The great popularity of the breed in the aristocratic houses of the Middle Ages is confirmed by numerous objects of art, especially paintings and tapestries of the 17-18 century. Examples include works by such great masters as Francisco Goya, Jean-Antoine Watteau, and Nicolas Gosset. Among the owners of these dogs are Madame de Pompadour, Queen Catherine the Great, and Empress Maria Teresa of Austria. At the beginning of the 2000s, paradoxically, this breed has just begun to be registered in international registers.