- Disqualifying: Pure white, very slight shades of ivory
About the Bolognese
Origin: Italy
- Typical life span
- 12-14 years
- Size
- Small — from its typical weight
- Weight
- 2.5-4 kg
- Height
- 25-30 cm
- FCI status
- Recognised by FCI
- FCI group
- Companion and Toy Dogs
- Origin
- Italy
- Known hereditary risks
- Not researched yet
About
What is a Bolognese?
A small, stocky, and compact white toy breed with a long, fluffy, pure-white cotton-like coat, belonging to the Bichon family. Known for its calm, devoted temperament and affectionate nature as a companion dog.
Bolognese history and origins
An ancient noble breed of the Bichon family, originating in Bologna, Italy, dating to 11th-12th centuries. Prized companions to royalty and aristocracy from the Roman era through the Renaissance, favored as palace companions.
Bolognese appearance and size
Typically 2.5-4 kg and 25-30 cm at the shoulder — published as one range rather than separately for males and females.
What the breed standard says
- Bred for
- Companion dog
- Behaviour and temperament
“Very serene, generally not very active. Eventful but calm very faithful to his master and his entourage”
Quoted from FCI standard n°196. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Breed reference from The Dog API.
Characteristics
- Size
- Small
- Exercise needsRead from what the breed was bred to do, in the registry’s own words: “Companion dog” That is a working purpose, not a measured exercise requirement — an individual dog’s needs depend on its age, health and household.
- 2 of 5
- Easy to train
- —
- Amount of shedding
- —
- Grooming needs
- 4 of 5
- Good with children
- —
- Cost to keep
- —
- Tolerates being alone
- —
- Intelligence
- —
- Health of breed
- Not researched yet
Pros & cons
Pros & cons for the Bolognese
What you get with the Bolognese
- Purpose stated in the standard: “Companion dog”
- The standard describes the breed as: “Very serene, generally not very active. Eventful but calm very faithful to his master and his entourage”
- Longer-lived than a crossbred dog — median 14.9 years across 194 animals, against 12
What you are taking on
- High grooming needs — the standard’s own description is “Long all over the body, from head to tail, from the top line to the feet.”
Drawn from sources rather than written as an opinion — cited health research, the registry’s own standard, and peer-reviewed longevity. FCI breed standard; McMillan et al. 2024, median age at death. One breeder’s animals can differ from any of it, and an empty column means we hold nothing for that side rather than that there is nothing to say.
Characteristics
FCI standard · Bolognese
Coat and colour
As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording, tagged disqualifying.
Coat
Long all over the body, from head to tail, from the top line to the feet.
It is shorter on the muzzle.
Forms long flocks that have the same texture all over the body, rather off-standing coat thus not falling flat and tight, never shows fringes
Colour
- Preferred
- Permissible
- Undesirable
- Disqualifying
Preferred, permissible, undesirable and disqualifying are FCI’s own words about the breed. They describe what the standard asks for — not an assessment of any individual dog, and not ours.
Shortened from FCI standard n°196 — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.
What the standard penalises
What a judge marks the Bolognese down for, and what puts one out of the ring, in the registry’s own words. This describes the breed standard — it is not a checklist for the animal in front of you, and a pet with a disqualifying fault is an unshowable dog rather than an unhealthy one.
Severe faults
Marked heavily against a specimen in the ring.
- Accentuated convergence or divergence of the upper longitudinal axes.
- Convex muzzle (Roman nose).
- Undershot.
- Size in males under 25 cm and over 33 cm and size in females under 22 cm or over 32 cm
Disqualifying faults
Puts an animal out of the ring altogether.
- Depigmentation of the nose.
- Nose of any other colour than black.
- Undershot - very exaggerated with teeth showing and mal-shaped muzzle.
- Bilateral depigmentation of the eyelids.
- Wall-eyed.
- Tail less.
- Shortened tail whether natural or artificial.
- Any other colour than white.
- Patches and flecks
Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the Bolognese in general; any individual animal can differ.
Health guide
What to ask for in a Bolognese
No breed-specific health panel has been written up for the Bolognese on this platform yet. That is a gap in our records, not a clean bill of health — ask the breeder which hereditary conditions their lines are tested for, and ask to see the results for both parents, dated and from a named laboratory.
Gallery
No photographs yet
This is where Bolognese owners’ own photographs will go, from the pet profiles they keep here. Nobody has added one to a public page yet.
A photograph in a pet profile stays private to its owner. We will not put one here unless they ask us to.
Puppies
No puppies listed right now
No Bolognese breeder has a record on this platform yet, so there is nothing to list. That is a gap in our coverage, not a fact about the breed.