Papillons are beautiful, dainty and graceful creatures. They are a crowd favorite with their silky coats, long fringed ears and ability to enthrall people of all ages with their flowing hair, movements and beautiful faces…But there is a lot more to this breed than mere looks. Papillons are extremely intelligent dogs. They typically don’t like being left alone for long periods of time and get bored easily. They are small dogs who think they are the size of a large dog and will act like they can take down a German Shepherd if the handler doesn’t keep them in check. Papillons typically range between 5-10 lbs and can live to be 14-18 years old on average. Most papillons are headstrong and self assured, but they also love training and love training their humans. Grooming them is fairly easy. Running a comb through their coat and ear fringe daily to make sure there aren’t any tangles and loose hair is removed is very important. They should be bathed as needed, I do a full bath on mine monthly and their foot hair and nails need to stay trimmed to ensure proper posture and traction. I take mine hiking and they often get wet in the streams, get a little muddy and minus quickly plucking a few possible sticks or brambles off before we hop in the car, by the time we get home… they have dried off and don’t typically need an arduous bath to get the “trail” off of them. This is why I call them my wash and wear dogs. I always do a tick check, and run a comb through them after, but compared to other long haired breeds for me they have proven to be pretty low maintenance and don’t need a full time groomer on speed dial.

Barking… well it honestly it depends on the individual dog. I have had papillons that will bark to hear their own voice, ones that bark if they hear a leaf drop outside and then I have had papillons that will only bark if someone is actually at the front door. I try to teach bark inhibition to my dogs and the puppies, some get it, some don’t care and really, really do want to hear their voice every chance they get! Training sessions can help those who like to hear their voices. You can easily teach these dogs to bark on command. Then train a follow up que to stop the bark. With these two tools in hand you can then communicate to the dog appropriate situations for a bark. And appropriate situations for silence. 

Papillons are SMART! Making them highly trainable… and if you don’t train them, they will take it upon themselves to train you! They love to train and my puppies have both food and toy drive which helps make training easy. What you might have a hard time with is finding new things to teach them, mine love obedience, tricks, agility, nosework, etc… For example a more complex trick I like teaching is object names, then once they have a few down and differentiate on command they will go get named items and bring them to me. This ability to differentiate helps in agility too, they can learn the obstacle names, then through more back chaining and learning you can get to a point where you can just tell them to go to it, this is called a send away.. and in nose work they can also learn to find and differentiate between scents, then alert you to it using a trained final response such as a sit or a down. Such powers can also be used for good by papillons who are service or medical alert dogs. Papillons are soooo much fun to train and it’s endless what you and your dog can do!

All Papillons who enter our breeding program are tested to the OFA CHIC standards determined by the Papillon Club of America. Currently these requirements are: an Eye Exam, a Patellar Exam, and the choice of either a Cardiac (Heart) Exam or one of two genetic health test for PRA or NAD. All 3 tests need to be done through a board-certified veterinarian or approved genetic analysis company. Then once registered with the OFA the results are sent to the Canine Health Information Center and they will issue a CHIC # to the dog which is added to the OFA database. I go above and beyond and test for everything! Eyes, Patellas and Hearts, plus all currently possible DNA tests for each of the parents I own. We test for Factor VII, Von Willebrand Disease (VWD), Progressive Retinal Atrophy (PRA) and Neuroaxonal Dystrophy (NAD). 

As long as the parents aren’t affected (having two copies of an autosomal recessive gene or 1 copy of a dominant gene) we will consider them in our program. We include both dogs who are clear or in selective cases dogs who are carriers. Clear dogs have 2 normal copies of an individual gene. Carrier dogs have 1 copy of an autosomal recessive gene and 1 normal gene. If we breed a dog that is a carrier we will only breed them to a dog who is clear.  I do not believe in throwing a carrier dog out of my breeding program if it has other wonderful traits, as long as I know and breed it to another dog that has no history of that genetic trait. With the practice of breeding carrier to clear we have a 50% chance of producing genetically clear offspring, and 50% unaffected perfectly healthy carriers. We can then test the litter and hold back a clear puppy from the mating. With a dog who is a carrier for multiple types of genes in just a few generations of breeding to clear you can start producing clear puppies without sacrificing an entire line. This helps to reduce the risk of narrowing the gene pool of our already rare breed while still producing healthy happy puppies. I always run genetic testing swabs on the puppies of my carrier to clear litters during the first few weeks of life to see who came out clear or a carrier. The only reason it matters in puppies is in the event I decide to hold one back to enter my breeding program. Otherwise it’s fun information for the new puppy owners to see a full panel on their puppy. Again if a puppy comes back as a carrier, it means nothing to it’s future health, it only limits the dogs it can be responsibly bred to in the future. 

