My male Bichon is 7 months old, and when I got him, his skin was completely pink underneath his white fur. However, now he is older, i find that he is developing patches of brown skin on his body. is this normal, or do i need to be concerned?

Hi Hazelprior,

I think that this is probably quite normal because we have a Bichon who is nearly 14 months old and he has got patches of black under his white fur that is clearly visible when he is bathed.  The brown bits don't look sore or anything do they?

Hi,

Thanks for your reply. Being a new owner of a Bichon, I was getting a bit worried, but seeing as your dod has black patches, it has put my mind at rest! They don't bother him  and arent sore, so all sounds ok.

Thanks again,

hazel

Hi Hazel,

Yes I have just checked in my Bichon book and it says that under white coat dark pigment is desirable, black, blue or beige markings often found on skin.  So it does sound like the pigment of his skin doesn't it.

How is your Bichon when you leave him, mine is being a bit of a pain at the moment.  He got to a stage where he was fine about being left for short times but now is playing up when I leave him.  Is your Bichon an only dog?

Hi Anna,

Thanks for checking your Bichon book!! Mine doesnt mention anything about the patches at all.

He is an only dog, we have 3 children here too. He doesnt like being left on his own at all. My husband works from home, so he's with him all day, and I only work part time, so he usually has someone with him.

Our problem has been night times. We left him in the kitchen the first night, nicely tucked in his bed, but the noise!! In the end, we gave in and brought him up to bed, as none of us could get any sleep. So, he's been sleeping with either us, or one of the children. Thats ok, but we really wanted him to sleep in his bed. We've now got a cage for him, and last night was the very first night, that we got a thorough nights sleep from him! I must admit, I did have to see to him once, but I couldnt believe it when he was still in his cage this morning! Hopefully, it'll carry on....we'll see!!

Having a few problems house training him, which I'd love to tell you about, but got to dash to get kids from school now, so will tell you later!!

Bye for now,

Hazel

Hi Hazel,

Yes he sounds very much like our dog.  Ours has slept in the kitchen most of the time.  My daughter wanted him in her bedroom when he was a puppy but he was weeing all over her carpet so I thought it better that he went in the kitchen which he has accepted quite well until now, but I am just going to have to be firm with him I think :-)

As for the housetraining, well ours wasn't properly house trained until about 8 months and even now will wee and poo in the kitchen if he is left for a short while whilst I take my daughter to nursery, even though he has been out in the garden before we go :-(   I suppose ideally he would like a friend but at the moment I would rather wait until my four year old is a bit older because she is a bit of a pain at the moment :rolleyes:

My Bichon lived until he was 17 years old and he was never fully house trained - I think its a breed thing :(

(he also had brown patches on his skin - perfectly normal :) )

Yes I read on one of the Bichon sites on the internet that they were in the top 10 worst dogs for housetraining.  Unfortunately I read this after we had got him :-)