YOUR NEW PUPPY

· Decide where your new puppy is to live. All Bichons like to be under things, and you may find it useful to purchase a plastic traveling crate, which can be used as puppy's bed, and also gives puppy a safe place to travel in the car. An ideal place for the bed is in the kitchen or utility room especially if it has a washable floor.

· Fresh water should be freely available for your puppy.

· At eight weeks of age puppy will still require three meals a day. Puppy will decide when to drop down to two meals around six months of age, then one meal in adulthood.

· As puppy changes teeth the gums will get sore, puppy may prefer it's food dry to give it something to bite on. You may like, however, to give puppy a choice of both soaked and dry for a while.

· Puppy will need to chew and any handy wood may become a target. Make sure that you have an ample supply of dental chews from your Vet or local food store. If puppy chews something it should not, give it a chew. Puppy will quickly learn what is allowed.

· House training does not have to be a problem provided that you remember some simple rules.

· Puppy will always go to the toilet on waking up, so take puppy to the spot that you wish it to use, as it goes to the toilet give the action a command such as 'be clean' or 'hurry up'.
· Puppy will wish to go to the toilet shortly after eating so again make sure that you take puppy out and give the action a command. Eventually puppy will associate the words with the deeds and can be trained to be clean on command.
· When puppy is playing it may be enjoying the game too much to go outside as it should, make sure that you take it out frequently. If it starts to circle it is preparing to empty so take it outside.

·A young puppy will play until it is exhausted if left to its own devices. Make sure that you enforce rest periodically through out the day. Puppy will complain that it is not tired but if put to bed will shortly be asleep.

EXERCISE AND SOCIALISATION

· Your puppy may have received it's first inoculation when you pick it up from the breeder, it may or may not have received it's second depending on the age. Check with your local vet that the inoculations are suitable to the local environment since different areas have different problems.

· In any case it is a good idea to have your puppy checked out by the vet at the first possible opportunity, and may in fact be part of the contract of sale.

·In the period from the last inoculation to the time that the vet advises you that it is safe to put the puppy down off your own property, carry the puppy around as much as possible and introduce it to as many different experiences and noise as possible.

· When puppy is old enough to go on the ground encourage it to be picked up if it gets concerned. Then over time it will consider Mum or Dad's arms to be a safe haven,so that if it is ever set upon by other dogs it will run to you for safety.If your dog is being attacked shout VERY LOUDLY to distract the attacking dog and lift your dog high in your arms. If the attacking dog leaps at your dog you can then get your foot under the soft under-belly of the attacking dog and lift it out of the way. If by doing so the attacking dog lands on it's side or back it will take that as a defeat and usually makes good it's escape.

· Because you want your dog to respond safely when in a panic NEVER call a dog to you to be punished, if it gets to it's bed before you can catch it to correct it, NEVER take it out to punish it. That way it will always come to you or go to it's bed if in trouble or needing a safe haven .

· Puppy is not capable of knowing what it can or cannot do. This has to be learned. Most Bichons believe that they can fly for example. It is therefore up to you to ensure that they are in a safe environment.

· Do not let puppy jump on and off the furniture unchecked. It could get a foot stuck between the cushions and pull a ligament or slip a patella, similarly if free running on rough ground. Bichons have a tendency for selective deafness and for this reason I never ever free run my Bichons. A running lead will give them just as much fun but they are under control. To my great regret I once sold a puppy to someone and told them this simple rule. They chose to think that they knew better and the poor animal ran under a car chasing a cat before its fourth birthday. I now labour the point.

· Do not let puppy climb up or down stairs. It puts unnatural strain on any growing animal. Once they are fully mature, then it is your choice.

· Never underestimate the height that a Bichon can climb or jump. Certainly the height of a standard kitchen work surface presents no difficulty to most Bichons, if you do not wish the dog to get to it do not leave anything out.


FOOD AND DIET
· Most white coated animals are more prone to skin problems than other colours.

