Here you will find helpful hints and tools should you decide you'd like to groom your Bichon Grooming Your Bichon Frise NOTE : Before grooming your Bichon, it's important to make sure that you will be able to do the job. If your curly-haired pooch is matted, detangling the mats can be painful for your dog and time consuming for you. Also, if your dog is a little rowdy, grooming at home may not be as manageable for you. Supplies You Will Need: a slicker brush whitening shampoo conditioner (optional) finishing spray (optional) pet grooming clippers grooming shears dental spray (optional) ear wash (optional) nail clippers and pet nail grinder blow dryer Bathing Your Bichon When bathing your Bichon, it is important to brush them first as water will tighten any existing mats. Our dogs tend to mat under their front legs. To prevent matting, daily brushing is important . After brushing your dog, put him/her into the tub and wet them from head to toe. I use a cup to help with smaller areas, especially the face. After wetting your Bichon, lather whitening shampoo on their entire body. With our puppies we use Johnson and Johnson no more tears shampoo, its safe for their skin and eyes. Lather extra shampoo on your dog's paws and tear stains. I generally allow the whitening shampoo to sit for a while to get a brighter affect. While I let the whitening shampoo do its work, I clean my Bichon's teeth and ears. There are several ears washes available, I use a recipe I found on the internet. We use Sentry Petrodex Dental Spray for cats and dogs. You literally just have to spray their teeth making sure to spray all of their teeth. I then proceed to rinse off the shampoo. If their fur is not as soft as usual, I will proceed to condition him as well. If their fur is soft, feel free to skip this step. Blow Drying Blow drying a Bichon can be very tricky and is one of the most important steps in grooming your Bichon. Towel dry your dog until he is damp, then proceed to brush him with the slicker brush. I brush down strokes on his body and legs, for example, from the top of the shoulder brush down to his paws. I brush down strokes from under his eyes to the bottom of his muzzle and brush the top part of his head straight back. After this step, your Bichon should have a wet, straight, or slightly wavy appearance. I then proceed to blow dry him while brushing his fur in every direction to get it bone straight. There are certain parts of my dog that don't straighten completely, and this is fairly common. While blow drying, constantly check the blow dryer to make sure it's not too hot by blowing the air on the back of my hand. Remember, dogs are more sensitive to heat than humans are so, if it's hot to you it's definitely hot to them. After your dog is completely dry and straight it's time to grab the clippers. Clipping Your Bichon Give your dog one last brush before using the clippers. (I use Wahl pet clippers that I bought from Walmart for about $30 or so. They came with a couple of different guards, scissors, a comb, and an instructional DVD.) Then cut the bottom of the paws but don't go between the paw pads. Cut around the rectum being careful not to cut the rectum itself. Then, use a number 3 ( 3/8") guard for his body. Shave in downward strokes being careful not to shave their legs as the legs will have to be scissored. It's easier to not shave just above the leg to easier blend their legs when you scissor them later. Do not shave the head either as that will need to be scissored as well. After shaving the body, brush the body and the legs straight down. Try using a picture as a reference to how the legs should look. The front legs should be rounded and straight. Hold the scissors straight down and cut a straight line from the body to the end of the paws. Try not to make big changes because, when you cut too much, it's much harder to fix as opposed to not cutting enough. Cut the bottom of the paws in a circle. When cutting their legs, I've noticed it's easier to go with the line that's already there and cut the pieces that deviate instead of cutting a whole new line. Do the same thing for the back legs except remember to leave a bend for their knee. The Bichon's head is the most important part of grooming. The head should be rounded at the top and flat at the bottom for the utility cut (pet cut). Brush the top up and the bottom down. Cut the ears so that they are even to the bottom of the chin to make sure they blend well. Then round off the top of the head to blend into the ears as well. Be sure to make certain the head is bigger than the body to give a true Bichon look. Tips for Grooming Your Bichon A young puppy will more than likely not be able to be groomed this way as their coat is thinner and less curly. The adult coat comes in at 6-8 months and that's when this type of grooming will work. If you do have a puppy, brush them daily to get them used to being groomed. Try and try again. Your first time cutting your dog probably won't be perfect but if you keep at it eventually, you'll get there The more you groom your dog, the more they will eventually sit still The tail just needs to be combed, it is meant to be bushy Be sure to trim the eye area carefully so your Bichon doesn't constantly have hair falling in his/her eyes Try a sanitation trim on the bottom so their poop doesn't get stuck on your dog's bottom Be patient, grooming can be time consuming

