Quick Links: Table of Contents
- Bolognese Breed Overview
- History of the Bolognese Breed. Where Bologneses came from
- What the Bolognese Looks Like
- How Much is the Bolognese Puppy?
- What Colors do Bologneses Have?
- How Long Bologneses Live
- Bolognese Litter Size
- How Fast Bologneses Can Run
- Health Problems in Bologneses and How to Prevent Them
- Dog Breeds That Are Similar to Bologneses
- Other Things to Know About Bologneses
Bolognese Breed Overview
The Bolognese is a tiny-sized dog.
The adult Bolognese stands 9 to 12 inches tall at the shoulder.
The Bolognese belongs to the Companion Dogs group.
Dogs in the Companion Dogs group, like the Bolognese, were bred to be companions for humans. Their main goal in life is to be with people, and they will be very sad if left to themselves for long hours day after day.
The fact that Bologneses belong to the Companion Dogs group is one of the reasons why Bologneses have the personality and temperament that they have.
The temperament of the Bolognese is generally described as:
- Docile
- Enterprising
- Loyal
- Reserved
- Serious
History of the Bolognese Breed. Where Bologneses came from
The Bolognese was named after the Italian city of Bologna.
It is thought that the breed was first established in Bologna.
This lively pup belonged to the Bichon breed (Maltese, Havanese, Bichon Frise, and the Coton de Tulear).
The breed was first mentioned during the Italian Renaissance.
The wealthy kept them as companion dogs and gave them to nobility.
In tapestry and artwork, the breed was depicted as a loving pet to royalty and dignitaries.
The Bolos were painted alongside their beloved owners by artists such as Francisco de Goya, Tiziano Vecellio, and Antoine Watteau.
In fact, Aristotle mentioned the Bolognese in a few of his writings.
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What the Bolognese Looks Like
The Bolognese is a stocky, small dog.
This breed is spunky and bright, with a square muscular build and a pure white, fluffy coat.
The head is medium in length.
Despite their small stature, the Bolo has powerful jaws.
Teeth are white and evenly spaced.
They have a perky black nose.
Their eyes are large and round, giving them a curious look, and the rims of their eyelids are black.
A thick coat can almost completely conceal the eyes.
The ears are set high and pendulum-shaped.
The tail is carried curved across the back.
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How Much is the Bolognese Puppy?
The average price of a Bolognese puppy is $2030. The price of a Bolognese puppy ranges from $1888 to $2162.
A lot of factors determine the price of the Bolognese. These factors include what health records the Bolognese puppy has, the lineage of the Bolognese puppy, the US state the breeder is located in, etc.
To estimate how much you can expect to pay for a puppy Bolognese based on the many factors that determine the price of the Bolognese puppy, check out our calculator that lets you estimate how much you should expect to pay for the Bolognese puppy based on what you want in the puppy.
When looking to buy a puppy, look at buying a puppy only from well-established breeders that breed puppies primarily for the love of the Bolognese breed, and secondarily for profit. Do not buy a puppy from a puppy mill. Puppy mills mass-produce puppies in bad living conditions for maximum profit.
You may also consider adopting instead of buying a puppy. Adoption costs are very low compared to the price of a puppy.
What Colors do Bologneses Have?
Bologneses come in the following beautiful primary colors:
Bologneses come in the following lovely secondary colors in addition to their primary colors:
How Long Bologneses Live
The lifespan of the Bolognese is typically from 12 to 14 years.
Bologneses live long if they eat well, drink well, exercise well, and visit the veterinarian regularly.
Bolognese Litter Size
Researchers from the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science did a study where they counted the numbers of puppies in 9 different Bolognese birth litters.
From this study, the researchers found that the average number of puppies that Bologneses can have is 4 puppies. Also, the Bolognese can have as few as 2 puppies per litter and as many as 6 puppies per litter.
The number of puppies that the Bolognese will have depends on factors such as the age of the Bolognese, the method of pregnancy, etc.
Click here to see our calculator for predicting how many puppies your Bolognese will have and how the litter size of the Bolognese compares to the litter size of other dog breeds.
How Fast Bologneses Can Run
How fast a dog breed can run is a good measure of how athletic the dog breed is.
The American Kennel Club (AKC) regularly conducts dog running competitions. The AKC records the running speed of competing dogs in these competitions. These competitions are open to all dog breeds.
Based on our analysis of the speeds of 1 different Bologneses, the average speed of the Bolognese is 17.8 mph (28.7 kmph).
The fastest speed on AKC record that the Bolognese ran in a race is 18.56 mph (29.9 kmph) and the minimum speed on record in a race for a Bolognese is 16.59 mph (26.7 kmph).
Click here to see how the speed of the Bolognese compares to the speed of other dogs and other mammals such as cats, horses, humans, etc.
Health Problems in Bologneses and How to Prevent Them
Every dog breed has its own set of health problems that it tends to develop. There is nothing like a perfect dog breed.
The Bolognese is prone to certain genetic health conditions. The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) is an organization that keeps track of genetic health problems in dog breeds.
From the extensive records that the OFA keeps, the OFA knows what health problems each dog breed is naturally prone to develop.
Hence, the OFA recommends which health screening breeders should perform on a dog breed to make sure that the breeders won`t breed `defective` dog parents that can pass down defective genes to their puppy offspring.
If you want a Bolognese puppy that will grow up to be healthy, make sure that your Bolognese breeder screens your puppy or your puppy`s parents for the health problems that the OFA recommends for your puppy`s breed. This will increase the chances that your puppy is free from genetic defects.
The following are the health tests that Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) recommends that breeders should screen Bologneses for:
You can find out more about OFA`s recommended tests for Bologneses here.
Dog Breeds That Are Similar to Bologneses
If you have not made up your mind on which dog breed to get, you may also want to consider some other dogs similar to the Bolognese.
We crunched the numbers and found that the following dog breeds that have similar behavior and temperament as the Bolognese:
- Bichon Frise (73 percent match with Bolognese). Learn more about the Bichon Frise here.
- Cavachon (77 percent match with Bolognese). Learn more about the Cavachon here.
- Chinese Crested (75 percent match with Bolognese). Learn more about the Chinese Crested here.
- Havanese (73 percent match with Bolognese). Learn more about the Havanese here.
- Bich Poo (73 percent match with Bolognese). Learn more about the Bich Poo here.
Other Things to Know About Bologneses
Here are some of the very important characteristics of the Bolognese that you need to know about the Bolognese breed: