We have recently been discussing buying a dog for our family pet. We are at a good age with kids (4 year old b/g twins), but will wait until next year likely as we are still settling into our new home, etc. In the meantime I am researching breeds which we think would be a good match for our family. I have owned dogs years ago and am familiar with the time, attention and expense that they take.
I would love to hear from someone if you own a Bichon Frise and your experiences? Did you litter or paper train your dog as a puppy? How did house breaking go?
Thank you so much!
My bichon is 9 years old. She was very easy to train and does not "piddle when excited." As far as being a big expense for grooming, I only pay $30 every 3 months for her to be groomed. I have her hair cut short and then only need to brush her once in awhile.
I really think that any bad behavior for any dog is the blame of the owner for not properly training the dog and also for not providing the proper amount of exercise.
Grooming grooming grooming. Lots of brushing and grooming. MostIi have been around had excellent dispostions. The breed is known to have nervous piddling. Yep peeing everytime the get excited. That can be managable through behavior training. Decent sturdy dog for being on the smaller size.
I crate trained my dog, and taught him to go outside, no litter no papers but a healthy stock of Natures miracle. Feeding schedule and out to potty after feeding and anytime he had a drink. Kept him on leash with me when I was about the house so I could watch for sign of him needing to go. I highly recomend the book "how to be your puppies best friend" and How to be your dogs best firend" from the Monks of New Skeet. Get it now, have everyone be on board with training and you will be good to go with just about any dog.
We had one for 15 years. Great dog. They are great with children and other pets. I didn't have a lot of time to brush mine, but he still looked ok with a once a week brushing. Best part is that they don't shed, so no dog hair everywhere.
My brother and his family had O. for 15 years. Awesome dog. A bit yappy and VERY high maintenance, grooming-wise, but he had a great personality. Almost like a big dog in a little dog body.
I owned two growing up. One was a hellion, trouble on four legs. My parents literally could not decorate the bottom two feet of the Christmas tree because he would eat all the ornaments. I'm not kidding. Very sweet and kid-friendly, though, and house-breaking was not a problem, but just a mischievous dog.
The second was the perfect dog. Never chewed, never wet, very loving, and extremely smart. I think it depends a lot on each puppy, so please use a breeder (never a pet store) and make sure you meet both of the parents of the pup and look for temperament. Look at the environment, and listen for how knowledgeable the breeder is, and also any key words that can signal problems.
Good luck.
My parents had a Bichon , a boy. He liked to pee all over the house to mark his territory. He was potty trained but he did it for fun. I would get a Bichon /Poodle mix to help with that. Good luck =0)
Totally agree with Kimmy! They piddle everywhere. It is nearly impossible to break. Seriously. They are very difficult to potty train. Here is some more info:
The only bichon I've ever known was a yippy nippy nasty little thing. But I've also knowns mini schnauzers to be the same way but I own one and he is awesome!
My inlaws have/had 2. The male is a pretty nice dog, except for being a food hound. He will jump up to a table given any opportunity to steal people food and is constantly begging, which is kind of annoying. But he is a sweet tempered and cuddly dog. The female passed away a few years ago. She was the alpha. She was VERY barky and didn't really warm to guests easily. She had bitten numerous people, including my DH once when he was helping his parents paint, and my DD when she was 6 and jumped up suddenly to greet someone at the door, in OUR house. That of course, may be more temperment than breed.
