just wondering if any one knows wheather if u shave a bichon pup down when its young will you get a better coat,
im a groomer and have herd nouthing like this before just wondered ur opioion

Well like normal hair, regular trimming can encourage it to grow quicker and thicker.  Certainly the hair on my dogs faces is much thicker than that on their body, poodles so are trimmed most often on the face.  But if the bichon is a pet then it doesn't really matter what the coat will be like.  A show person will groom weekly to keep the coat in good condition and to encourage it to grow well.

I am not a groomer but I understood that clipping the coat off wrecked the coat for future. However I may be wrong - will await the groomers. :-)

Hi Munrogirl, that is correct for double coated breeds such as terriers, collies, gsd and labs ect.  But with poodles, lhasas and bichons who's hair continually grows like a humans, regular trimming is required.  And like people, there are ways to encourage healthy hair growth - snipping the ends off is like pruning.

thats right granit it will ruin the coat on those breeds,
but like u said poodles bichons need to be trimmed
still not sure weather it will help a bichon pup being clipped down so young
she is a pet but she belongs to a groomer friend of mine and will be used for grooming comps and will need the best coat possible as good as a show dog.

Can't her breeder advise?  If not perhaps you could get advise from the breed club.

Well in that case, just a normal weekly bath and trim will do.  I haven't bodily trimmed a puppy - but then the coat will change once they come into adulthood.  So I would wait on any full body clips until the coat changes.  A light weekly scissoring will do until the coat change.  My poodles matted up something awful during the change.

it was the breeder who told her to do it but she is just not sure ive given her the link to this site so she can see what you all think as well

If the breeder shows I would imagine they know what they are about.

not sure if they do i just know the breeder is a groomer

Nooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!! I'm a groomer that also shows my bichons. They'll be no long term benefits to shaving a bichons coat ever, (unless its extremely matted)  especially not a youngster. Just keep trimming the tips off. The adult coat will come in between 10 - 14 months (which is when its at its hardest to manage - tangles a plenty!!!) Just the scissors needed, no clippers :-)

Lins x

Would it not, like in my breed which has a similiar coat help the curl?  I know that Bichon's shouldn't have dead curly coats but in my breed to have the perfect curl we clip them at a young age.

bichons are supposed to have soft but distinct cork screw curls, they are just dried straight for ease of scissoring and showing.  Poodles are similar except their coat is very harsh in comparison.