- 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
- Reconocida por la 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.
Referencia de la raza de The Dog API.
Características
- Tamaño
- Small
- Necesidad de ejercicio
- —
- Facilidad de adiestramiento
- —
- Caída de pelo
- 1 of 5
- Cuidados del pelo
- 4 of 5
- Convivencia con niños
- —
- Coste de mantenimiento
- —
- Tolera quedarse solo
- —
- Inteligencia
- —
- Salud de la raza
- 3 conditions documented
Pros & cons
Pros y contras de la raza Continental Toy Spaniel
Lo que obtienes con la raza Continental Toy Spaniel
- Descrito habitualmente como: «Friendly, intelligent, alert, energetic»
Lo que asumes
- Están documentadas 2 enfermedades hereditarias graves, sobre todo en cerebro y nervios y ojos. La pestaña de la guía de salud tiene la prueba que hay que pedir en cada una.
- Exige muchos cuidados del pelo — la descripción del propio estándar es «forming fringes at the ears and at the back of the forelegs»
Extraído de fuentes y no escrito como opinión — investigación de salud citada, el estándar del propio registro, y estudios de longevidad revisados por pares. 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); Estándar de la raza, FCI. Los animales de un criador pueden diferir de todo esto, y una columna vacía significa que no tenemos nada de ese lado, no que no haya nada que decir.
Characteristics
Estándar de la FCI · Continental Toy Spaniel
Pelo y color
Tal como lo establece el estándar de la FCI. Cada línea de abajo está en las palabras del propio estándar, etiquetada con 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
Color
- Preferred
- Permissible
- Undesirable
- Disqualifying
«Preferred», «permissible», «undesirable» y «disqualifying» — preferido, admisible, indeseable y descalificante — son las palabras de la propia FCI sobre la raza, y quedan en inglés porque así constan en el estándar. Describen lo que el estándar pide — no son una valoración de ningún perro concreto, ni nuestra.
Resumido de FCI standard n°77 — cada etiqueta está en las palabras del propio estándar, con el veredicto pasado a la etiqueta de al lado. Lee la cláusula completa en la fuente.
Lo que dice el estándar de la raza
- Tamaño
- “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”
- La FCI define clases de tamaño, cada una con su propio intervalo.
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
Temperamento
Friendlyintelligentalertenergetichappy
Información a nivel de raza, de The Dog API. Describe la raza Continental Toy Spaniel en general; cualquier animal concreto puede ser distinto.
Health guide
Health & screening guide for the Continental Toy Spaniel
Riesgos hereditarios conocidos en la raza Continental Toy Spaniel, y la documentación concreta que hay que pedir a cualquier criador antes de pagar una señal. Un criador responsable tiene esta documentación a mano; esquivar la pregunta es mala señal.
3 enfermedades documentadasEsto es literatura a nivel de raza, no asesoramiento veterinario sobre un animal concreto — tu veterinario conoce al 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.
Qué pedir
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'.
Qué pedir
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.
Qué pedir
DNA test for PRA-1 on both parents, plus an annual OFA eye exam.
Cuánto vive la raza Continental Toy Spaniel, en los registros
Supervivencia mediana de 14,5 años
Intervalo de confianza al 95% de 14,1–14,9 años, a partir de 427 muertes registradas entre 1114 perros
Riesgo de mortalidad de 0.57 (0.52, 0.63) respecto a perros mestizos, cuya mediana es de 12,0 años.
Medido en el Reino Unido a partir de 584.734 perros. La supervivencia mediana no es una predicción para un perro concreto.
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
Todavía sin fotografías
Aquí es donde irán las fotografías de los propios dueños de Continental Toy Spaniel, desde los perfiles de sus animales que mantienen aquí. Nadie ha añadido ninguna a una página pública todavía.
Una fotografía en un perfil de animal queda privada de su dueño. No pondremos ninguna aquí a menos que nos lo pidan.
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.