Bichon Frise - anyone own one?

[marcandalysse 0]

Alysse is interested in buying a Bichon Frise dog.
She is also interested in training it to be a 'Therapy Dog'.

Would appreciate hearing from Bichon Frise owners about their dogs.

Also if anyone has worked with Therapy Dogs, drop us a note.

Thanks,
Marc

"The reason angels can fly is that they take themselves so lightly." --GK Chesterton

[sweetmoose 0]

My neighbor and one of my best friends parents own two bichon frises and I pretty much grew up with them, so vicariously I owned them too. The male dog was really posessive (if you hugged my friends mom he would bark at you) and he was an all around pain in the ass, he even bit me on the nose once, and that shit hurt. They also had a girl one, she was a lot cooler and a lot less aggressive. Personally I prefer shee tzu's (spelling?) My parents have one of those and they rock, hardley ever bark, very mild mannered and love to get attention. Hope some of this helps.

We die only once, but for such a very long time.

I'll believe in ghosts when I catch one in my teeth.

[monkycndo 0]

My landlady had one. It was a royal pain in the ass. That is my only frame of reference.

50 donations so far. Give it a try.

You know you want to spank it
Jump an Infinity

[IanHarrop 37]

had one, won't have another one. Yappy little high strung thing. Had to give it downers whenever there was a thunderstorm. I suppose if the goal of therapy is to focus patients mind off their problems it might work becuase they'll be pissed off at the dog all the time.

"Where troubles melt like lemon drops, away above the chimney tops, that's where you'll find me" Dorothy

[willard 0]

Don't know much about the breed, sorry.

I had to give up a Welsh Springer for adoption due to circumstances beyond my control. I made sure he went to a good home, which happened to be in Arizona to be trained as a therapy dog. I know it's a lot of hard work. I know not every dog is cut out for it. But just knowing he was helping people and kids made giving him up a lot easier to handle.

[marcandalysse 0]

Well, we were at a bichon breeder's today, the second we have visited so far. The woman has over 20 years experience with the breed. She has over 20 of them in her suburban house!
There is a litter of 5, and Alysse played with all of them but quickly found that the bigger female of the litter was very calm and liked being held.

So we brought her home! Thanks for the stories, although they were mostly negative about Bichon! Alysse has a good sense for picking up energies, so we shall see how this works out!

Once she is a little grown up, we will bring her to the DZ.....Hopefully Tommy and Hercules won't be bad influences and teach her how to carouse....heheheh

"The reason angels can fly is that they take themselves so lightly." --GK Chesterton

[Gawain 0]

Quote

Alysse is interested in buying a Bichon Frise dog.
She is also interested in training it to be a 'Therapy Dog'.

Also if anyone has worked with Therapy Dogs, drop us a note.

I'm around Therapy Dogs at the hospital all the time. Almost all of them are Lab or Golden retrievers. If you're interested in a smaller, more fluffy specimen, look into a mini (not toy) Poodle. Poodles are non-allergenic, super-smart, well composed. The mini-Poodle is a few pounds heavier than the Bichon Frise (15-17lbs vs 7-12lbs).
http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/miniaturepoodle.htm

So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh
Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright
'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life
Make light!

[swedishcelt 0]

I used to dog sit a pair of bichon frise for a couple when I was in college and they were at their summer home. I thought they were very mellow and sweet. Very much lap dogs if you like that. I never had a problem with them. I never thought they were very smart though. However maybe they ate a lot of pot. The old lady that owned them had glaucoma and... well that was my opinion. My friends and I used to joke that they were houseplants and not dogs.

The lady was utterly devoted to them and they obviously were to her too.

[Gene03 0]

She looks like a sweetheart. You will get out of her what you put into her. (DUH) Be prepared for all sorts of Q-Tip, "Tie a string on her tail and call her a Tampon" jokes.
Several years ago I went to a friends house for a party while her parents and grandmother were away for the weekend.
Shannon had just bathed, dried and put a pink bow in her grandmas' Bichon.
I got to the party and the dog was on the landing going upstairs and very uncomfortable with all these drunk skydivers in the house. Barking her fool head off.
I asked Shannon if I could try to coax the dog into relaxing for a bit by giving it a treat. She said "Good luck, she only listens to Grandma".
Took a little piece of salami and sat on the bottom step for a while and talked softly to the dog for a few minutes. Took about a half hour for me to work my way up the steps to the dog. After the treat and about another half hour of petting and talking we were the best of friends. As I was picking the dog up to introduce her to my friends, "Sha-Nay-Nay"; well into her cups, comes running out because the dog stopped barking. After awhile the dog was really having a good time under the table and being petted by people and such.
Now for one of those priceless points in time that I'll never forget.
"Sha-Nay-Nay" tips over a beer on the table, slurs "I'd better clean that up, the folks will be home on Monday" and lurches toward the sink for a towel.
A friend of mine with a devilish twinkle in his eye says, "It's okay, I've got it".
I knew it the second I seen his eyes so I just watched the show.
He leaned over and ever so gently picked up the dog under the belly and brought her up to the table turning her over and wiping up the spilled beer in one smooth motion. The dog was laughing with the rest of us as Shannon just fucking freaks out, laughing and pissed at the same time.
I laughed so damn hard until my diaphragm hurt and I thought i'd hurl and then laughed some more.
Like I said it was one of those PRICELESS moments.

“The only fool bigger than the person who knows it all is the person who argues with him.

Stanislaw Jerzy Lec quotes (Polish writer, poet and satirist 1906-1966)

[Gene03 0]

Of course no animal/pet post would be complete without;
"And they taste just like chicken".

“The only fool bigger than the person who knows it all is the person who argues with him.

Stanislaw Jerzy Lec quotes (Polish writer, poet and satirist 1906-1966)

[popsjumper 2]

Quote

...Hopefully Tommy and Hercules won't be bad influences and teach her how to carouse....heheheh

Fat chance in....
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA



BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

whew!
....hell
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

My reality and yours are quite different.
I think we're all Bozos on this bus.
Falcon5232, SCS8170, SCSA353, POPS9398, DS239

[skycat 0]

Make sure the breeder is a good one, and just because it's cute and little doesn't mean it doesn't need top notch obedience.

Don't spoil it, train it, love it, and let it know that it isn't alpha....stick to that and you will have a dog that is a productive member of society. (this goes for all dog breeds, big and small )

Fly it like you stole it!

[Chrissay 0]

Congrats on the new puppy, what a cutie! We own a Havanese which is a member of the Bichon family of dogs. More info about them here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havanese

Everything they say about their temperament is totally true too. He is a sturdy little clever dog! I have attached a pic of him playing in the snow.

Enjoy your new companion!

[cocheese 0]

Awe Chrissy, how could you ever have a bad day with that little guy running around? My new desktop background pic.
Tab rocks!