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](https://www.woofandbeyond.com/breeds/lg/papillon.webp) 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 5 1 independent · 5 devoted Good with young children 4 of 5 1 not suited · 5 very good Good with other dogs 4 of 5 1 not suited · 5 very good Openness to strangers 5 of 5 1 reserved · 5 everyone is a friend Watchdog / protective nature 4 of 5 1 unbothered · 5 vigilant What they will ask of you Energy 4 of 5 1 couch potato · 5 busy all day Exercise needs 5 of 5 1 a short walk · 5 a job to do Playfulness 5 of 5 1 only when invited · 5 non-stop Barking 4 of 5 1 only to alert · 5 very vocal Around the house Shedding 2 of 5 1 barely · 5 constantly Drooling 1 of 5 1 a dry mouth · 5 keep a towel What they tolerate Tolerates being alone 1 of 5 1 poorly · 5 well Tolerates hot weather 4 of 5 1 poorly · 5 well Tolerates cold weather 2 of 5 1 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 AKC](https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/papillon/)[Papillon on DogTime](https://dogtime.com/dog-breeds/papillon) ## 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. - [![](https://www.woofandbeyond.com/breeds/phalene.webp)Phalène](https://www.woofandbeyond.com/breed/phalene/) - [![](https://www.woofandbeyond.com/breeds/japanese-chin.webp)Japanese Chin](https://www.woofandbeyond.com/breed/japanese-chin/) - [![](https://www.woofandbeyond.com/breeds/pomeranian.webp)Pomeranian](https://www.woofandbeyond.com/breed/pomeranian/) - [![](https://www.woofandbeyond.com/breeds/german-spitz.webp)German Spitz](https://www.woofandbeyond.com/breed/german-spitz/) - [![](https://www.woofandbeyond.com/breeds/griffon-bruxellois.webp)Griffon Bruxellois](https://www.woofandbeyond.com/breed/griffon-bruxellois/) - [![](https://www.woofandbeyond.com/breeds/american-eskimo-dog-toy.webp)American Eskimo Dog (Toy)](https://www.woofandbeyond.com/breed/american-eskimo-dog-toy/) Side by side Height 0–38 in 1. Papillon8–11 in 2. Phalène8–11 in 3. Japanese Chin7–11 in 4. Pomeranian7–12 in 5. German Spitz12–15 in 6. Griffon Bruxellois11–13 in 7. American Eskimo Dog (Toy)9–12 in Weight 0–220 lb 1. Papillon8–10 lb 2. Phalène4–9 lb 3. Japanese Chin4 lb 4. Pomeranian3–7 lb 5. German Spitz24–26 lb 6. Griffon Bruxellois7–13 lb 7. American Eskimo Dog (Toy)5–10 lb Lifespan 0–20 yrs 1. Papillon12–15 yrs 2. Phalène12–15 yrs 3. Japanese Chin10–12 yrs 4. Pomeranian~12 yrs 5. German Spitz13–15 yrs 6. Griffon Bruxellois12–15 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 map Read about the Papillon on Wikipedia