Skip to content
Woof & Beyond
Breed

Papillon

The Papillon is a toy breed from Belgium / France, standing 8–11 in at the withers, weighing males 8–10 lb · females 7–9 lb. Recorded lifespan is 12–15 yrs.

A photograph of the Papillon
Breed group
Toy
Origin
Belgium / France
Height
8–11 in
Weight
males 8–10 lb · females 7–9 lb
Lifespan
12–15 yrs

Among the 500 breeds here with recorded measurements, the Papillon is taller than 2% of the measured breeds, heavier than 3%, one of 20 in the Toy group.

Compare the Papillon with another breed

Living with the Papillon

Two breed references score every breed they cover from 1 to 5 on the things an owner lives with day to day. These are the Papillon’s, with what a 1 and a 5 mean on each row.

Around people and other dogs
Affection with family
5 of 51 independent · 5 devoted
Good with young children
4 of 51 not suited · 5 very good
Good with other dogs
4 of 51 not suited · 5 very good
Openness to strangers
5 of 51 reserved · 5 everyone is a friend
Watchdog / protective nature
4 of 51 unbothered · 5 vigilant
What they will ask of you
Energy
4 of 51 couch potato · 5 busy all day
Exercise needs
5 of 51 a short walk · 5 a job to do
Playfulness
5 of 51 only when invited · 5 non-stop
Barking
4 of 51 only to alert · 5 very vocal
Around the house
Shedding
2 of 51 barely · 5 constantly
Drooling
1 of 51 a dry mouth · 5 keep a towel
What they tolerate
Tolerates being alone
1 of 51 poorly · 5 well
Tolerates hot weather
4 of 51 poorly · 5 well
Tolerates cold weather
2 of 51 poorly · 5 well

Rated 1 to 5 by the American Kennel Club and DogTime, averaged where both rate the same thing, and read from their breed pages in 2022. Nobody at Woof & Beyond has met this breed — these are the publishers’ judgments, not ours.Papillon on AKCPapillon on DogTime

Breeds that look like the Papillon

A neural network trained to tell breeds apart by sight read all 510 photographs in this reference, and these are the 6 it placed closest to the Papillon.

Side by side

Height 0–38 in

  1. Papillon
    8–11 in
  2. Phalène
    8–11 in
  3. Japanese Chin
    7–11 in
  4. Pomeranian
    7–12 in
  5. German Spitz
    12–15 in
  6. Griffon Bruxellois
    11–13 in
  7. American Eskimo Dog (Toy)
    9–12 in

Weight 0–220 lb

  1. Papillon
    8–10 lb
  2. Phalène
    4–9 lb
  3. Japanese Chin
    4 lb
  4. Pomeranian
    3–7 lb
  5. German Spitz
    24–26 lb
  6. Griffon Bruxellois
    7–13 lb
  7. American Eskimo Dog (Toy)
    5–10 lb

Lifespan 0–20 yrs

  1. Papillon
    12–15 yrs
  2. Phalène
    12–15 yrs
  3. Japanese Chin
    10–12 yrs
  4. Pomeranian
    ~12 yrs
  5. German Spitz
    13–15 yrs
  6. Griffon Bruxellois
    12–15 yrs
  7. American Eskimo Dog (Toy)
    13–15 yrs

Nothing here was grouped by hand. The ranking is an opinion about appearance, not about ancestry, which is why it sometimes puts together breeds no kennel club would — and why it is worth looking at the photographs rather than taking the order on trust.

See the Papillon on the breed mapRead about the Papillon on Wikipedia
Woof & Beyond

Straight answers about living with a dog, written one question at a time.

Quick Links
SearchBreed ExplorerAboutContact
Elsewhere
Pinterest
© 2026 Woof & BeyondWritten by The Woof & Beyond Team