Suitability of a Bichon Frise?

Hi, I'm new here and welcome from the "sunny" Lake District (no it really IS sunny today). We are a very experienced dog loving family. With children 23, 21 and 2 (yeah I know, we must be mad)!! We always have kept large breeds and have both pedigree and rescue dogs. However I are considereing getting A Bichon Frise to grow up with my little one as I are a full time mum again now. All of our children have grown up with an array of animals and they know to treat them kindly and gently and understand that they are not toys! The elder two are slightly asthmatic and from research it would suggest that a Bichon Frise may be a lovely little companion. I wondered what opinion any Bichon owners would have. We have a very large house surrounded with an acre of gardens bordering a wood. We have (aging but very friendly German Shepherds x 2, and a Bearde Collie cross, who spend most of their time now out of doors. We also have 3 cats (who love the dogs and fuss around them).
Thanks in advance everyone.

Hi and a warm welcome to Dogweb Well we have a nearly 2 year old male Bichon and he is a wonderful little dog - no trouble whatsover temperament wise, not destructive, fantastic with my little girl who is 5 today - we got him when she was 3 and he has always been brilliant with her. He has never growled at us and I can trust him 100% with children he has a wonderful nature.

The only thing I would stress is to find a good breeder of Bichons because sadly we got him from a Kennels in Manchester which is thought to be little more than a puppy farm (we obviously had no idea of this then) and he has skin problems which are ongoing. But I am sure a Bichon would fit into your family and they don't need loads of exercise either.

This was him as a puppy with my then 3 year old
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http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y11...ete2005022.jpg

http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y11...ndbenji031.jpg

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This one was taken just after Christmas this year

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Oh Foxy, what a lovely little fella you have there.

Hi, Thanks for your reply what a gorgeous little girl and dog... She looks very similar to our Megan with the same long blond hair and curls...I'll have to try and get some photo's of some of our dogs but, I am fairly useless with the camera! Happy bithday to your little girl! If you know of any reputable Bichon breeders in our area I would appreciate it. I would also consider re-homing one although when I looked on the rescue website they say that they do not consider anyone with children under 5, which seems an awful shame to me, especially as we have very successfullly re-homed a number of dogs over the years when our other children where very young - with absolutely no problems. The last was our bearde collie cross when our son was 10 - our son is now 21 and Flex is 14 going on 15 (as deaf as a post now, but very healthy and happy)! Thanks for your help.

Hi, Thanks for all that - I think I've replied as another post doh!!

oh you've got me going now , i really fancy a bishon myself , hopefully later this year

I know they are absolutely gorgeous aren't they? I can't wait to add one to our family

Hi I'm not a Bichon owner but my Sister is due to get her pup next week for the same reasons as you most of her family are allergic to dogs.
I can't really add anything as Foxy's covered most of it, but I think a Bichon is a great dog to have with kids as they're so child friendly and cute and cuddly!
My Sister came with me to the Ripon show and talked to a few people there about their dogs and then when she was ready to home one rang a few people from the Show catalogue. One lady was really helpful, but was unable to find any pups available as they were all spoken for at the time. I then put her on to the kennel club website which has a puppy sales register you can have a look at what's available in your area. Do be careful though and take in to account that just because a dog is registered with the KC doesn't mean the breeder is above board, it just means your dog is certified a pedigree Bichon etc. Make sure you see the litter with the mother at least and ask a few questions, but be prepared to answer some yourself!

Heres the dogweb article on how to choose a puppy and what to look for in a breeder! http://www.dogweb.co.uk/talkdogs/tip...uppy_8975.html

Here's the KC website http://www.the-kennel-club.org.uk/
Click on Dog register and then puppy sales and then puppy sales list.

If you PM me the area that you live in I can have a look in the show catalogue to see if there are any Bichon people near you that you can chat to and possibly get any info regarding litters near you etc.

Happy hunting!

Hi, Thanks for the info. We're in South Cumbria. I don't have any fears about choosing a puppy in general as we have had many dogs over the years and have bred (to CC level), chocolate labradors. We do not show ourselves however, and more recently (last 12 years or so had Geman Shepherds and have had two litters in total from them...by request). We also have a Geman Shepherd X Malutmute, and a Bearded Collie X - both resued dogs, now 10 and 14 respectively. I have never owned a Bichon however but, they sound absolutely lovely and I can't wait to welcome one into our home to become part of our family. I will look on the pages you suggest and I would greatly appreciate it if you know of any local reputable breeders. I'll keep you posted how we get on. Thanks.

Thanks Toby - he is a good lad but think he needs a bath at the moment