To learn more about health in our puppies and parents visit our Health & Husbandry page.

The puppies start out in my room with their mom for the first 3-4 weeks, this helps me keep a close eye and help if needed. Then as they start to wean the litter gets moved to my extra bedroom to sleep together at night. Over the next few weeks they will go from sleeping all together with mom, to sleeping together without mom, to sleeping in pairs, to sleeping individually. This helps them ease into independence and makes the transition into a new home alone smoother. They are in my living room where I work during the day monitored and socialized until they go home. I post updates on my Facebook page so you can watch them grow up! The puppies are raised with Puppy Culture and I follow their routine pretty closely, making sure each puppy hits each milestone even if it’s at different times. Please see my page on how puppies are raised.

Since I raise my puppies for temperament, I choose the homes they go to based off of their personalities not looks. A beautiful puppy that you fall in love with in photos might be the wild child who needs lots of mental stimulation and exercise that wants to grow up to be next agility champion. While you are looking for a companion/couch potato. Though cute this puppy would run you ragged and you both may start to go a little crazy, while the pet personality puppy who would have fit in better but was just a different color than your preference may not enjoy the fast paced life of a performance dog but would have loved your lap to cuddle in. All puppies are beautiful and I offer and place them where they will do best long term, according to their temperament, personality and energy levels. I take into account whether an owner is looking for specific gender, color, etc… and if that is a hard set requirement will offer to move you to another litter hopefully meeting all of those requirements rather than placing a puppy on looks alone. I am very honest with future owners about the pros and cons of each individual puppy as we all get to know one another because I really do want them to be successful in their new homes.

I keep my puppies until they are at least 10 weeks old. At that age I only let them go to seasoned dog owners who have raised a Papillon before. Otherwise I prefer to keep them until they are 12 weeks old. When it is time for them to go home I send them with lots of instructions. As their breeder you can ALWAYS contact me with any questions and I will do my best to answer anything that comes up, short of needing a veterinarian involved. I also advise that you start building a relationship with a veterinary office before your puppy comes home so that you have that resource should anything medical arise.

Don’t worry! We have an Amazon Puppy list of all the good stuff that you’ll need!!! Even if you don’t buy it on Amazon, all of my recommendations are there. From crates, to toys to stuff to help you potty train. You’ll get the list as soon as you make a deposit on your new puppy so you’ll have plenty of time to prepare!

Puppies need to have at least three DHPP shots, with the last set being after 16 weeks of age to be considered protected. Once the final vaccine in the series has been administered it is another 7-10 days before immunity has mounted and they are protected… so depending on where they are in their series you will want to wait till they are fully covered before you trust the ground or high traffic dog areas. BUT that doesn’t mean they can’t go out in the world! Put your puppy in a stroller to go out, or put them in a sling that is close to you but still allows them experience the sights, sounds and smells of the world around them that they need to at an early age!

Our puppies are fed Royal Canin Small Breed Puppy food and are fully transitioned to this when they go home. We’ll send food home with them as well as the info on where to get it with you. You can transition them to any brand you like, but they should stay on puppy food for at least another 3 months before you transition them to an adult food. When choosing an adult food some people feed Raw and go with brands such as Stella and Chewy’s, or Small Batch Raw; others transition to Adult Dry Food. I feed my adults Nutrisource Chicken and Rice Small Bites dry food.

I start training my litters to go potty on potty pads that are housed in plastic potty pad holders. You might want to grab one of these since it’s what they are used to going on, I like them because they are very distinct to the puppy and do not resemble blankets or clothing on the floor like a plain potty pad may. Once the puppies start defecating and waddling around on their own without Mom’s help I start by covering the whelping box 90% in these potty pads then slowly scale back until they cover less than 1/3 of their pen. By the time they are 5-6 weeks they are seeking out the potty pad and I start moving them towards our dog door and place them out in the yard. Eventually the potty pads in the house are faded and removed and the puppies are choosing to go out to the yard on their own. While they are learning in your home you may need to take a step back and put a potty pad holder next to the door you will take them out at. Watch for them to go to it and if they do praise them and try to encourage them out before they go on the pad. If you miss the signs or are too late you have the potty pad as a fail safe while you are both still learning. Do not react with more than a soft good if they go on the potty pad, leave it pretty uneventful. They are not wrong and are correct in learning to gravitate towards the door when they feel the urge to go. Then when you work together well and make it outside be sure to throw a party, treats, praise and lots of love! Your puppy will quickly catch onto the fact that yes the potty pad is ok, but eliminating outside is WAY more fun! Eventually you will both learn together and will start to reach 100% outside, at that point you will be able to fade the potty pad away. Dog doors, or teaching a potty bell ring are the best ways to help your puppy be successful in making it out or communicating they need to go. Unless you are well versed at puppy potty training, this process is the easiest way to get them trained to go to the door and out the door unless you will be watching them and taking them out every hour. You should also keep your puppy in a crate or x-pen when unattended to prevent accidents elsewhere which could form bad habits. Papillons are smart and will train easily if you stay on top of their training. But many people depend on the puppy going on a potty pad long term, which if you stay at this point in the transition too long it has the undesired effect of allowing going in the house to become an accepted long term habit. So work hard at it, finish the transition away and be aware of how you teach them! 

