Papillons and Kids

Small dog and small child, what could be cuter, right? Except the reality is that it rarely works out. Papillons are typically not a good choice for a household with very small children, or older children who want to be able to "roughhouse" with a dog, because of their small size. This breed also tends to have pretty high self-esteem; a Papillon will protect itself if it feels threatened or mistreated. While your kids are definitely angels and would never mistreat any animal, any home with a dog and children requires lots of extra commitment and constant supervision by the adults in the household to ensure that everyone treats each other responsibly. We find that when people add a Papillon to a household with children, the parents usually have a dog and have kids, but the kids don't have a dog. Please consider this if you've found our page while searching for a child's pet or a family pet.

Papillons and Other Pets

Papillons generally do well with other pets, especially other small dogs. Because they are small and fine-boned, Papillons can easily be injured or even killed by a large dog that views them as prey, is active and energetic, or just unintentionally steps on or stumbles over a Pap. If you have other larger dogs in your household now, please assess the situation realistically when considering adding a 5- to 12-lb member to your canine pack. Experience and commitment to close supervision and/or segregation is required when managing a multiple-dog household with any size disparity, to ensure everyone's safety and longevity.

Papillons and cats generally share households quite well and can even become fast friends and playmates. However, cat's claws may represent a danger to Papillon eyes, so initial contact should always be supervised.