PIXIEDUST
PAPILLONS
PIXIEDUST
PAPILLONS
Having trouble emailing us? Try
one of these addresses
pixiedust@pixiedustpapillons.com
or
pixiedust@hughes.net
Size of Papillons
Most potential buyers of papillons want to know how big papillon puppies will be as adult papillons. The question of papillons size is often asked in pounds. Any good papillon breeder does not breed papillons with weight as a goal. Papillon breeders who strive for show quality papillons try to breed according to the papillon breed standard. We do have the current breed standeard on our site. The Papillon Breed standard goes by height at the shoulder, not by weight. Because the amount of bone that papillons can have varies, so does the weight. Small papillons, say at 9 inches, can weigh more than 10 inch papillons simply because of bone structure. Papillons should not be coarse, but they should have enough bone to compete safely in agility. Too fine a bone can be a problem and make the papillons fragile. Too much bone can make any papillon dog look heavier than they really are. Some papillons and phalenes may be better eaters than others, just like humans, these will weigh more, but are not actually bigger overall. Height is a much more accurate way to determine the size of adult papillons. And we tend to prefer papillons that are easy to feed, as this also lessens the risk of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) when a toy breed is stressed. The weight of adult papillons is determined by the height, amount of bone, and how well-fed they are.
Another issue that surprises new buyers is the speed of growth of Papillon puppies. Papillon puppies usually reach their full HEIGHT at around 6 months. Then they stop getting taller and start to mature. So--make no mistake--the HEIGHT of papillon puppies at 6 months old will not double by the time it is a year old. And papillons are not fully mature until at least 2 years old, sometime till 2 1/2 years old.
Lots of coat and fringe on papillons can give the impression that they are larger than they really are, especially in pictures. Also, show photos of papillons on a table give the illusion that the papillon is bigger than it is in real life. Please take this into consideration when looking at papillons on the internet. Papillons may be smaller than they appear in the photos.
Breed standards vary from country to country. Imported papillons tend to be larger (sometimes much larger) and coarser than American papillons. They may also carry more fringe and coat, depending on the breeder and the bloodlines. Small, refined papillons tend to be more common in American bloodlines or imported bloodlines that are crossed with American bloodlines at this time.
Some potential buyers mistakenly believe that a papillons must have an all white body. This is NOT the breed standard. The body can have any number of patches of color in varying sizes. An all white body on papillons is neither preferred or disqualified.
The Papillons of Pixiedust average about 9 inches tall and can weigh between 5 to 7 pounds. At times, we do have both smaller and larger size papillons. We do breed our papillons with the breed standard as our goal, and as our personal preference, we do like to keep our breedings and our papillons to the middle and smaller range of the standard.