Forevr Papillons receives a lot of email inquires that
include questions about Paps. Some of the common questions are about health, hair, coat,
fringe, teeth, eyes, tear stains, & temperament.
Here are a few of our most frequently asked
questions.
If your looking for advice on a Pap
you own ... please remember it is free advice from our donated time.
We will answer when we have the time to do so. Advice will be truthful
honest information and because it is free... it will not be sugar coated for
you to hear exactly what your wanting to hear. AND we are not in
training to be the Dear Abby of Papillons!
Answer: The correct
pronunciation for Papillon is (pappy-yawn) meaning butterfly. Papillons
come in two different varieties; the erect eared that is most often seen
or the drop eared that is called a Phalène (fa-lyn) which means moth.
Incidentally,
the word Papillon and Phalene are actually breed varieties of the Epagneul
Nain Continental, Continental Toy Spaniel. The name Squirrel Spaniel has
also been used. In the United States the American Kennel Club recognizes
the breed as the Papillon with the Phalene being considered as a variety
of the Papillon.
Answer:
Papillons are intelligent & a very trainable breed. They are ranked as
the number 1 toy obedience breed. We also know of Pap's that
compete in tracking and excel in agility. In addition, they do make great
therapy dogs.
Question: Can
Papillons live together with other pets?
Answer:
Papillons normally fit in quite well in
households with other pets providing the owners supervise playtime,
especially other large breeds of dogs. Homes with much larger
dogs have to consider problems that can happen when a small and large dog
play hard together. There have been many accidents where a Papillon
has received serious injuries caused by other breeds of dogs. Most
reputable breeder take great caution placing their Paps in homes. Many
breeders will not sell a Papillon to a home that already has a large or
potentially aggressive pet.
Question: Are
Papillons nervous and do they bark a lot?
Answer: In
most cases Papillons are not naturally a nervous or barky breed, but there
are some that fit that description. At times our Papillons will
bark, usually it is when the doorbell rings or something interests them
for example; like a Squirrel or the neighbors cat. On the whole they are
fairly quite and because they are smart, training them to learn the words
"no bark" is rather easy.
Answer: We
have had good luck in housebreaking Pap's as single only companion
papillon. Dedication to housetraining is a must and the dogs should be placed on a
schedule and housed in a crate when not attended to for best results.
Question: My
daughter has a male Papillon, he is now 5 months old. Since
the day she brought himhome, at age 9 weeks, he has wet on his
bedding and then laid on it. Is this marking? What
should she do about it? She does crate him, but he wets on the
bedding in his crate.
Answer: Since
I do not know how long your puppy is crated or your home situation I
can only generalize my answer. My first thought is that a
Papillon puppy has a small bladder and needs to be taken outside
frequently. Is this marking, NO. Marking is peeing on
their territory to keep other males away.
Is there water left in the crate? Could your puppy be allowed
to drink a lot of water prior to being crated? Remember potty
training/crate training is similar to humans. If you don't
want your kid to wet the bed, then you take away their water before
bedtime and always make sure they have ample opportunity to be let
outside. Another thought to consider is.... Are you monitoring
that your puppy is actually peeing when he goes outside? Many
times their yard is so interesting they do not take the time to do
something as mundane as peeing. Do not leave your puppy in the
crate for no more than 4 hours. Less is better, they just
can't last that long.
Question: Do Papillons
have
any temperaments problems I, should be aware of?
Answer:
The breed on the whole is a happy go
lucky outgoing breed. A Papillon that exhibits signs of growling,
snapping, or fear is not a normal breed temperament characteristic.
Usually a Pap that shows signs of bad temperaments have not been
sufficiently socialized or at some point were mistreated.
Question: Last night we noticed very aggressive
behavior . It was like this pup lost its mind , nothing I had ever seen before !
He would have a certain look in his eyes , show his teeth , growl , nip , jump for no apparent reason , this happened twice within maybe an hours time .
Is this normal behavior ? Would this be corrected if he was neutered ?
I was wondering if by chance this could be a problem with the mother having too many litters in a year ?
What is the problem with this pup ?
Answer: What you are describing is not a typical Papillon temperament, I don't think something like this could be cause because the mother was over bred. It could be caused for many other reasons though.
Bad temperaments bred together to produce another bed temperament.
Lack of proper human socialization.
Fear (could this dog have possible been mistreated in some manner?)
