Here are some fun and fascinating facts about the Papillons that will surely surprise a lot of people!
The name of this breed, Papillon literally means butterfly in French and these canines were given this name because of their long-fringed ears that closely resembles the spread-out wings of a butterfly.
Along with their official name, these canines are sometimes also referred to as butterfly dogs and squirrel dogs. Other common nicknames for the Papillons are Continental Toy Spaniel, Epagneul Nain Continental, Phalène et cetera.
Based on the shape of their ears, Papillons are divided into two different types. The more popular kind among the two is the traditional Papillons that possess butterfly-like ears, but there is one more kind in which the Papillon canines have drooping ears which are also known as “moth” ears. These drop-ear type Papillons are known as Phalènes.
Not a whole lot of people know about the exact origins of the Papillon canines. Some believe this breed hails from France and it came into existence around the 16th century as there are many paintings from that time that feature Papillon-like canines with the French royalty. It is theorized that these pooches are the descendants of dropped-ear type toy spaniels and once they came into existence, they gradually became the favorites of the French nobility.
The first task that was given to these canines after they came into existence was to be a ratter. These pooches were used for protecting the homes of the French locals from various rodents such as rats, mice et cetera. But, once their popularity started to grow, they slowly became the trusted companions of the royal families of France.
The last Queen of France before the French Revolution, Marie Antoinette was a huge dog admirer and she had a lot of different canines at her palace, but the one she loved the most was a Papillon named Coco. It is believed that when Queen Marie was about to be beheaded, she was clutching Coco as she didn’t want to lose her favorite pet. Coco went on to live a pretty long life as she was able to survive the French Revolution. She died at the age of 22.
Their adorable size and cute looks might be the most talked about things of Papillons, but the one aspect of these canines that shouldn’t be overlooked is their intelligence. Papillons are one of the smartest canines that are present today in the whole world and they are often placed in the top 10 of the most intelligent dog breeds on this planet. These pooches can understand and learn a lot of new commands and tricks from their owners and their great thinking and learning skills definitely help them a lot in that regard.
Papillons are highly sociable canines that love to meet new people. This is a people pleasing breed that doesn’t shy away from making new friends. They always affectionately greet their guests that visit their homes and thus they are considered to be immensely gregarious and outgoing canines.
In 2014, when American actress Lauren Bacall died, she left a very big chunk of her money for her three children which was estimated to be around 26.6 million dollars. But, apart from this, she even left 10,000 dollars for her pet Sophie, who is a Papillon, so that she could live a comfortable life.
Because of their attractive looks and endearing size, these canines were adored by various highly popular painters who loved to have these pooches in their artworks and paintings. Some of the famous Painters that were smitten by these canines were Tiziano Vecelli or Titian, Rembrandt Harmenszoon, Peter Paul Rubens, and Francisco Goya. And, because of their paintings, these canines gradually became a lot more popular all around the world.