Bichon Frise
Learn about the temperament and personality of the Bichon Frise. Discover what he's like to live with, his traits and characteristics and how he generally behaves. And look at lots of Bichon Frise photos.

Bichon Frise: | ||
---|---|---|
Ease of Training | ![]() |
Explain rating |
Intelligence | ![]() |
Explain rating |
Shedding | ![]() |
Explain rating |
Watchdog | ![]() |
Explain rating |
Guard Dog | ![]() |
Explain rating |
Popularity | ![]() |
Explain rating |
Size | ![]() |
Explain rating |
Agility | ![]() |
Explain rating |
Good with Kids | ![]() |
Explain rating |
Bichon Frise Temperament
The Bichon Frise is an incredibly cheerful little dog who loves to be the center of attention. He likes to think he runs the household, and will want to be at your heels or in your lap at all times. They are naturally gentle, intelligent, playful, and happy. They make a good family dog, but many breeders do not recommend they live in homes with small children, because the children could easily accidentally injure them. And if harassed by a child, a Bichon Frise will get snappy. They do, however, get along well with other household pets, as long as they get lots (and lots) of their human's attention. They do not do well being alone for hours at a time, and can start to chew at their own skin and fur out of distress. They can also bark out of boredom and loneliness, which will not necessarily endear him to your neighbors. Speaking of barking, the Bichon Frise is good at it, and will bark often. They have great hearing and will bark at everything. They do not need lots of exercise, but will require regular short walks. They are social dogs and like to get out and about and see people. The Bichon Frise does best with a loving, patient owner, as they are notoriously slow to housetrain.
Bichon Frise Training
The Bichon Frise is moderately easy to train. He learns new commands at the average rate. He is neither difficult nor easy to train.
Bichon Frise Shedding
The Bichon Frise sheds practically no hair at all. You'll virtually never find a hair in your home!
Bichon Frise Grooming
Pet coat (less work): Cut his coat short every few months and then it only needs to be brushed every so often.
Show coat (more work): Professionally groom his coat to the breed standard. Brush it daily.
Adopt a Bichon Frise
Bichon Frise Photos
Rating: Ease of training
Tells you how easy or difficult a breed is to train.
A higher rating means the breed is easier to train, a lower rating means the breed is harder to train.
An easy to train breed require less time and patience to train.
Rating: Intelligence
Tells you how intelligent a breed is in terms of how quickly it can learn commands from humans. A higher rating means the breed will learn your commands faster (and is therefore generally considered to be more intelligent), while a lower rating means the breed will learn your commands more slowly (and is therefore generally considered to be less intelligent).
Keep in mind that this is only one way to measure a dog's intelligence and a low rating might still mean the breed is highly intelligent in other ways.
Rating: Shedding
Tells you how much hair the breed sheds. The higher the rating the more hair the breed sheds.
Rating: Watchdog
Tells you how good the breed is at being a watchdog and raising the alarm when a stranger approaches. A higher rating means the breed will bark vigorously to warn you of a stranger's presence on your property. A low rating means the breed probably won't bark much if a stranger enters your property.
Rating: Guard dog
Tells you how good the breed is at being a guard dog due to the appearance, size, and strength of the breed. A breed with a high guard dog rating will make an intruder think twice before stepping foot on your property.
Rating: Popularity
Tells you how popular the breed is in terms of ownership. A higher rating means that more people own the breed. The more popular a breed is the easier it is to find and purchase one because there are more breeders breeding it.
Rating: Size
Tells you how large or small the breed is. A lower rating means the breed is smaller and a higher rating means the breed is larger. It gives you a quick idea of how physically large or small the breed is compared with all the other breeds.
Rating: Agility
Tells you how agile the breed is. A higher rating means the breed is fast and nimble on its feet while a lower rating means the breed is heavier and slower on its feet.
Rating: Good with kids
Tells you how good the breed is with children. A higher rating means the breed is good with children. Note: all breeds are generally good with kids when they're raised with them.