Volpino Italiano

Breed Rating

Breed Details

General

The Volpino Italiano is an ancient and very old spitz type dog that originated in Italy several centuries ago. Descended from ancient European Spitz dogs, the Volpino Italiano has been a favorite dog of both Italian royalty and common people due to its eye pleasing looks, lively and very affectionate temperament and guarding abilities. Yes! These little dogs were originally used as guard dogs. Their job was to alert the large mastiffs to an intruder. Over the time, with their even and loving nature, they became more popular as family pets but this breed retained its protecting and guarding skills till today. Despite its long history, the Volpino Italiano, which translates to 'Italian Little Fox', is rather unknown outside its native country and is becoming rare even in its country of origin.

It is a small, squarely built dog with a slightly rounded wedge-shaped head and straight muzzle. The dog has small, pointed, fox-like ears and deep set, dark and very expressive eyes, holding alert and friendly expression. The body is covered in a rough but fluffy coat that comes in white, black, tan and red colours.

This breed is NOT recognized by AKC or any other major kennel club.

Color

This dog comes in white, black, red and tan colours.

Coat

The coat is dense, very long, straight and stand off. It is harsh to touch with straight, stiff hair. The coat is shorter on muzzle, fine and smooth on ears.

Personality

The Volpino Italiano is a very loving, affectionate and lively dog breed. While not clingy, it does bond strongly with its family and craves for attention. The dog is very gentle and playful with children. Though by nature friendly, the dog is inherently protective of its family. It is alert and attentive to its surrounding and will make a very useful watchdog. This highly active and lively breed will need an active life style which can satisfy its mental and physical needs. This breed makes an extremely active, affectionate pet that will suit an energetic family but also makes for a loving lap dog. Highly intelligent, this dog can even turn into a useful gun dog with proper training. However it has a tendency to bark and should be trained from early age not to bark without a reason. The Volpino Italiano makes an excellent family pet for all the members as well as a very vigilant watchdog.

Care

The long and dense coat of this breed will need regular brushing to keep it in tiptop condition and maintain its beautiful appearance.

Training

The Volpino Italiano is pleasingly independent in nature but with its intelligence and human oriented nature, it is generally easy to train. Harsh training methods will not suit this breed and it should be trained in a firm yet gentle manner.

Activity

The Volpino Italiano is a very lively and spunky breed that likes to be mentally and physically stimulated. A daily walk is a must for this dog as well as fair amount of play time in a secure open area. This dog loves to play fetch and other games with its family.