Standard pure-bred bolognese, Bichon group, small white dogs

This breed belongs to the Bichon group, thus originated from those small white dogs called "Melitensi" by Aristotle which became widespread in the Mediterranean countries. It was embarked on ships to kill the rats and gave origin to the Maltese dog and the other Bichons. In Italy, as far back as the Roman times, they were considered precious. During the Renaissance the nobility took to the habit of exchanging them as gifts and in this way they reached the court of Catherine II of Russia. This small "lady's dog" never became important in the way of numbers, and even today its population has remained rather small. One of the reasons for this is that it cannot count on an extraneous contribution of blood since the Bolognese is not bred abroad; it is therefore a rare breed. It has the typical character of country dogs, it needs close contact with the human family into which it integrates completely. Vivacious, extremely intelligent, trainable, playful but, at the same time, discreet and not intrusive. Small, mesomorphic, covered with long hair in tufts, which are raised and cover the entire animal.

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ORIGIN:	Italy
UTILIZATION:	Companion dog
FCI'S CLASSIFICATION:	Group 9: Companions and Toys - Section 1: Bichons and related Breeds. Without Working Trial.
DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE VALID ORIGINAL STANDARD:	27.11.89

BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY - Its origins are confused with those of the Maltese, because its distant ancestors are the same little dogs mentioned in Latin by Aristotle (384-322 BC) under the denomination of "canes melitenses". Already known in the Roman era, the Bolognese appears most especially among the very appreciated gifts which were made during a whole era by the powerful of that world. Cosimo de Medici (1389-1464) brought no less than eight to Brussels as gifts to as many Belgian noblemen. Philipe II, King of Spain from 1556 to 1598, after having received two as a gift from the Duke d'Este, thanks the donor in writing saying "that these two little dogs are the most royal gifts one can make to an emperor". Bolognese are represented in paintings of Titian, of Pierre Breughel called le Vieux and Goya.

GENERAL APPEARANCE - Small size, stocky and compact, covered with a pure white coat long and fluffy.

IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS - Square built, the length of the body being equal to the height at the withers.

BEHAVIOUR AND TEMPERAMENT - Very serious, generally not very active. Enterprising, docile, very much attached to his master and his entourage.

HEAD - Of medium length, reaches 1/3 of the height of the withers. Its width, measured at the level of the zygomatic arch is the same as its length.

CRANIAL REGION - The skull of slightly ovoid (egg-shaped) shape in the sagital direction and rather flat in its upper part, has rather convex sides; the protuberances of the frontal bones are well developed - The longitudinal axes of the skull and muzzle are parallel: the frontal furrow is slightly accentuated and the occipital protuberance slightly marked. The lenqth of the skull is slightly more than that of the muzzle. Stop - Rather accentuated.

FACIAL REGION - Nose - On the same line as the topline of the muzzle; seen in profile, its foreface is on the vertical, is large and must be black. Muzzle - Its length is equal to 2/5 of the lenght of the head; the topline of the muzzle is straight and the sides of the muzzle are parallel, so that the forepart of the muzzle is determined by the lower jaw. Jaws - Normally developed, with top and bottom aches perfectly adapted. Teeth - White, evenly aligned, with strong and complete dentition. Articulation of lncisors as scissor bite; pincer bite tolerated. Eyes - Set on an almost frontal plan: well opened, of superior to normal in size. Eyelid opening is round; the eyeball must not be prominent; the white of the eye is not visible. The rims of the eyelids must be black, and the iris of a dark ochre colour. Ears - High set, they are long and hanging, but rather rigid at their base, so that the upper part of the external ear is detached from the skull, giving thus the impression of the head being larger than it really is.

BODY - The dog being of a square construction, the length of the body, measured from the point of the shoulder to the point of the buttock bone is equal to that of the height at the withers. Top profile - The straight profile of the back, and that of the loin, slightly convex, merge harmoniously in the line of the croup. Withers - Not very prominent from the top line. Chest - Ample, let down to level of elbows, with well sprung ribs, the height reaching almost half of the height at the withers. Brisket - Point of sternum not very obvious. Croup - Very slightly sloping; is very wide. Under line - Following the profile of the sternum, then rises slightly towards the belly. Tail - Set in the line of the croup, carried curved over the back.

GAIT/MOVEMENT - Free, energetic, with a noble and distinguished head carriage.

SKIN - Well taut and welded to the body all over, the visible mucous membranes and the third eyelids strictly pigmented black.

COAT - Type of hair - Long all over the body, from head to tail, from the top line to the feet, shorter on the muzzle, rather fluffy, thus not lying flat, but in flocks, never forms fringes. Colour - Pure white, without any patches nor any shades of white.

SIZE AND WEIGHT - Height at withers: males 27 to 30 cm - Females 25 to 28 cm. Weight: from 2,5 to 4 kg.

FAULTS - Any departure from the foregoing points constitutes a fault which when judging must be penalized according to its seriousness and extension; the same goes for squinting (strabismus).

Note - Male should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.