The papillon also called the Continental Toy Spaniel, is a breed

Dog breed

Dog breeds are groups of closely related and visibly similar domestic dogs, which are all of the subspecies Canis lupus familiaris, having characteristic traits that are selected and maintained by humans, bred from a known foundation stock....

 of dog

Dog

The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...

 of the Spaniel

Spaniel

A spaniel is a type of gun dog. It is assumed spaniels originated from Spain as the word spaniel may be derived from Hispania or possibly from the French phrase "Chiens de l’Espagnol" . Spaniels were especially bred to flush game out of dense brush. By the late 17th century spaniels had become...

 type

Dog type

Dog types are broad categories of dogs based on function, with dogs identified primarily by specific function or style of work rather than by lineage or appearance....

. One of the oldest of the toy

Toy Group

Toy Group is the name of a breed Group of the smallest kinds of dogs, used by kennel clubs to classify a defined collection of dog breeds. Toy Group does not necessarily refer to one particular type of dog. Most major English-language kennel clubs include a Toy Group although different kennel clubs...

 Spaniels, it derives its name from its characteristic butterfly-like look of the long and fringed hair on the ears. A papillon with dropped ears is called a phalène

Phalène

The Phalène is the drop-eared version of the Papillon, a toy breed also known as the Butterfly Dog or the Continental Toy Spaniel .-History:...

 (French for moth). The small head is slightly rounded between the ears with a well defined stop. The muzzle is somewhat short, thin tapering to the nose.