Neutering may help this Pap be less aggressive, but there are no guarantee's. It is a
agreesivness is a breed characteristic that is NOT desirable and we would
recommend neutering.
May I suggest your friends signing onto the Papfriends email list, there are several behaviorist there who might be able to assist you. You can sign on by going to
www.papfriends.com Or they may want to consider enrolling in a basic obedience course. I would look for an instructor that is experienced in Toy dogs.
Question: What
is the height of an adult Papillon?
Answer: The Papillon height
measured from the floor to the top of the shoulder blades is between 8 - 12 inches. A dog that measures over 11 and 12 inches is consider by the AKC Papillon breed standard to be a fault. The average size of an adult Papillon is 9 1/2 to 10 3/4 inches with an approximate weight between 4 to 9 pounds.
Question: I
would like to buy a Pap for my family. Are they especially good around
kids?
Answer:
Extra care should be taken and rules should be established when Papillons
live with young children. They do make great family dogs however they are
a small breed. Paps and can be injured, (in some cases fatally) and
bones can be broken with rough treatment or when suddenly dropped. Some
breeders will not sell a Papillon to families with small children in the
household.
Question: Do
male or female Papillons make better pets?
Answer: We feel
and most other experienced breeders will agree, that both sex's are
excellent pets, but there are slight differences between a male and
female. We have found in the past that most males are a bit more
loving and will adore their families and make great house pets. A
female loves you to worship & dote on her. Acquiring a male as a
pet is usually easier to find than a female.
Question: I have a
Papillon puppy. The ears where standing up when I bought him. Now they are
down. Why did his ears go down? Someone mentioned shaving the hair, do you
do this?
Answer: As
puppies mature they teeth and go thru growth where the calcium levels
change in the body. If you purchased an erect eared puppy and the
ears get soft and flop, almost always they will return to the normal
butterfly appearance. Sometimes adding cottage cheese, plain yogurt or
calcium to their food will assist in bringing their ears erect
again. In most cases we do not recommend shaving the ear to help it stand
erect again.
Question: My Pap
has tear stains under her eyes. Should I be worried?
Answer: Eye staining
can be caused by a number of factors. Allergies, blocked or infected
eye ducts and even stress can cause staining. The first thing to do
is have your vet check and see if there is any infection of the tear
ducts. If that is the case a treatment with antibiotics is
indicated. Sometimes the tear ducts actually get blocked and have to
be opened up in order for them to work properly. The problem that
usually causes any staining is the change in the pH of the tears.
Question: Have you had any that
Paps that are over sized? My Pap is 14 inches and 19 lbs. I am wondering if he
is a mixed breed.
Answer: If
he looks like a Pap and acts like a Pap he probably is a Pap! Big
Papillons do happen from time to time. The origin of Papillons are
not completely known. Hundreds of years ago when the breed
originated they were called the Epagneul Nain Continental, or Continental Toy
Spaniel. The Papillon was just
one variety of that breed. This indicates the Papillons were bred from Spaniel decent. Traditionally
Spaniels are a larger dog. A big Papillon gene can crop up
occasionally. Sometimes people will breed a large male to a large
female and get a whopping large size puppy! Large Papillons can make great performance
dogs or pets.
Question: I
took my Papillon to the groomer. They cut off the hair and fringe
from his ears. Will the ear fringe grow back?
Answer: Your
Papillon is not the first to experience the un-knowledgeable scissor happy
groomer. In most cases, Yes, fringes will grow back. It will
take awhile, we are talking a minimum to 6 months, or maybe even up to1
year.
Question: I have got a pap who is 2
yrs old & is a wonderful pet. however, I realized that her fur doesn't
seem to be growing to be as long as those pap's I see on the net. Her fur doesn't
seem to be growing long.
Answer: Coat
length or the amount of coat a Papillon has can be caused by many
reasons. Genetics, food, environmental, health or grooming could be
five separate reasons for a dog to have short coat. Genetics; if the
dogs in your dogs pedigree (family tree) all carry a short coat than your
dog genetically will not grow a long draping coat. Food; In most
inexpensive food contains a lot of fillers and very little
nutrients. If your dog is not getting enough nutritional value in
their daily intake this can prevent hair growth. Environmental;
a continuous warm climate can cause a dog not to grow long hair. If
the dog is left outside for long periods of time in a warm climate it is
almost certain their coat will not be full and long. Health; various
health problems can cause the coat to be dull and sparse. Grooming;
rough treatment to the coat with a brush or slicker can cause the hair to
be ripped out causing unneeded hair loss. Extra care is needed when
brushing ear fringes especially the fine red fringes.
