- Preferred: White with markings of black or symmetrically distributed from around eyes over ears as on whole body
- Preferred: Especially white and wide blaze from muzzle to crown
About the Japanese Chin
Origin: Japan
- Typical life span
- 10-12 years
- Size
- Small — from its typical weight
- Weight
- 1.8-5 kg
- Height
- 20-28 cm
- FCI status
- Recognised by FCI
- FCI group
- Companion and Toy Dogs
- Origin
- Japan
- Also called
- Spaniel Japones
- Known hereditary risks
- Not researched yet
About
What is a Japanese Chin?
Small, elegant toy breed with distinctive flat face, large wide-set eyes, and luxurious silky coat. Known for their aristocratic bearing and unique cat-like demeanor, often cleaning their faces and perching in high places.
Japanese Chin history and origins
Ancient breed believed to have originated in the Chinese imperial court, then refined in Japan by nobility as cherished lap dogs and companions. Often given as gifts to diplomats and royalty, including to Commodore Matthew Perry who brought them to the West in 1853.
Japanese Chin appearance and size
Typically 1.8-5 kg and 20-28 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
“Clever, mild and lovely”
Quoted from FCI standard n°206. 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 Japanese Chin
What you get with the Japanese Chin
- Purpose stated in the standard: “Companion dog”
- The standard describes the breed as: “Clever, mild and lovely”
What you are taking on
- High grooming needs — the standard’s own description is “The ears, neck, thighs and tail have profuse feathering.”
Drawn from sources rather than written as an opinion — cited health research, the registry’s own standard, and peer-reviewed longevity. 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 · Japanese Chin
Coat and colour
As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording, tagged preferred.
Coat
Silky, straight and long.
Whole body except face covered with profuse hair.
The ears, neck, thighs and tail have profuse feathering. red.
Markings
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°206 — 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 Japanese Chin 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.
Disqualifying faults
Puts an animal out of the ring altogether.
- Wry lower jaw.
- Tricolour
Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the Japanese Chin in general; any individual animal can differ.
Health guide
What to ask for in a Japanese Chin
No breed-specific health panel has been written up for the Japanese Chin 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 Japanese Chin 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 Japanese Chin 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.