion for life.

The Chihuahua has undergone a couple of purposes, but the more recent was as a lap dog/pet. (and that is a good thing compared to what they started out as) A lot is speculation, I think, as they are decesded from quite an ancient dog.

CHIHUAHUA -
A HISTORY OF THE
SMALLEST CANINE
by Lee Weston

As with any breed of dog, there is speculation, a great deal of paperwork, detective work, and logical deduction involved in what has occurred in the past to understand the present. Archeology and paleontology is used heavily in determining what type of relationship existed between the canine and the human population. This is the case with the history of the Chihuahua.

The Chihuahua received its name from the northern part of Mexico bearing the same name, that borders on the Texas, Arizona, and New Mexico boundary lines. But that is not the limit of its history. There are many theories regarding the development of this tiny breed of dog. Following is just a few of these theories, call them speculations, but all possible.

Through archeological digs and the work of paleontologists, they have pieced together a history that goes back at least to 5th century A.D. and to show the existence of the Chihuahua's ancestors not only in the central and southern regions of Mexico, but also in South America as well.

The Mayan Indians of South America made clay sculptures of small dogs that resemble a Chihuahua "type". These sculptures are dated back to the 5th century A.D. Were they the first to develop a relationship with one of the Chihuahua's ancestors?

A native people of Mexico, known as Toltecs, were known to have conquered the southern and central parts of Mexico by 1100 A.D. They possessed a dog of small stature, but at the same time it was heavy-boned and long-coated. This dog was known as a Techichi. It is described as being long-legged, with a thin body, almost fawn-like, and a humped back. The Techichi was kept by the Toltecs as a pet, and interestingly, this dog was used as part of the religious rites as well. There is a question as to whether or not the Toltecs crossed the Techichi with a dog that inhabited the mountains of Chihuahua, called the Perro Chihuahueno. It is said that the Perro Chihuahueno was a foraging type of dog, that lived in holes in the ground. They had round heads, long nails, and short, erect ears.

When the Aztecs conquered the Toltecs and became the ruling class, they also used the dog as pets and in a religious function. From remains found at pyramids and in graves, it is believed that these people thought that the dog would function as guides for the human soul. Another ritual that was practiced was the burning of a dog with a human corpse. This was done in the belief that the deceased human's wrong-doings would be transferred to the dog.

The story continues with the Spanish conquerors that invaded Mexico, the Caribbean, and South America. It is conjectured that they had with them a small, black and tan, terrier type dog. These Spanish dogs were far more friendly with the native dogs than the Spanish conquistadors were with the native peoples. Due to this crossing of the black and tan terrier type dog with the Techichi, it is surmised that the Chihuahua resulted.


Another theory put forth is that the Chihuahua is actually of European descent. That it was the Spanish conquistadors that brought this dog with them to the New World. For proof, the people who support this theory point to the island of Malta where a small breed of dog existed that possessed a natural molera. A molera is like an open fontanel in a human child, a soft spot on the top of the skull where the three sections of the skull bone meet. The molera is extremely rare, and uncommon to other breeds of dog. The Chihuahua, however, does possess this natural molera, it is believed that this points to its descendants as being from Malta. Further proof is offered in of all places, the Sistine Chapel. A painting by Sondro Botticelli, completed in 1482, depicts a dog that is very much like today's Chihuahua. Since this painting was completed before Columbus sailed for the New World, it offers proof that the dog is of European ancestry.


One last theory that we will put forth, is that it is known that the Chinese were adept at developing miniatures of larger breeds of dog. It may be possible that the Chinese developed a dog similar to the Chihuahua, the Spanish traders came to possess this dog, and from China, traveled to Mexico with it. As the Spanish traders crossed Mexico, they had contact with the native population, both the traders and the dogs.

In any case, after the Spanish were finished with destroying the Aztec culture, buildings, and as many people as they could, the fate of the dogs were left to the native people that adopted it into their families, and nature.

When people from the United States first "discovered" this tiny dog, they were referred to as "Texas Dogs" or "Arizona Dogs" probably because that is the border that was used to bring the dogs from Mexico to the U.S. Americans fell in love with the little critters and ever since the Chihuahua has been a favorite. Interestingly, the "Chis" have undergone a great deal of change since the 1950's. Breeders have made great strides in improving the temperament, the number one concern, and type. Today's kennels are noted for different characteristics and bloodlines, so when shopping for a puppy, it is important for the prospective buyer to understand and know expectations of the bloodlines. The only way to find out is to go to the dog shows, talk to owners, handlers, breeders and ask lots of questions. Read books about the Chihuahua, educating yourself can be time consuming, but can also save a lot of headaches and heartaches in the future.

In the United States, the American Kennel Club exhibited Chihuahuas for the first time in 1890. The first Chihuahua was registered in the U.S. in 1903. However, the Chihuahua Club of America was not established until 1923, along with a written breed standard that has not changed significantly since. In 1952, the Chihuahua Club of America did vote to split the Chihuahua into two varieties. The two are judged on the same standard, the difference being is that one variety is smooth coated and the other is long coated.

Of course.



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BRIEF HISTORY OF THE PAPILLON
(Adapted from the 1957 PCA Handbook)
The origin of the Continental Toy Spaniel, of which the Papillon is the modern representative, can be traced through the paintings of the Old Masters of every country in Western Europe as far back as the earliest years of the 16th Century. Beginning about 1500, Vecelli, called Titian, painted a number of tiny spaniels, rather similar to the hunting spaniels of the day. In that century and the next, dogs--so like the Titian spaniel that it is safe to assume this was a pure breed--made their appearance in Spain, France and the Low Countries.

