Bichon Frise?

[brittsmum1998]

After four yrs we've decided to let DD7 get a dog. Unfortunately I'm alergic so it has to be an expensive one. We went to a breeder on Sunday and of course she fell inlove w/ a little girl who will be ready to go home next Saturday. Any advice or tips? I never expected to be getting a

 

[DisneyArk]

My parents never let me have a dog when I was growing up. So after I got married I got a dog and she was a Bichon Frise. She was an awesome dog and everyone loved her!! I still miss her, she was a huge part of our family. Her temperament was great and she rarely barked.

My husband and I are both allergic to dogs and never had a problem with our Bichon. Plus I loved the fact that she didn't shed!!

I will warn you that the puppy years can be hard. You really have to work with the puppy to teach it how to behave. You might want to start brushing your puppy at an early age. Our Bichon needed to be brushed regularly and because we started when she was young she was used to it.

Congrats on your new Bichon!!

 

[RUDisney]

Go to the AKC website and also google the breed.

My parents have a bichon who is a wonderful dog. They are so smart! And, they love the water. Brigette loves to float on a raft in their pool in the summer or jump in to swim with us.

They keep her hair short, in a "puppy cut" that is much easier to brush than a show dog cut.

Brigette has not been without problems... she has a severe case of eczyma in the late summer to early fall because of allergies. She will literally bite off chunks of fur because she's itchy. A cortisone shot usually helps, but she can't get them anymore because as she's aging, she's started to present with heart problems.

Please don't let this scare you. Any dog, or person, for that matter, is not a perfect specimen in every way. You deal with things as they occur.

I recommend buying the best dog food you can afford. I like Flint River Ranch and Azmira brands. I buy them online and have them delivered to my house. There are other premium brands that are also very good. Try to buy better than Iams or Eukanuba. Your backyard cleanup will be lessened with the better the food that you feed.... i.e. less fillers.

Buy a crate in which you can train the dog. Brigette was very stubborn about being trained until my parents got a crate. Again, google "dog crate training" and you'll get the "rules" to help you get through that phase of new puppy parenthood. Crate training isn't cruel. My 2 pugs love their crates. They are their little homes and safety zones.

So, let us know what you name your new bundle of white-furred love when you get her. Good luck with your addition!

 

[Tinijocaro]

We don't have a dog yet, but when we get one, it'll be a Bichon. DD (7) is allergic to dogs, I HATE shedding dogs (gross), and I hate dogs that bark a ton.Plus, they have a reputation for being great with kids. I may go with a Bichon-Poo, all the benefits of a Bichon, plus the intelligence of a poodle.

Jackie

 

[Jeafl]

Hate to burst your bubble, but there is no such thing as a non-allergic dog. I learned this the hard way.

10 years ago we bought a Bichon puppy because of my allergies. I made several trips to the breeder to make sure that I wouldn't have any problems. For 5 weeks everything was fine, but then I had a full-blown asthma/allergy attack and ended up spending a week in the hospital fighting for my life. Prior to getting the dog, my asthma and allergies were doing great with little or no medication. Now, 10 years later I am still on a lot of medication. It literally set me back years in my treatment.

I can't tell you how many allergists and pulmonologists (sp?) have told me there is NO SUCH THING AS A NON-ALLERGIC DOG! I would be very, very careful if I were you.

 

[The Princess]

We have a Bichon, Buster who is months old. What a wonderful dog!!! My parents have a Bichon also (his brother) who is 1 1/2 years old. He is great also. They have a great temperment and wonderful with childdren as well as adults. My parents dog, Toby just gets mad when they leave him home alone (since they are always home with them~retired) When they get home he won't even look at them for about 10 minutes. Its kind of funny. You can PM me if you have any other question or just want to chat about Bichons.

 

[Monte Cristo]

Titan our 5 1/2 year old bichon is great. aw: The hair was a MAJOR factor for us in deciding to get him. Great with kids, loves other people, loves other dogs and cats and pretty much loves anyone. He doesn't really bark at all, only when the door bell rings really. We actually didn't hear him bark for the first 3-4 months and actually thought he was mute! His only issues are siezures which he developed at about 3. He gets them about once every 3 months and is on pheno every day. But it's all worth it as his personality is off the charts. Good luck.

