- All colours on a coat with a white background
- On the body and legs, the white must be dominant in relation to the colour.
- The white on the head preferably extended by a more or less wide blaze.
- Undesirable: A white marking on the lower part of the head, but dominant white on the head constitutes a fault
- In all cases, the lips, the eyelids and principally the nose must be pigmented
About the Continental Toy Spaniel
Origin: Belgium, France
- Size
- Small — from its typical weight
- Weight
- 2-4.5 kg
- Height
- 20-28 cm
- FCI status
- Recognised by FCI
- FCI groupFCI divides this breed into varieties, and our sources don’t record which one a breeder works. Ask them which variety their line is.
- Companion and Toy Dogs
- Origin
- Belgium, France
- Also called
- Spaniel Continental Enano de Compania
- Known hereditary risks
- 3 documented conditions, with the test for each
About
What is a Continental Toy Spaniel?
Small, fine-boned, and elegant toy spaniel with distinctive butterfly-like ears (papillon is French for 'butterfly') and silky flowing coat, known for their alert, friendly, and energetic nature
Continental Toy Spaniel history and origins
Descended from continental toy spaniels that were popular in European courts for centuries, appearing in paintings by masters like Titian, Goya, and Rubens. The breed was refined in France and Belgium, with the original drop-eared variety (Phalène) later joined by the erect-eared 'butterfly' version (Papillon)
Continental Toy Spaniel appearance and size
Typically 2-4.5 kg and 20-28 cm at the shoulder — published as one range rather than separately for males and females.
Continental Toy Spaniel temperament and personality
Generally described as friendly, intelligent, alert, energetic and happy.
That is the breed in general, not a promise about one animal. Ask the breeder what their own line is like, and meet the parents before you decide.
Breed reference from The Dog API.
Characteristics
- Size
- Small
- Exercise needs
- —
- Easy to train
- —
- Amount of shedding
- 1 of 5
- Grooming needs
- 4 of 5
- Good with children
- —
- Cost to keep
- —
- Tolerates being alone
- —
- Intelligence
- —
- Health of breed
- 3 conditions documented
Pros & cons
Pros & cons for the Continental Toy Spaniel
What you get with the Continental Toy Spaniel
- Commonly described as: “Friendly, intelligent, alert, energetic”
What you are taking on
- 2 serious inherited conditions are documented, mainly in brain & nerves and eyes. The health guide tab has the test to ask for on each.
- High grooming needs — the standard’s own description is “forming fringes at the ears and at the back of the forelegs”
Drawn from sources rather than written as an opinion — cited health research, the registry’s own standard, and peer-reviewed longevity. The Dog API; Initial survey of PLA2G6 missense variant causing neuroaxonal dystrophy in Papillon dogs in North America and Europe (Raj & Giger, Canine Med Genet 2020); FCI breed standard. 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 · Continental Toy Spaniel
Coat and colour
As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording, tagged undesirable.
Coat
The coat, without undercoat, is abundant, glossy, wavy (not to be confused with curly), not soft but slightly resistant to the touch, with silky reflections.
The hairs are inserted flat
they are quite fine, slightly curved by the wave.
The appearance of the coat is similar to that of the English Toy Spaniels, but it differs definitely from that of the Pekingese Spaniel
at the same time it should not have any resemblance to the coat of the Spitz.
The hair is short on the face, the muzzle, the front of the legs and the underneath part of the hock.
Of medium length on the body, it gets longer on the neck to form a ruff and jabot, descending in waves on the chest
forming fringes at the ears and at the back of the forelegs
at the back of the thighs, an ample culotte with soft hair.
There may be small tufts of hair between the toes and may even extend slightly beyond providing they do not give a heavy appearance to the foot, but rather give it a finer appearance by lengthening it.
Certain dogs in good coat condition have hair 7,5 cm long at the withers and fringes of 15 cm on the tail
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°77 — 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 breed standard says
- Size
- “Height at the withers: About 28 cm. Weight: two categories: 1) Less than 2,5 kg for dogs and bitches. 2) From 2,5 kg to 4,5 kg for dogs, from 2,5 kg to 5 kg for bitches. Minimum weight 1,5 kg”
- FCI names size classes, each with its own range.
Quoted from FCI standard n°77. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
FCI varieties
FCI divides the Continental Toy Spaniel into these varieties, listed in the registry's own words. Depending on the breed they separate colour, coat, size or line — they are not a full list of colours, which no registry we hold publishes. Ask a breeder which variety their line is.
- Papillon - with erect ears
- Phalène - with drooping ears
Temperament
Friendlyintelligentalertenergetichappy
Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the Continental Toy Spaniel in general; any individual animal can differ.
Health guide
Health & screening guide for the Continental Toy Spaniel
Known hereditary risks for the Continental Toy Spaniel breed, and the specific documentation to request from any breeder before paying a deposit. A responsible breeder will have these readily available; deflection is a red flag.
3 conditions documentedThis is breed-level literature, not veterinary advice about an individual animal — your vet knows the animal.
Health checklist (PDF)Bones & joints
Patellar luxation
Monitor
The kneecap slips out of its groove. OFA patella screening is one of the tests the parent club requires for a CHIC number, alongside eye and cardiac exams.
What to ask for
OFA patellar luxation exam (graded 0-4) on both parents.
Brain & nerves
Neuroaxonal dystrophy (NAD)
Serious
A rapidly progressive, fatal degeneration of nerve fibres caused by a PLA2G6 gene mutation. Affected puppies typically develop ataxia, tremor and weakness before six months old, and the disease is relentlessly progressive with no treatment. It has been documented in Papillon-coated dogs since the 1990s, and a validated DNA test for the causative mutation has existed since 2015. Papillon and Phalène are the same FCI breed, differing only in ear carriage, and are commonly interbred, so the mutation would be expected to occur in Phalène-coated dogs at a similar rate, although the published case series specifically name 'Papillon'.
What to ask for
DNA test for the PLA2G6 mutation on both parents.
Eyes
Progressive retinal atrophy (PRA-1)
Serious
An inherited retinal degeneration leading to progressive blindness. The parent club has worked with researchers to develop a DNA test for this form of PRA in the breed.
What to ask for
DNA test for PRA-1 on both parents, plus an annual OFA eye exam.
How long the Continental Toy Spaniel lives, in the records
Median survival 14.5 years
95% confidence interval 14.1–14.9 years, from 427 recorded deaths among 1,114 dogs
Mortality hazard 0.57 (0.52, 0.63) relative to crossbred dogs, whose median is 12.0 years.
Measured in the United Kingdom from 584,734 dogs. Median survival is not a prediction for an individual dog.
McMillan, K.M., Bielby, J., Williams, C.L., Upjohn, M.M., Casey, R.A. & Christley, R.M. (2024) Longevity of companion dog breeds: those at risk from early death. Scientific Reports 14, 531.
Gallery
No photographs yet
This is where Continental Toy Spaniel 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 Continental Toy Spaniel 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.