A Volpino Italiano is a white breed of dog of the spitz family.
History
Spitz types were found throughout the ancient world. Specimens from this group have been found preserved in European peat bogs which anthropologists trace to 4000 BC. The remains—with curly tails, foxy heads, and small erect ears—have been found dating back over 5,000 years. These little pets wore decorative ivory bracelets and collars. Engravings of similar dogs were found in Greece, and these have been determined to date to about 400 BC.
The Volpino has been known and loved by Italian royalty for centuries, being a special favorite of the ladies. Although bearing a strong resemblance to the Pomeranian, the breed is much older and thus has a different background. The northern dogs found their way south very early in the history of domesticated dogs. The Italian word for wolf is lupo, and the Keeshond is called both Lupino and Volpino in Italian, so Volpino may be an old term for wolfdog or wolf spitz. Despite his long history, the Volpino is unknown outside of Italy and is now quite rare even in his homeland.
Despite its diminutive size, this dog was original kept as a guard dog. Its job was to alert the large mastiffs to an intruder. However due to their lovely temperament and intelligence they also became popular as pets. For unknown reasons the breed’s popularity dropped and in 1965 the last dogs were registered. In 1984 an attempt was made to revive the breed. It was the dogs that were still living as guard dogs on farms that were used to breed from. Volpinos are still rare with about 500 dogs world wide. Most are in Italy but some people are now breeding in Scandinavia, UK and USA.
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