MC

 

[Aidensmom]

My best friend has a Bichon, it is a very sweet, affectionate little dog. She has always had some problems with him having accidents in the house, but I don't think that is inherent to the breed.

 

[janette]

We have 2, one we got as a puppy and one we adopted from the pound. They are very nice dogs. Love people and do consider themselves one of the family.

No dogs are completely free of dander which is what triggers the allergies but unless you are severely allergic you should be okay. My 11yo DD tests allergic to dogs and most bother her but she tolerates the 2 Bichons fine.

 

[bsnyder]

We have a 4 year old Bichon named Gibson. We also picked the breed because my oldest son is severely allergic to dogs, and luckily that has not been a problem at all.

Gibson does have the skin allergies that seem so prevalent with this breed, and he has a problem with "tear" staining around his eyes and muzzle. Other than that, he is a very classic looking Bichon in size and shape. He's also got an outstanding personality - so much so that he has inspired 4 other families we know to get Bichons.

He loves to swim, which is sometimes a problem if I don't have the time to blow dry him afterwards (to prevent matting). He's absolutely miserable if he's locked up in the house and we are in the pool.

 

[PaulaSue]

Be careful some have terrible eye problems with runny stuff that stains the fur.

Best Wishes.

 

[Karel]

I'll issue an allergy warning too. My friend had a Westie, because they have hair and not fur, and they are suppose to be good for people with allergies too. So my other friend and I decide we like this little Westie and get ones for our families. I have really bad allergies and our dog does not bother me one little bit.

My friend's allergies were so baaaaaad, she had to give the dog away. So it can happen.

 

[janette]

I didn't realize so many of them like the water. Our 3yo Bichon loves to play in the water especially in the summer. The girls insisted we get him his own little kiddie pool. The funny thing is he hates the rain and we've actually taken him outside to do his business with an umbrella

 

[brittsmum1998]

Thank you everyone for your advise. I'm so nervous I will have issues w/ allergies but DD is only child so I have to give it a shot. I'm hoping if there is an issue I can take benadryl but hopefully not that often. I'm the stay at home Mom so I will be spending the most time

Her name right now is CUPCAKE ..... or as I refer to her...."a player to be named later"

 

[chrissyk]

I am the loving aunt of a Bichon Frise The only advice that I can give you is that housetraining this dog took a really long time. Same thing for my friend's Bichon. They just don't train as easily as other breeds I don't think. They are so darned cute and loving that it more than makes up for it, though!

In terms of food, my sis feeds hers a raw diet called Bravo. It's available in a lot of smaller petstores, or you can look online to see where to order it. It works really well for her dog. Of course, her dog is also indulged with whatever her people happen to be eating, but that is another story

Also, as with a poster above, this dog HATES rain! She doesn't mind snow, though. She is also dislikes exercising! She'd rather be inside sleeping and eating Everyone just adores her, though...she's irresistable! Enjoy "Cupcake" (I think that that's a cute name, BTW!).

One last thing...as a gift to my sister when she adopted the puppy, DH and I bought her a pet health insurance policy. We went through www.vpi.com, but there are other insurers as well. It was easy to get the puppy covered (no preexisting conditions), and my sister has kept up the insurance ever since, since once the animal is covered they have to keep covering her as long as you keep paying the premiums. I think that she pays around $200/year. It's well worth it for the peace-of-mind!

 

[Galahad]

We have three Bichons. They may not be "Non" allergenic but they certainly are much less so. They are a bit more difficult to house train. They are a lot of fun, very playful and are good with kids if they grow up with them. And as their name implies, they will sit on your lap or next to you all day long if you let them. IMO, they are the best small dogs out there! Have a great time with her!

Also, because they are so popular right now they are somewhat overbred. Be sure to see one or both parents and ask about respitory problems. Bichons should really be less that 12 pounds but they've gotten bigger in the last few years. We have one that is 10 pounds and the other two are over 15 pounds a and quite a bit taller. Doesn't really make a huge difference for a pet but the breed is changing as any overbred breed does.