Most people, interested to purchase a Papillon , want to know the approximate size as an adult of their potential prospect. Many people vision this in pounds, not realizing, that it is best to strive to obtain a Papillon bred within the breed standards. The standard goes by heights on the shoulders, not by weight measurement.There is a good bit of a difference in a 8 inch Papillon and a 11 inch one; but the 11 inch is perhaps an under eater, with small bones, and therefore weighs only little. The 8 inch Papillon may be bigger boned, eats very well and therefore weighs more. A too fine boned and a frail, low weight Papillon is susceptible to all kinds of problem: including Hyperglycemia, (low Blood Sugar), bone fractures.The standard of the American Papillon is between 8 and 11 inches; other nations, like Europe, do breed a somewhat larger Papillon, but only slightly, and not all imported Papillons from Europe fall in that category of being large.
Papillon puppies will reach their adult heights around 6-8 months, but they do not reach full maturity till about 2-2.5 years, that includes their full developed ,potential prized ear fringes.
A fully matured coat makes the Papillons look often larger than they are, and if they are of show quality, then even more so. All that fluffy hair, big ears plus abundant fringes hides the fact, that Papillons are tiny dogs with a big attitude!!
The Papillons average heights here at Road's End is about 9-10 inches and weighs between 5-7.5 LBS, but occasionally there are some a little smaller or taller, or weigh differently; but none of them in our breeding program fall outside of the AKC standards.