Question: I am at a total loss of how to stop heavy hair loss on
my 2 year old Pap. She has lots of allergies. Itching skin and heavy hair loss. I feed Science Diet
for sensitive skin and sensitive stomach. Brushing and combing is done
regularly. Very constant hair loss and very heavy. Is this a normal condition for a
Papillon? My Vet. has not been able to stop his, even by giving allergy injections.
Your assistance would be greatly appreciated. Any suggestions you have that
would help this poor little thing stop itching and scratching.
Answer: What you have described is not normal coat conditions for a Papillon.
Do not use any coat product that would dry out your dogs skin. Try bathing weekly with a Tar and
Sulfur shampoo (human will do), light conditioner (no perfumes) or an Oatmeal type shampoo. You may want to try purchasing our
Vellus Satin Cream for dry red spots, there are no guarantee's, but it may help. Winter also keeps the coat and skin dried out.
You may want to try some vitamin E, oil or bacon dripping on the food to internally replenish the skin with oils.
If your dog is shedding excessively or has patches of balding hair I would suggest another trip back to your vet, possible have him take a blood panel and check for thyroid problems.
Question: Whenever my Papillon shakes,
her fur would fall out. I would like to know if it's common for
Pap's to shed so much fur.
Answer: A
Papillon is a single coated breed & will lose small amounts coat on a
daily bases. Since they should not have a undercoat, their coat does not
need a lot of care. Daily or weekly brushing of the Paps coat will keep
shedding at a minimum. Papillons will shed, blow coat or turn over
coat a couple of times a year. In the spring they will lose their
winter coat. In the fall some dogs will have a slight coat blow
before growing a denser winter coat. Loss of dead hair and regrowth
of new hair is a normal occurrence. If your dogs sheds excessively
or has patches of balding hair a trip to your veterinarian and a thyroid
check may be needed.
Question: My pap puppy is 10 weeks old tomorrow and one of her ears is already standing up straight most of the time. The other one, however, is still flopped downward like the first one was one week ago. The breeder says the ears usually pop up around 12 weeks, but can be up and down for a few months. I've been massaging the muscle at the base of the ear more now to stimulate it, but it hasn't improved in the past week. I was just wondering if there were any papillons with one ear up, one down, and if it is common enough for me to be concerned about it?
Answer: Your breeder has given you correct information about the ups and downs of Papillon puppies ears. As they go through the teething process there are changes in their calcium levels that affect the ability of the cartilage in the ears. In most cases if the ears once stood erect, they will be erect as an adult. About the only think you can do to assist the ears is to give your puppy calcium. We prefer to give calcium in natural form by adding a tablespoon of cottage cheese to the food. There are other methods of taping and propping up the ear, creams or shaving the hair from the ear. We do not find these methods to have had great success.
Just let nature take its course and wait for your butterfly to emerge from its caterpillar state!
Question: I
bought my papillon in 1999. Gizmo is one of 3 dogs I own.
Inever considered a papillon, but fell in love with him, and got a
deal due to the fact that he is not show quality-He has an overbite,
which is my fav part of him. I recently noticed that his front
two teeth are very loose. What is the cause of this, and will it do
any harm if he loses them? He eats fine with his back teeth.
Teeth or no teeth I will forever love him!
Answer:Papillons build up a lot of tarter on their teeth and need routine annual dental cleaning by the veterinarian. I suggest to all my puppy buyers that they purchase an infants size tooth brush and brush their dogs teeth on a regular basis. It doesn't prevent tooth decay and loss, but brushing does help.
It is not unusual for a 3 year old Papillon to have lost or to have already lost a front tooth and very common if they have not had regular dental care. It will not hurt you dogs eating habits by losing the front teeth. With his overbite he probably seldom used them for eating.
Another possibility is that his gums are red and inflamed. That is potentially
gingivitis. Prior to dental cleaning many vets will prescribe a antibiotic to get any gum infection under control prior.
Question:Help ! I have had an accident this
morning with my puppy and need to know if I have done permanent
damage. I was turning a lamp on this morning and when I went
to walk away my puppy was sitting on the sofa and I accidentally hit
him on the side of his jaw. He yelped and was bleeding and I
looked inside his mouth I saw that he lost his Canine Fang.
