The Papillon ( French pronunciation: ​ [papij??] , "butterfly[-eared]" ), also called the Continental Toy Spaniel , is a breed of dog of the Spaniel type . ^[1] The Papillon is one of the oldest of the toy spaniels. Its name comes from its butterfly -like look of the fringed hair on the ears . The dog is alert and friendly with people and other dogs. ^[2] The Papillon is a very active dog. ^[3] It is also easy to train . ^[3]

History [ change | change source ]

The Papillon's ancestors can be seen in many 16th century paintings by Old Masters . ^[1] The earliest pictures containing these toy spaniels are by Tiziano Vecellio . ^[4] The earliest Continental Toy Spaniels had drooping ears. ^[1] Near the end of the 19th century the erect butterfly-like ears became popular . ^[1] They began to call these dogs Papillons. ^[1] From that time on the dog was available in two nearly identical breeds. ^[5] The Papillon with its erect butterfly-like ears and the Phalene with its moth -like drop ears. ^[5] In 1915 the Papillon breed was recognized by the American Kennel Club (AKC). ^[6]

References [ change | change source ]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Papillon dog .

This short article about biology can be made longer. You can help Wikipedia by adding to it .