Breeds / Toy
Volpino Italiano puppies
Lively, alert and closely bonded to its people, the Volpino Italiano is a small white Italian spitz with a stand off double coat and a long history as a household watchdog.
The facts
- Size class Toy
- Country of origin Italy
- Adult weight 3.6 to 7.3 kg
- Adult weight in pounds 8 to 16 lb
- Adult height 27 to 30 cm
- Energy level Moderate
- Grooming Low
- Coat type Long
- Typical lifespan 12 to 15 years
- Good with children Fine with supervision
- Good with other dogs Fine with supervision
Where these come from:
About the Volpino Italiano
The Volpino Italiano is an Italian spitz that has been around since the Renaissance, kept both in grand households and by working people, where it served as a small alarm dog on farms and barges rather than as a hunter. It is a compact toy dog carrying a stand off double coat, usually white, with a plumed tail over the back and small pricked ears. Character is lively, attentive and closely bonded to its household, watchful with strangers and confident well beyond its size.
It is more active than the size suggests and needs daily walks, play and puzzles, since a bored Volpino turns destructive quickly. The coat looks demanding but a thorough brush two or three times a week keeps it clean and free of mats, and frequent bathing dries the skin out. Rated three out of five with children and with other pets, it does best with supervision and early socialisation. The common mistake is treating it as an ornament: this is an indoor dog that needs company and something to think about.
What to expect at eight weeks
At eight weeks a Volpino Italiano puppy is sleeping around 18 to 20 hours a day, is not house trained, and cannot hold on for more than an hour or two at a stretch. A toy breed puppy at eight weeks is small enough to be genuinely fragile. It can be hurt by a jump off a sofa and by being stepped on, and toy breeds are prone to low blood sugar, so it needs frequent small meals rather than two big ones. Expect moderate energy, in short bursts separated by long naps. Grooming is straightforward, but start handling the coat, feet and ears in week one anyway so it is never a fight later. The socialisation window is open and closing: everything it meets calmly now, from vacuum cleaners to men in hats, is easier for the rest of its life.
Health worth knowing about
Conditions this breed is reported to be predisposed to. Predisposed does not mean inevitable, it means ask about it.
- Primary lens luxation (PLL), detectable by DNA test, with results recorded through OFA
- Patellar luxation, found on a routine patella evaluation
- Anal gland impaction, found on veterinary examination and managed by regular expression
- Periodontal disease, found at routine dental examination and kept down by tooth brushing
From Volpino Italiano breed information at https://www.akc.org/dog-breeds/volpino-italiano/. Discuss any of these with your own vet.
Your Volpino Italiano puppy's first six months
- Vaccination schedule, dated for your country.
- Worming and parasite schedule.
- Feeding calculator. Set expected adult size to Toy for a Volpino Italiano.
- Adult size predictor, to check growth against the 3.6 to 7.3 kg adult range.
- Puppy names and the first week checklist.
Other toy breeds
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Not veterinary advice. Breed information is general. Your own dog, and your own vet, always win.