Your puppy has been introduced to crate training and should eat and sleep in a crate for the next 3 weeks until it is accustomed to your home. Even if you don’t keep with the crate training at night and having them eat in it daily. It’s a great habit to keep just incase you need to leave them to run errands or go out for the night. The crate is also a safe spot to keep them where you know they will not be getting themselves into trouble. Staying calmly in a crate is a great skill to have incase of and emergency or natural disaster.. your dog will feel and be safe in a crate if needed.

Your veterinarian will put your puppy on a vaccine schedule based on the first shots it received here and the lifestyle you plan to have long term. We start with the minimum DHPP, Bordetella, Canine Influenza (then Rabies if still with us after 16 weeks old). Please stay with it and make sure your puppy gets all of it’s puppy shots in the series. At the end of the initial puppy series these are 1 year shots. Next year as long as you update them on time your DHPP and Rabies can be to 3 year vaccines depending on the veterinary standards in your area. Bordetella and Canine Influenza tend to be needed annually. Additional vaccines such as Lepto should be discussed and weighed with you veterinarian based on your lifestyle and risk for exposure.

It depends on the puppy and especially the child. It is up the parent to teach the children to respect and treat animals correctly. BUT with that in mind, I typically do not let my puppies go to homes with small children unless they can prove that they have taught their children to respect small animals. Papillons, especially as small puppies are fragile and their bones can easily break and they can be killed if dropped or handled too roughly. It’s not worth the risk to me to place a puppy in a home where it could be injured so I screen homes with young children VERY carefully.

Papillons are very active! They love going for walks and hikes but should not be run on pavement or allowed to jump on and off of or over large things until their growth plates have closed (usually around 18-24 months old). Papillons match their owners exercise most times, especially if they have been matched well at the time of placement. Companion dogs might need a walk each day, whereas Sport Dogs might need multiple hours of exercise as well as hiking or running a course. It all depends on the dog.

Papillons do have grooming requirements, but they do not need hair cuts and shouldn’t need to go to a groomer unless you would like for someone else to bathe, brush and trim their nails. Running a comb through their hair to loosen up and get rid of loose under coat or tangles, especially in their ears and tail each day will keep the mats at bay. If your dog does get harder to comb tangles in their ears, using cornstarch and sprinkling it over the tangled area then combing it out should make them easier to remove. You can also use detangling spray for children. Tight mats often need to be cut out, so you should avoid letting tangles go too long so they do not turn into mats. The hair on their feet should be trimmed away from their paw pads regularly, over grown hair on their feet can lead to mats between their toes and injuries due to slipping since they won’t have traction if their paw pads can’t make contact with the ground. Nail care is also important. Overgrown nails can lead to pain due to poor posture and broken nails. Again these are all things owners should be able to do on their own, but they can be done by a groomer as well if desired.

Papillons get along great with other animals! As long as they are introduced right, most Papillons can get along with almost any animal. Try to get them out and exposed to animals by visiting a dog friendly farm, friend’s dogs and cats and even other animals such as chickens and turtles. Now there are some individual Papillons that have higher prey drives and may need to be managed lifelong around small animals. This is something we keep in mind when evaluating and placing puppies.

My pricing is the same for a male or female puppy. A lot goes into raising a healthy, well-rounded puppy and my price reflects my time, energy and devotion to researching, breeding, whelping and raising the litter. Check out my puppy raising page and ask any questions that you like. My price includes genetic health testing, microchip and first shots along with pet insurance that is transferable to you. Puppies are $3500 for AKC Limited Registration. I do not sell my puppies with Full Registration. If you are interested in a future in breeding please be upfront with me and we can talk about mentorship, co-ownership, and my requirements for later lifting to full registration which involves at a minimum items such as the puppy reaching maturity and passing health and temperament testing.