Hi, we currently have a 12.5yo ckcs, Molly, and after losing Freya in the summer have decided to expand our brood to 2 again. The exciting thing is our neighbours bichon may be pregnant (too early to know yet) and we have first refusal at a puppy. I am in love with the ckcs breed and will be turning to rescue to get another later next year regardless but I am really interested in a bichon. More so after hubby came home and had spoke to someone at work who praised them so much. So I seek advice for you clever, knowledgable guys to lead me into this adventure with me eyes open. So how well do they bond with our breeds? I have read they can be stubborn with house training. Having an older dog and a puppy I'm aware of the need to keep them apart when alone. I'm hoping fr a boy .... Any suggestions on what to look for, essential kit we will need for this breed would be appreciated. Sorry for the ramblings ... Trying to get6yo off to sleep as well as doing this.

Bichon Fries? What does one eat them with? Sorry for being facetious. I don't mean to be rude to poster but couldn't resist!

I can't comment on how well they bond and interact with other dogs, but my neighbour has a Bichon and it makes more blooming noise than my three retrievers put together. It's constantly running up the garden yapping at anything and everything. It's well walked and looked after, I guess it's a terrier trait?

> I guess it's a terrier trait?

They haven't got Terrier in them

Well I didn't know that! What are their origins?

I just noticed that .... Blaming autocorrect!

they come from Mediterranean ...Tenerife water spaniel & poodle...

Well you learn something new every day. Never crossed my mind that they were anything other than terrier. Thanks for replying!

Almost impossible to housetrain, need lots of grooming and likely professional help too...
Sadly not the sharpest knives in the drawer.

Much more grooming intensive than Cavaliers, far harder to housetrain, and judging by the ones I groom, very yappy! I expect they are ok if trained properly and not spoiled. But I'm biaised, I adore Cavaliers! :-D

I absolutely love cavs but so worried about the health issues at the moment. We were lucky with Freya, made it to 11.5yr with a slight mumour. Unfortunately she had a bad stroke whilst we were in the US, but she had a very pampered life. Molly is 12.5 yo and the vet said we should have had a litter from her cause she has a very strong heart. She's doing amazing and I adore her. I would like to rehome a cav at some point. Our neighbour has a bichon (she is hoping to have puppies and it's one of those we are going to adopt) and our other neighbour has a westie so there is regularly a yapping contest in the gardens to which Molly likes to go and put her 2 pennith in! I will be looking to do agility training with new doggie too. But I will never be without a cav.

It's not common to see Bichons do agility..too thick I'd say.

I have a friend who has a Bichon. She does agility and HTM with her she's in Intermediate classes for HTM. only just started competing in agility

There are some then..
I'm on breed judging lists for them and friends have bred them for decades....we tend to agree....on the whole

> It's not common to see Bichons do agility..too thick I'd say.

I'd say stubborn more than thick, judging by the people I've seen trying to do obedience with them! :-D

One member here gave up teaching 'sit' because the little darling remembered it for that session
but it was like Groundhog Day each time she asked for it again.

I think my friend would describe her dog as naughty

More brains if you go for a poodle instead. Have seen loads of poodles doing agility and obedience.

Had read about poodles being good at it actually. I do like the breed but hubby said it would have to be a standard whereas I love the toy breeds

My cav Freya was 'naughty'  was so I can handle naughty lol.

Meet your hubby half way with a miniature.

I have bichons and they are NOT thick..they are lovely little dogs, full of personality and love people. My boy would be great at agility and has the willingness to learn and please to do it. They do require grooming but as long as it is done daily, there is not a problem. They can be yappy but so can any breed. They do get on well with other dogs. I have 3 Bichons and 3 cockers and they all get on well (except when girls are in season) which is perfectly normal.

What's wrong with being thick?
My male Cavalier isn't too bright but I love him the way he is.

> but I love him the way he is

But that's because he's male.      

So much more loving than the girls.

> Molly is 12.5 yo and the vet said we should have had a litter from her cause she has a very strong heart.

Why not try to locate a breeder using same bloodlines.

If you have both parents registered names some research on the offspring of both parents may yield results, especially if the breeders are proactive on health and have generations of heart tested stock.

Not minimising SM, but heart issues are the main issue in the breed and those addressing thsia re most likely to pr9oduce long lived healthy cavs.

Despite the scaremongering the vast majority of Cavs do not develop SM.  the screening scheme sadly does not guarantee what the offspring will be like in that regard, though testing should be  done.

Never thought of that. Alas I fear that the pedigree family trees from both girls may have been misplaced after 2 house moves with them. Once I tidy my study so I can actually do my marking and planning at the desk I should be able to access the filing box and see if I can locate her documents. Thanks for the idea.

If you know their registered names we can look up their relatives using the KC database

That is a good idea! Of course even fully tested stock can produce puppies that get a problem out of nowhere, but it gives the best chance of that not happening. I know some breeders West, South and East who have fully tested their dogs for generations, and I'm sure there's plenty more than the ones I know, the Cavalier Club has lists of people with puppies in various areas and also lists of dogs which are tested. There's also a fb page for health tested stud dogs, so you can see which breeders are testing.

Can't find her documents

Will look in the lift when the decks go back . What a great idea though

My grandparents have a bichon and 2 toy poodles. He never went to puppy training but is still pretty well trained!! He's 13 now and gets on very well with the poodles however he  tries to steal their food and is also very noisy. He always barks at the door but not in an aggressive way- just excitement. Hope this has helped.

20 years ago, hardly anyone in the UK had heard of Bichon Frise, so the breed has really become very popular, very fast. Perhaps the number of dogs that are apparently stupid / stubborn / over-yappy etc., could have something to do with the fact that a high proportion of BFs are bred by unscrupulous breeders and a high % are also bought and raised by people who have done little research and just go for the 'popular' choice?

Just a thought!

I agree MMD.....a exploited little breed for sure. I certainly wouldn't have a Bichon puppy from a neighbour unless she was Top breeder ( who I know and trust).