Base colour
Pure white
- Before 12 months of age, the coat can have the tendency to be slightly beige (champagne), but this tinge must not cover more than 10% of the dog
A small, sturdy, and cheerful companion dog with a soft, curly white double coat, black eyes, and a lively, playful disposition
Descended from the Barbet, a Mediterranean water spaniel. The breed was developed in France and became a popular companion dog for European nobility. The modern breed standard was established in France after World War I.
“It is a true companion dog which can be taken anywhere without trouble. It is neither nervous nor does it often bark, it is very sociable towards both people and dogs, even if it does not know them. It has a great capacity to adapt and is very attached to its masters”
Quoted from FCI standard n°215. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Breed reference from The Dog API.
Drawn from sources, not opinion: FCI breed standard; Donner et al. 2023, PLOS Genetics (Table S3, Bichon Frise row). An empty column means we hold nothing for that side, not that there is nothing to say.
What a judge marks the Bichon Frise down for, and what puts one out of the ring, in the registry’s own words. This describes the breed standard — it is not a checklist for the animal in front of you, and a pet with a disqualifying fault is an unshowable dog rather than an unhealthy one.
Marked heavily against a specimen in the ring.
Puts an animal out of the ring altogether.
The Bichon Frise standard is published by the FCI (Fédération Cynologique Internationale), the international federation of pedigree-dog clubs, and it is what show judges apply. This section sums up what it says about coat and colour and size. It does not assess any one animal: use it to know what to ask the breeder.
Profuse coat.
The hair of the outer coat forms loose spiral curls (this is the curly structure).
The soft and dense undercoat must be present.
The coat is neither flat nor corded, neither woolly, nor matted
Base colour
Pure white
Shortened from FCI standard n°215 — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.
The colours and patterns the standard admits, and what it prefers, discourages or disqualifies in each. An accepted colour says nothing about health.
Weight (kg)
Size categories by adult weight, from Montoya et al. 2023.
The standard's words
“Height at the withers: 25 to 29 cm. A tolerance of 1 cm taller is accepted for males, A tolerance of 2 cm lower is accepted for females, provided that the proportions remain balanced and that the sexual dimorphism is well marked. Weight: Approximately 5 kg, in proportion with the size”
Quoted from FCI standard n°215.
An adult's measurements, per the standard. It does not say how big this puppy will be. Quotations from the FCI are in English, as the standard publishes them; the headings are ours.
Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the Bichon Frise in general; any individual animal can differ.
Known hereditary risks for the Bichon Frise breed, and the specific documentation to request from any breeder before paying a deposit. A responsible breeder will have these readily available; deflection is a red flag.
1 condition documentedThis is breed-level literature, not veterinary advice about an individual animal — your vet knows the animal.
Health checklist (PDF)Found in more than about one in twenty of the breed's dogs screened, or described as common in the sources.
The chromosome-12 FGF4 insertion makes the spinal discs degenerate early, which raises the risk of a disc rupture that can cause pain or paralysis, and one copy is enough to raise it. It is common in this breed — in a screen of more than a thousand Bichons Frises, more than a third carried at least one copy.
What to ask for
A CDDY/IVDD-risk DNA test on both parents
The chromosome-12 FGF4 insertion makes the spinal discs degenerate early, which raises the risk of a disc rupture that can cause pain or paralysis, and one copy is enough to raise it. It is common in this breed — in a screen of more than a thousand Bichons Frises, more than a third carried at least one copy.
What to ask for
A CDDY/IVDD-risk DNA test on both parents
Median survival 12.5 years
95% confidence interval 12.3–12.7 years, from 2,900 recorded deaths among 5,887 dogs
Mortality hazard 0.92 (0.89, 0.96) relative to crossbred dogs, whose median is 12.0 years.
Measured in the United Kingdom from 584,734 dogs. Median survival is not a prediction for an individual dog.
McMillan, K.M., Bielby, J., Williams, C.L., Upjohn, M.M., Casey, R.A. & Christley, R.M. (2024) Longevity of companion dog breeds: those at risk from early death. Scientific Reports 14, 531.