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
About the Bichon Frise
Origin: Belgium, France
- Size
- Small — from its typical weight
- Weight
- 5-8 kg
- Height
- 24-29 cm
- FCI status
- Recognised by FCI
- FCI group
- Companion and Toy Dogs
- Origin
- Belgium, France
- Also called
- Bichon de Pelo Rizado
- Known hereditary risks
- Not researched yet
About
What is a Bichon Frise?
A small, sturdy, and cheerful companion dog with a soft, curly white double coat, black eyes, and a lively, playful disposition
Bichon Frise history and origins
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.
Bichon Frise appearance and size
Typically 5-8 kg and 24-29 cm at the shoulder — published as one range rather than separately for males and females.
What the breed standard says
- Bred for
- Companion dog
- Behaviour and temperament
“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.
Characteristics
- Size
- Small
- Exercise needsRead from what the breed was bred to do, in the registry’s own words: “Companion dog” That is a working purpose, not a measured exercise requirement — an individual dog’s needs depend on its age, health and household.
- 2 of 5
- Easy to train
- —
- Amount of shedding
- 4 of 5
- Grooming needs
- 4 of 5
- Good with children
- —
- Cost to keep
- —
- Tolerates being alone
- —
- Intelligence
- —
- Health of breed
- Not researched yet
Pros & cons
Pros & cons for the Bichon Frise
What you get with the Bichon Frise
- Purpose stated in the standard: “Companion dog”
- The standard describes the breed as: “It is a true companion dog which can be taken anywhere without trouble”
What you are taking on
- High grooming needs — the standard’s own description is “The hair of the outer coat forms loose spiral curls (this is the curly structure).”
Drawn from sources rather than written as an opinion — cited health research, the registry’s own standard, and peer-reviewed longevity. FCI breed standard. One breeder’s animals can differ from any of it, and an empty column means we hold nothing for that side rather than that there is nothing to say.
Characteristics
FCI standard · Bichon Frise
Coat and colour
As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording.
Coat
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
Colour
- Preferred
- Permissible
- Undesirable
- Disqualifying
Preferred, permissible, undesirable and disqualifying are FCI’s own words about the breed. They describe what the standard asks for — not an assessment of any individual dog, and not ours.
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.
What the breed standard says
- Size
- “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”
- FCI states a tolerance around the figure.
Quoted from FCI standard n°215. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
What the standard penalises
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.
Severe faults
Marked heavily against a specimen in the ring.
- Temperament: A dog which is lacking in self-assurance.
- Head: Pointed muzzle.
- Nose: Loss of pigmentation.
- Lips: Pink or partially depigmented, slack corners of the lips.
- Eyes: Light-coloured, incomplete pigmentation of the eye rims, visible whites of the eyes. The coat under the eyes should not have traces of lacrimal secretions.
- Chest: Underdeveloped.
- Tail: Rolled up, curled in a ring, raised perpendicularly or dropped whilst in movement.
- Limbs: Insufficient angulations.
- Hair: Not profuse enough and/or incorrect curl, causing the coat to be open or flattened.
- Colour: Colouring in the coat (except for dogs under the age of 12 months)
Disqualifying faults
Puts an animal out of the ring altogether.
- Any dog clearly showing any physical or behavioural abnormalities.
- Dentition: Prognathism (overshot or undershot).
- Total depigmentation of the nose, lip edges and rims of the eyelids.
- Eyes: Small, almond-shaped, protruding, too light or wall eye.
- Hair: Total lack of curly structure.
- Colour: Any colour other than white in the coat on subjects over the age of 12 months. Size: Outside tolerated measurements.
- General appearance: Any evidence of dwarfism.
- General build: Any dog whose general build fits into a square
Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the Bichon Frise in general; any individual animal can differ.
Health guide
What to ask for in a Bichon Frise
No breed-specific health panel has been written up for the Bichon Frise on this platform yet. That is a gap in our records, not a clean bill of health — ask the breeder which hereditary conditions their lines are tested for, and ask to see the results for both parents, dated and from a named laboratory.
Gallery
No photographs yet
This is where Bichon Frise owners’ own photographs will go, from the pet profiles they keep here. Nobody has added one to a public page yet.
A photograph in a pet profile stays private to its owner. We will not put one here unless they ask us to.
Puppies
No puppies listed right now
No Bichon Frise breeder has a record on this platform yet, so there is nothing to list. That is a gap in our coverage, not a fact about the breed.