Please tell me that this is his puppy tooth. It was hardly a
hard hit and if he hadn't made a yelp I would have thought nothing
of it. He is a 5 month old Papillon and will be 6 months on
March 5th. I have a dog book and it says that they loose their
canine fangs between 4 and 7 months. I dont see anything
coming in beneath it so I am frantic that I may have accidentally
knocked out his tooth. Please let me know, I am frantic and
very upset and worried ! Thank you,
Answer: Don't
worry to much! More than likely your puppy has just lost his
infant canine. Pap puppies usually lose their canines between
5-61/2 months of age. Watch out for the other canines and make
sure that the other adult teeth do not come down next to the infant
teeth. Many times these teeth have very long roots and they
must be removed by the veterinarian. Give plenty of chewies,
hooves, and other safe toys to chew on. Keeping your puppy
entertained and busy may assist in loosening up a stubborn
tooth!
Question: Hello, I purchased
a pap from a breeder yesterday and have some concerns. what
concerns me is that she seems to be aggressive toward my other dog.
the other dog is a 4.5 month old shih tzu and she is 5 months old. she
has perked up a little in the 24 hrs. we have had her, but she also
tends to run from me as I walk toward her or around her. she licks me
and lets me hold her and I wondered if I should give it time and
she'll loosen up or if this is something i should worry about. I don't
think she was socialized well around other people or stranger dogs.
she did fine while I was at her breeders home. She was submissive
toward the other dogs there. there were several other dogs including
chiuahua's, excuse the spelling, and papillions. I would appreciate
any ideas or suggestions you could give me. thank you so much
Answer: Since
your dog is not a Forevr Puppy we do not know the environment or the
breeder that your puppy came from. Our best advice is to go back
to the person you purchased your new Papillon puppy from. They
are the breeder of the dog and know the dog personally. If they
are an experienced reputable breeder, they should be knowledgeable
enough about their dogs to give you the advice you seek.
It may well be that your puppy is a submissive pup, or lacks
confidence. Ultimately it is up to you to decide whether this
dog will work in your household. We suggest to all our puppy
buyers that it can take up to 6 weeks for a new puppy to become
settled into their new home and schedule. Depending on the home,
sometimes a dog does need to become adjusted to the culture shock of
changing to a new environment
Question: My
wife and I are planning on bringing an 11-week old male Papillon
into our home the week of the Fourth of July. We are buying
him from a very reputable show breeder who has been a God-send as
far as openness and honesty goes. I wish they could all be
as helpful as she has been.
We got a call from her this
weekend, saying that the puppy had had to be taken to the vet for
a minor surgery to repair an umbillical hernia that had developed.
She also had the vet check the position of the puppy's testicals
while he was working up in there. The vet said the testicles
were in the prime position to drop when they got ready to,
although one is smaller than the other.
Seeing the puppy is so young, I am
not surprised they haven't dropped yet. Does the situation
sound as if anything needs to be of a concern?
Your opinion would be appreciated
Answer: An
umbilical hernia in most cases is caused at birth by some sort of
trauma to the umbilical. Many times this is caused by the
person whelping the litter. People have a tendency to get impatient
or excited while pulling on the placenta and puppy when trying to
get them out. It has happened to us all occasionally.
In most cases, not all cases, by 9 weeks the testicles are already
down. If your purchasing a show prospect & the puppies testis's
are not dropped by 12 weeks, I would seek an opinion from you own
veterinarian. If the testis's are still high in the groin it
is possible the will never come down. It is not unusual for
all creatures to have different sizes of testicles. The longer
the testis's stay internal the less likely they are to descend and
with time the internal body heat can diminish the size. There can be
a family history of retained testicles.
Question: We have a one year old feamle who recently went into heat, we are going to have her fixed after she comes out of heat due to being a extra small
papillon, is it unusal for her to loose her playfulness and energetic spirit during this time and do they bounce back after surgery
Answer:It is not
uncommon for Papillons to experience "PMS" during their
first season. All I can say is baby her, she'll be back to
normal in about 14 days. Make sure you keep her on a tight leash, so
to speak... Teenage girls sometimes don't make good selections when
picking boyfriends. :) Usually there is little difference in
the personalities and energy after spaying. They do tend to
put on weight after spaying and you may have to monitor her food
intake.
