The Bolognese became the most preferred pet of royalty in Spain after Cosimo the Elder brought some of them from Italy as gifts in the 1400s. In paintings by Francisco Goya and Tiziano Vecelli, the Bolognese were proudly displayed as the pets used in their art work. For the next few hundred years, the popularity of the cute little Bolognese dogs spread throughout all of Europe and the citizens soon began adopting them for themselves. This increased popularity could not keep the numbers from dropping dramatically and the Bolognese neared extinction at the close of the 20th century. Even today, there are still less than 1,000 registered Bolognese dogs in the United States.http://www.bolognesedog.com/

All Bolognese dogs are encased in a thick coat of fluffy, white fur and some can be seen with faint blonde highlights in the undercoating with fur that is usually somewhat curly and long. They make perfect show dogs, not just because of the unusually beautiful angelic white hair that bounce around them when they trot around the showroom, but because the height and length of their body are the same.http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/bolognese.htm

This is not only one of the cutest toy dogs you will ever see, but the Bolognese are truly a healthy breed of dog. There are not many genetic health problems to report. But there is the possibility of luxating patellashttp://puppydogweb.com/bolognese.htm which is a common problem in small toy dogs like the Poodle, Pomeranian and the Bolognese. The problem is easily recognised, you will see your pet running and playing when they suddenly yelp and stop with their hind leg raised high in the air. After a few minutes of obvious pain, your pet will slowly lower their leg and resume playing as if nothing has happened. If your pet develops this condition, you can expect to see the evidence at least once a month.

Some animals are affected more than others and the affected leg will remain raised for longer than a few minutes and sometimes, the condition can affect both hind legs. When this happens, your pet will sometimes begin to walk their front legs while holding both of their back legs up in the air, at all times. In some cases, in order to fix the problem, surgery is needed and within 30 to 60 days, they are completely healed. http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+2084&aid=457

If you live in an apartment or if you're constantly busy and you can't get out for long walks everyday, the Bolognese will be a great choice as a pet for you. Because Bolognese are so small and compact, they are naturally able to burn off their pent-up energy during their playtime, throughout the evening at home with a little help from you. Tossing a rubber ball or a small toy inside the apartment to your pet several times per day will compensate for the time not spent outdoors.

Even though you can get away with foregoing the everyday exercise walk, your Bolognese will appreciate a long, leisurely stroll a few days each week so that they can run, jump and play without the confines of the apartment.http://www.bolognesedog.com/ If you have a fenced in yard, this will be the ideal place for Bolognese dogs. Playing with the family is a favorite pastime and it is a great way to get the necessary exercise.http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/bolognese.htm