Volpino Italiano

The Volpino Italiano is a small Italian spitz dog whose name refers to its fox-like outline. It has upright ears, a curled plume tail, a square little body, and a dense stand-off coat most often seen in white, with red accepted or remembered in some lines. Long kept as an alert house and farm watchdog as well as a companion, the Volpino belongs to the same broad spitz family as Pomeranian-type dogs but has its own Italian history and breed standard. Numbers dropped sharply in the twentieth century before dedicated breeders rebuilt the population.

A Volpino is small enough for apartment life, yet it is not a silent lap ornament. It tends to notice every visitor, so early reward-based training helps keep alarm barking from becoming a household problem. The coat needs regular brushing, especially during seasonal shedding, but trimming is usually unnecessary. Sensible breeders pay attention to knees, teeth, and inherited eye disease, including primary lens luxation in lines where testing is relevant. People looking for one should expect a lively, bright dog and a smaller breeder network than for more common toy breeds.

Colors: Albino, Apricot, Bicolor, Black, Black and Tan, Black and White, Black Mask, Blue, Blue and Tan, Blue Merle, Blue Roan, Blue Tick, Brindle, Brown, Brown and Tan, Brown and White, Chocolate, Cream, Dapple, Domino, Fawn, Fawn and White, Gold, Gray, Grey, Harlequin, Irish Marked, Leucistic, Liver, Liver Mask, Mantle, Mask, Melanistic, Merle, Mottled, Parti-Color, Piebald, Red, Red and White, Red Merle, Red Roan, Red Tick, Reverse Brindle, Roan, Sable, Saddle, Silver, Speckled, Spotted, Tan, Ticked, Tricolor, Tuxedo, White, Yellow