Our Bichon is 2yrs 8mths old. We got her as a puppy. We trained her to go outside or on a pad. She mostly goes outside. Once in a while she will go on a pad...smack in the middle. We keep a pad out if we are outside & she is in by herself. She 99.9 percent of the time waits until we take her out. We had her trained when she was a puppy. When we think she has to go potty, we say potty outside. We take her out & say potty. After she goes..we say good girl potty outside. When take her in & give her a treat. If it is bad weather out, we say potty on pad. After she goes we tell her good girl potty on pad & give her a treat. As we give her a treat, we say good girl potty outside or potty on pad. Give praise...that works the best. When your dog goes in your house. Tell your dog bad girl or boy & put the dog in a pen just for maybe 5mins or so & then let the dog out. They say if you put the dog in a pen too long they will forget why they were put in there.

My bichon does this with a teddy or slipper.He is looking for you to throw it so he can run after it -and not just once or twice.

My bichon also has a teddy and she does this as well, and is quite protective over him.

I don't know why they do it, but my bichon does the same exact thing after he eats. When he does this, my family knows that he has eatten and his way of talking to his bear. I am glad that I am not the only one that has a bichon that does this.

Mine has a kiddie pool that he LOVES. My parents and I will set it up during the summer and he goes in to and "swims" in a way. If he is out on his chain and the pool isn't out, he will bark til you come out of the house and get the pool out for him. He can spend a good hour out in the pool. He doesn't like baths too much nor the rain, but loves the pool.

My baby does not like the ocean but loves the beach. He doesn't mind his bath though!

my beautiful bichon loved to surf and loved the water he would jump in after out boat such spunk yet very gentle

If you live in S. CA (San Marcos area)there is a vet who deals with only eye problems in pets. I got a sweetie from a rescue who had damage done to her eyes (one ruptured twice) He saved almost all of her sight and she actually loves going to see him.

My bichon is about to be 4 years old and we just found out he had cataracts about a month ago. But it has very rapidly gotten worse! I think it is common in bichons to get them at at early age. It has made him bump into things and become a little aggressive towards the others.

yes the curly hair us much easier to groom as well not as messy as the first coat

thankyou for your answer, our "Benji" seems to be getting the change in coat in different parts of his body , at the mo his head is nearly the same as when we got him, his fore legs and a third of the way down his body seems to be changing tot the short coat, i assume that eventually all the original fur will disappear and he will be left with a short coat, how long does this take, he likes a right "nit" the way he is at present, also apart from washing his faces and eyes regularily, is there anything we can try to get rid of the "pinky stain around his eyes....

this is completly normal. i own 6 bichons ranging in age from 1 year to 9 years. your puppy is growing its outer coat

They can come in sort of a creamish peach colour when that happens it's usely under there mouth or on there neck

If you read AKC bichon standards it says...'Color is white, may have shadings of buff, cream or apricot around the ears or on the body. Any color in excess of 10% of the entire coat of a mature specimen is a fault and should be penalized, but color of the accepted shadings should not be faulted in puppies.'

I have a pure bred Bichon with Apricot markings. I have met other Bichon owners and their Bichon also have Apricot markings. I am told that this is acceptable.

no they dont come in other colours unless you get a mixed breed such as a bich poo. But no pure bred bichon can be any other colour than white.

Although there is no such thin as a hypoalergenic dog, I have pet alergies and bichons do not bother me at all. They do not shed and leave there dander everywhere

I am asthmatic, and allergic to dogs, cats an various other animals and my bichon, Paddy, does not shed fur at all! Its the best breed for this kind of thing. The only danger is when you brush out a knot, the fur will come out, so it is best to leave grooming to the groomers if you are allergic, like me!

no.. there is no such thing as a non allergic dog according to my son's allergist. My son has asthma and it's not the fur it's the dander which people are allergic too.