Welcome to the home of "Devonia Bolognese".
DEVONIA WELCOMES YOU
The home of Show Winning "Italian" Bolognese. I hope you enjoy this site and learn something about this lovely rare breed.
DEVONIA NEWS
Hi my name is Christine Thatcher (Chris please) and I live at Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset.
My Bolognese are all kept firstly as companions and house pets and secondly show dogs. I have been showing dogs for well over 30 years although not always the Bolognese. None of my dogs are kept in kennels, so as you can see, we are a small but select team.
I have taken the Bolognese to heart since owning my first one well over twenty years ago. There is nothing better than owning one Bolognese and that is two, three, four or more!!
I can be contacted on email here devoniak9@btinternet.com or can be contacted by telephone on 01278 321928- Kennel Club Assured Breeder.
Helpful and friendly advice always freely given.
British Bolognese Club Show September 2015.
Devonia's Red Hot Summer (Rosa) BEST IN SHOW (at the age of 14 months)
Judge Dr. Mhairi Brown
(Photo courtesy of Alan Walker)
Devonia's Red Hot Summer
Westbury & District Canine Society September 2015
Best of Breed and Group 4
Judge Peter Jolley
Older news from Devonia
City Championship show saw the treble for this small select show team. Devonia's Altivita (Morse) had Best Dog in Breed, Devonia's La Vita E'Bella had best Bitch in breed and Best of Breed and Giselle Veronesi with Devonia (Zita) had Best Puppy in breed. Judge was Carla Molinari (Portugal) This was a first for Devonia and so so proud of our Bolognese.
Devonia's La Vita 'E Bella wins Best Bitch in breed at Crufts 2011
See the YouTube video below. Bella is now eight years old and only competes at shows where there is a Veteran class for Bolognese but to date she is still showing the youngsters how it is done.
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Our first imported Bolognese who is sadly no longer with us. |
For details of show wins please click on individual dog pages - Monty - Rosa - Zita - Gonni
I hope to keep this site updated on a regular basis, so pop back occasionally and see whats new.
I hope you will enjoy my site and that you learn something about these lovely small Italian companion dogs.
I am happy to help if I can, I may occasionally have puppies available so do please enquire if you are serious about this rare toy breed. If I have nothing available, I may be able to put you in touch with a reputable breeder who may be able to help.
All my dogs have been tested for Leishmania and patellas and all dogs that I use for breeding have been eye tested all proved to be negative.
Devonia received the accolade of Top Stud Dog (Quirino with Devonia) and Top Brood Bitch (Sara with Devonia)2012 for the fourth year running!! We also received the accolade of "Top Breeder" for 2012, even though we only bred one litter in the past few years! Thanks for this go to Devonia's Altivita (Morse) and Devonia's La Vita E' Bella for doing so well in the show ring
All photos on this site are the property of Devonia Bolognese and may not be copied or used without permission.
Regards Chris
General information on coat & temperament
The Bolognese has a coat which is called flocking.
11 months old
3 years old
The coat should be white, with no patches of colour. The coat is a single coat, with no undercoat as in some other breeds. The coat should be combed through with a metal comb on a regular basis otherwise knots will appear, this is uncomfortable for the dog and also can be a nightmare for the owner who has to try and remove the knots. NEVER use a brush on your Bolognese, just a wide toothed steel comb. A brush is not sufficient to be able to reach right down into the coat. The Bolognese does not moult, so are ideal house dogs and are suitable for people with allergies. The Bolognese are not a clipped breed, although some pet owners find the coat easier to deal with if it is clipped shorter.
The ears do have to be plucked. This should be carried out by the breeder as soon as possible (around 4 ? 5 weeks). If a puppy is used to having its ears plucked from an early age, it will not mind too much. If the ears are not plucked and the excess hair taken away then this can cause ear problems in the future. The feet also need to be trimmed, this is the only trimming a Bolognese will need.
Apart from the grooming aspect the Bolognese are easy to maintain and are truly delightful little dogs to keep as house dogs. They are very loyal to their owners, but do need the company of their "family" around them. The Bolognese have wonderful temperaments although they are a little wary of strangers to begin with. They are not an ideal dog to keep if you are out to work all day as they can get stressed if left on their own for any length of time.
The Bolognese enjoys walks, and are quite happy to walk as long as they have company. They can cover quite a distance, but if like mine, when it is raining, they are quite happy just to enjoy the garden and forego the walk!!
Interim Breed Standard for Bolognese
General Appearance
Small white Toy dog with square, compact outline and distinctive coat.
Characteristics
Intelligent, companionable.
Temperament
Reserved.
Head and Skull
Wide flat skull. Nose to stop slightly shorter than from stop to occiput. Accentuated stop. Nose large, black.
Eyes
Large, round, dark with well pigmented rims.
Ears
Set on high, long, pendulous, carried away from head giving a broad appearance to head.
Mouth
Jaws level, with perfect, regular scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws.
Neck
Clean, medium length.
Forequarters
Shoulders well laid, legs straight with slightly sloping pasterns. Elbows close to body.
Body
Well sprung ribs, brisket reaching to elbows making half overall height at withers. Level back, loins slightly arched. Point of shoulder to point of buttock equals height at withers.
Hindquarters
Well-muscled, moderate turn of stifle, hocks well let down.
Feet
Oval, black nails and pads. Dewclaws customarily removed.
Tail
Set on at level of croup carried curved over back. Well feathered.
Gait/Movement
Normal and smart. Legs moving parallel. Ambling highly undesirable.
Coat
Long, flocked without curl covering entire head and body. Shown in natural state.
Colour
Pure white without markings, not even simple shadings. Lips, eyelids, nose and nails black.
Size
Dogs 27-30.5 cms (10 1/2-12 ins). Bitches 25.5-28 cms (10-11 ins).
Faults
Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog.
Note
Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
Full breed standard can be viewed on the Kennel Club Web site here & further information on the Bolognese Club Web site here
Endurance of a toy breed
Although this breed are classed as toy dogs they have hearts like a lion. They will protect their family to the end. This was proved to me a few years ago when I had a burglary. One of my Bolognese put up a fight, but was unfortunately severely injured. But it is my belief and that of the Police that if he had not done so, the burglar(s) would have got away with a lot lot more. So the moral to the story, toy dogs they may be but they have much larger hearts!!