Here you will find helpful hints on keeping your Bichons face free from staining Tear Staining With white-coated breeds such as Bichon Frise , many at some point in their life will develop those very distracting, ugly, red-brownish tear stains underneath their eyes, around their muzzles, and in between their toes. The cause can be related to health issues, shape of the eye, blocked tear-ducts, puppy teething, ear infection, allergies (either food or environmental), and so on. Therefore if your normally white-faced puffball develops aggressive staining seemingly out of the blue, first consult your veterinarian, and/or a veterinary ophthalmologist, to rule out any underlying health concern. After confirming your dog is indeed healthy, the following tips and suggestions from my own experience and feedback from other breeders will hopefully restore and maintain that beautiful, white furry face. Examine the quality of your food It is generally agreed among Bichon Frise breeders that although there are numerous and passionate opinions about brands (and further passion about kibble versus raw), a high-quality diet works best for our breed. The corn, wheat, and meats that are used as fillers in inferior-quality foods just don’t ensure long-term good health and can cause allergic reactions, resulting in excess tearing and other problems. Chicken products can often be the source of this problem. Examine the quality of your water We have noticed that they will develop staining pretty quickly in response to excess minerals. Use purified, spring, distilled, or reverse-osmosis water sources. Clean in, means clean out when it comes to water. This is normally not the cause, but can pose a problem, especially due to high iron content ! It is very important to clean water bowls once a day, provide fresh water daily. Keep those moist or “rusty” areas dry! Try using licker bottles (such as for rabbits or hamsters) instead of water bowls, especially for sloppy drinkers. Use paper towels to absorb the excess water around your dog’s mouth after he/she drinks from a bowl. Cornstarch can also be dusted underneath the eye, around the muzzle, and in between toes to help keep these areas dry. Daily eye- and mouth-hair hygiene. A quick daily “face grooming” will go a long way in keeping those stains at bay. Some tips: • Flush eyes with an appropriate canine eye-wash, such as saline eye-wash solutions or Terra Septic eye drops. • Moisten a cotton ball with the same eye wash or a contact lens solution, and rub underneath and around the eye area. • Wash the muzzle hair with dry shampoo or waterless shampoo and a wet washcloth. You may also try 3% hydrogen peroxide on a paper towel. Comb and blow-dry afterwards. • One of the biggest helpers, keep the hair around the eyes trimmed to avoid it irritating the eye and causing tearing. Use a pair of blunt/rounded end scissors to keep the hair trimmed away from the eyes. Especially the inside corners. If you don't feel comfortable doing this, make sure your groomer does it. These conditions can last from puppyhood to 7 months due to teething, but generally you'll see improvments as they mature by 3-4 months. The short of the story is that unfortunately there isn’t just one foolproof preventative, and each dog responds a little differently, so it often takes a little experimenting and patience—but it is worth the effort to have that precious little white face smiling at you ! click picture to purchase We have heard good things about this product. It may work for you !!

We are Cape Fear Bichons, a breeder of Bichon Frise puppies. We breed for quality no quantity. We are a breeder of H.E.A.R.T. All breeding dogs are O.F.A.& genetically tested, our goal is to continue to produce beautiful, healthy dogs that meet the breed standard. Cape Fear Bichons Veteran owned and operated Ltd. AKC registered pure bred Bichon Frise puppies from champion bloodlines Available to answer questions via text or email between the hrs. of 8:00am - 5:00pm everyday Available for visits, inquire ahead of time Content, including images, displayed on this website, is protected by copyright laws. Downloading, republication, retransmission or reproduction on this website is strictly prohibited.