Bichon Frise Question

the glass woman

Hi there,

Am currently thinking about buying a 6 month old Bichon Frise off a friend, and am trying to weigh up everything.

We have a 3 yr old son, and from what i've read the Bichon is great with kids etc, and seems to have a good temperament, but what I'm concerned about are the running costs of maintaining their hair. I've read that keeping their hair short requires professional grooming and cutting every 6 weeks. I've priced this as approx €70 each time. Does it really cost that much to maintain the dog's hair? It seems like quite a lot of money.

Would just appreciate people's opinions and experience of this.

Many thanks.

Cherry Blossom

1. You shouldn't be paying money for a dog that is being re-homed

2. Do a search on this forum for 'Bichon' as grooming will be the least of your worries, Bichons are notoriously hard to train, and house-training & toilet training are particularly difficult and a 3 year old child can't be crawling around in dog pee. Ask yourself why the owner is letting this dog go.

3. No toy breed is recommend for young kids, where have you read that they are good with kids if you don't mind me asking?

Zapperzy

I would find out more about this particular bichon as opposed to the breed as a whole, individual dogs differ with a breed. Why is she re-homing (I would hope not asking for money for it, she should be concentrating on finding a good home not about how much she'l get) the dog? Is it because of behavioural issues?

€70 is a lot, are you sure you priced that right? I think I paid €35 or €40 to have a similar size dog done (granted not as much work but he still got washed, clipped and dried). I don't have experience with this particular breed, but there would be more to grooming than just bringing him to a groomers every few weeks, the coat would need to be brushed out every day to prevent it matting. You could also look into buying a clippers yourself and clipping him.

RhodeIslandRed

I have two Bichon Frise and they are fabulous dogs. They are reasonable hard to toilet train but both of mine were fully trained when they were six months old. Definitely worth looking into before you take him. They are non shed which is a bonus but they do require regular grooming. In the summer I keep them very short and they are very easy to keep when there are like this. They look gorgeous with their double coat but for practical purposes they are much easier to keep with short hair. Bichons don't like to be apart from their owner so I would not recommend this breed if you would have to leave them alone a lot. I am out for eight hours a day but I have a dog walker. Also they are very much indoor dogs and will follow you from room to room. Not the type you can leave out in the back garden for very long.
As for kids, Bichons are small and could be easily hurt if the child is rough. One of mine would snap if a child got too rough, the other would never snap regardless so as with most dogs depends on the personality of the individual dog. Hope that helps.

sotisme

adrenalinjunkie wrote: »

1. You shouldn't be paying money for a dog that is being re-homed

2. Do a search on this forum for 'Bichon' as grooming will be the least of your worries, Bichons are notoriously hard to train, and house-training & toilet training are particularly difficult and a 3 year old child can't be crawling around in dog pee. Ask yourself why the owner is letting this dog go.

3. No toy breed is recommend for young kids, where have you read that they are good with kids if you don't mind me asking?

I agree with the above advice but I just have to say the cavalier king charles (a toy breed) is brilliant with young kids. I have never seen one be unfriendly to a child. I have one and if a young child pulls out his fur/pulls at his tail he just walks away looking sad!:D

OP, I would do a lot of reasearch on them before getting one (or any other dog). I have never had one but I know a few they are very yappy.
Also (as with all dogs) vet bills can get very high.
Good luck!

the glass woman

Thanks to everyone for the feedback and advice, it's much appreciated and keep it coming!

To answer a few questions..

The lady who is selling the dog bought two, she was a bit of a soft touch and when she went to buy one dog she bought its sister too. Now she can't manage them both, and neither of them are trained as yet. She has spent a small fortune on them to date. Both have been neutered, both have their vaccinations, and she bought beds etc, so that is why she is looking to sell them instead of giving them away. Not sure of the price yet.

As for being good with children, every web site i've looked at states this. Too numerous to mention. Also I searched this forum and read threads about them too. i realise the fact that they are small is an issue but my son will have to be shown how to interact with a dog properly, no matter what the size of it.

I know that they require daily grooming and don't have a problem with that, it's just the cost of the professional grooming that concerns me. Maybe 70 euro isn't the norm, that's just what some websites quoted for Bichon Frise.

Just a bit about my lifestyle, I am self employed and work from home, for 3 hours every morning, so I am always here. The dog couldn't be around me while I worked, as I'm around people, but I was thinking of putting a kennel and bed outside, or in the shed for those hours, and if it cannot handle that I could put him in another room for those 3 hours. Also I walk daily anyway and spend a lot of time outdoors in parks and on beaches etc so she'd love that i'm sure. The only thing is we do go abroad for a few holidays a year, so I would need to either have it looked after by family or look into kennels.

zoby

I have a Bichon and a Cavalier King Charles AND kids


to answer your question about grooming - yes the cost does mount up over the year but you can of course groom at home yourself which will involve an initial outlay for clippers, scissors, shampoo and conditioners and also remember the time involved. I have paid from €25 to €50 for professional grooming but have decided that i much prefer the way she looks when I do it

Im not religious about brushing every day but they definitely need a regular thorough brush and comb to ensure that their are no mats or tangles. It really gets on my goat to see a beautiful bichon shaved to the skin because they dont see a brush between grooms I know i read a lot of info before we got our girl but in all honesty nothing can prepare you for how much work their coat is - for example my two love nothing more than a romp in the park or the beach. After my cavalier has dried her coat will just need a quick brush through to get rid of mud or sand whereas the bichons coat will stick to the dirt until its washed off. Another thing i have found is that although (or maybe because of) she doest moult my bichon begins to smell if she hasnt had a bath in a few weeks :rolleyes: This isnt a problem for me because i got her used to being washed and brushed from an early age and she just lays there and purrs (seriously - like a cat )


I absolutely love the bichon breed and can never imagine life without one but they are not for the faint hearted. They need a regular and robust exercise regime and they have a constant need to be as close as is humanly possible to their owner. Again I had read about this but still it amazes me that as soon as i leave the room she will come and keep me company (yes even a trip to the loo ) Shes not whingy or looking for attention she just likes being near me so honestly its not a problem.


One thing i could not live without is their crate. After our morning walk they will curl up inside it for a few hours so if im here on not they have that routine. My two have also been kenneled a good few times and we have had no problems. Well other than being ignored for a couple of days when we come back - like how dare we go somewhere without them


As she has not been trained yet I would really urge you to do some basic obedience classes. Bichons are very quick to learn and it makes for a much easier life when everyone knows whos boss

teacherspet

Bichons are great with children, they have no aggressive tendencies at all, to my knowledge. As regards to grooming shop around for prices. Toilet training can be sorted in a week with crate training. Them and cavaliers are what I recommend for people with small children.