We can only speculate on the ancestry of the Titian spaniel. Classical Greece and Rome possessed toy dogs but these were a spitz type which seems to have become extinct. During the Dark Ages only hunting and working dogs would have been of value, but with the dawn of the Renaissance, Italy became a prolific source of toy breeds of many varied types: toy greyhounds, dwarf barbets (a sort of miniature poodle, often clipped lion-fashion), dogs of Cayenne (which were curiously pug-like), and a number of breeds which probably resulted from crosses of various sorts. The toy spaniel was quite different from any of these in its characteristics.

One authority has suggested that the toy spaniel was brought from China, with which country the Venetians had traded since the days of Marco Polo, the Chinese did, in fact, have, as late as the 18th Century, a parti-colored, long-coated dog not unlike the Titian spaniel, along with those resembling the modern Pekingese. But as the breeders of the Renaissance were able to reduce greyhounds and barbets to very small size, it seems unnecessary to resort to the Chinese theory to account for the toy spaniel.

The name spaniel means dog of Spain, for which reason it has often been inferred that the spaniel breeds originated there. The spaniel family, which includes the setters, is as old as such other basic canine patterns as the hounds, the mastiffs or the spitzes. It is therefore probable that the hunting spaniels came to Europe along with successive Asiatic tribes. In this case, spaniel was a misnomer for the hunting breeds as well as for the toy.

The often repeated story that the conquerors of Mexico brought the Chihuahua to Spain and that the Papillon is descended from it seems to have no historical basis. The Titian spaniel had been developed as a pure breed prior to the Conquest of Mexico. Furthermore, this theory seems to have been fabricated to account for the erect, oblique ears of the Papillon. But it explains nothing, because the Continental Toy Spaniel did not become the butterfly dog with erect ears until two and a half centuries after the Conquest.

The continued popularity of the little spaniel in court circles gave the breeders a ready market for their dogs. Evidently they conducted an intensive breeding program for its refinement. Over the years it developed finer bone, more abundant coat and profuse feathering. The most characteristic change, however, was in the shape of the head. Titian's spaniels had relatively flat heads with little stop; a type of toy spaniel painted shortly after by Veronese and others had high-domed, sometimes bulging heads. By the time of Louis XIV, French and Belgian breeders had perfected the type they sought. Mignard, the official court painter, in his portraits of the child Marie de Bourbon, the Dauphin and His Family, and several paintings of Henriette d'Orleans, shows us a little spaniel that could scarcely be improved upon today.

From Titian through Mignard and his contemporaries, all of the Continental Toy Spaniels had drooping ears. The ears were set high, although far enough apart to show the curve of the skull. They were of medium size, hanging, as one writer has expressed it, "lightly." There may, however, have been an occasional dog with leathers of sufficient strength for the ears to stand erect. Two 18th Century paintings suggest this.

Suddenly, toward the end of the 19th Century, the erect ear carriage with its butterfly appearance became highly fashionable. In fact, it so caught the public fancy that the new term of "Papillon" quickly became the name for the entire breed. Several attempts have been made in the past to straighten out the names of the two varieties, without much success. Recently the international Papillon organization, to which the American but not the English club is affiliated, has given to the drop eared variety the name of "Phalene."

The Titian dogs were red and white. Before long, specimens appeared in all shades from pale lemon to deepest chestnut, while some of the most beautiful examples were black and white or silver-grey and white, All these colors were usually marked with a white blaze and often with the thumb mark on the top of the head. Then, toward the end of the l9th Century through the first two decades of this one, the vogue was for solid colors or for dogs with only the feet and chest splashed with white. Today the solid colors have disappeared and the preference is again for an evenly marked parti-color. People often insist on a one-word answer to the question, "Where does the breed come from?" Baron Albert Houtart of Belgium, author of the most authoritative work on this subject, demonstrated that credit for perfecting the Continental Toy Spaniel belongs equally to France and to Belgium. This statement is also true for the development of the erect-eared type. Both countries may rightfully consider the Papillon a native breed.

The little Papillon has survived rather better than the Royal Families in whose courts he was once such a favorite. Men, women and children of all ages and in all walks of life take him into their laps and hearts. Now, as truly as in the past, when he has found his way into a home, he is there to stay, as loving as he is beloved.



RACHEL D. KEMMERER
President Emeritus
Papillon Club of America

http://www.papillonclub.org/

For more info and paintings of the breed- http://www.papillonclub.org/History/index.html

I think I read some where that the CHi is the oldest north american breed.
And I also think the Mexican Xolo was bred originally to eat?
I am always with working dog people I like learning about other non working breeds .
That i will never own but will judge with my UKC lic I am working on.

I love paps I get them in grooming and they are sure doll to deal with.
I must admit they prefer my lap waiting for mom to pick them up.
They the grooming crates.

My brother came in once when I had one Pap under each arm same owner.

He said never thought you could handle such little dogs.

I had to remind my my CASD are not born 140lbs

Yes, the Chi, (or ancestor of) they think was used as food and at some point, as a religious type sacrifice:yikes: before they became prized as pets.

These descriptions are all very interesting.

I think it's really interesting that no one seems to know exactly where the toy spaniels came from. There's so many theories that I read. I think it's really neat that some of these little breeds are very old and such. They're definitely some interesting histories.