·Bichons cannot tolerate beef in any form at all. It seems to cause over heating which results in hot spots.
· Feed the food recommended by your breeder, and do not tit bit.
·A fully grown Bichons will eat between 2-3oz of dried food per day.
· Tit bits very quickly cause fat Bichons and a fat Bichon will not live as long or as healthily as a Bichon of the correct weight. We used to say 1lb per 1 inch of height to withers. These days they tend to weigh a little heavier but you should be able to feel the ribs ( but not the backbone)

· Where you live will determine the quality of your tap water. I find bottled spring water very cheap, and the Bichons prefer it to chlorinated tap water. Also their tear staining seems less. Make sure that there is always fresh water available. They do not need milk, indeed it will give them loose motions. If the dog is recovering from illness, however, goats milk is acceptable.

GROOMING AND BATHING.

· Groom the Bichon daily starting from the day that you bring puppy home. Your breeder will no doubt have taught puppy to stand on a grooming table to be groomed. If you continue with this routine your life will be made much easier. Do not forget that puppy firmly believes he can fly, so keep one hand on puppy at all times.

· A rubber car mat on a work surface makes a good non slip grooming surface of the right height for you to see what you are doing.

· The tools of your trade will be a slicker brush and a long tooth comb plus a pot of tear stain remover cream

· Taking the slicker brush and remembering to keep the teeth of the brush level with which ever part of the dog you are grooming, very softly part and brush every part of the dogs coat taking great care to brush away from the eyes. Remember that knots will always occur where coat rubs.

· between the front legs,
· between the back legs,
· around a male dogs testicles,
· behind the ears,
· under the chin.

·Having brushed the coat down to the skin, take the comb and with a flick action lift the coat away from the skin all over the dog. If you find a knot the comb will 'ping'. Part the hair and find the knot, hold the knot so that your fingers are between the knot and the skin and carefully tease the knot out

· The coat will tend to knot when the coat changes from puppy to adult coat and with some lines again at about 15 to 18 months of age.

·Having brushed and then combed puppy apply some tear stain cream to any staining, making sure not to get it in the eye. The cream will dry hard overnight and is brushed out next time you groom, then re-applied.

· Puppies from the same litter have different amounts of tear staining, just because puppy stains this does not necessarily mean that the adult Bichon will stain. Teething always seems to cause staining, as does puberty and sometimes seasons.

· Teething can also cause ears to fly.

·Get puppy used to having teeth cleaned by rubbing cotton wool with doggy toothpaste on it as part of the grooming routine. Bichons, as with other toy breeds, are prone to losing teeth at an early age unless they are cleaned regularly. That means daily. Tea Tree toothpaste for dogs seems particularly good as does Aloe Vera tooth paste.

· Bath as frequently as required. A Bichon coat is not like that of a dog that sheds and frequent washing does no harm provided you use a good shampoo with conditioner.

· Never bath a Bichon with a knotted coat, this will simply cause knots to felt.

·Always make sure that all of the shampoo is rinsed out, although if the coat is a little harsh you need not be so particular about the conditioner.

· Dry the coat thoroughly and brush each section in all directions as you dry before moving on to the next section. Unless you do this properly the moisture left in the coat will cause it to curl. There are machines that you can buy which are forced air driers. These are often used by people who have more than one Bichon. You can also achieve a good finish with time and care, using a hand held domestic hair drier.

· Bath time is the time to empty puppy's anal glands. These are two little scent glands which are situated at about twenty past and twenty to taking the anus as the center of the clock face. When full they feel like two small peas under the skin. Holding the tail firmly you empty them by squeezing up and out from just below the glands. A smelly substance comes out from the anus. This varies in texture and colour from dog to dog. If you do not do it for the dog he will attempt to empty the glands himself by scooting across the carpet on his bottom or by nibbling the base of his tail. If left they can become a problem, if emptied regularly they will not.

· All dogs with ears which hang down can develop problems because of the lack of air movement. This means that the ear is an ideal place for ear mites to reproduce. Therefore it is helpful for the health of the dog to pluck the ears regularly so that the mites have nowhere to live. Indeed the more frequently you do this the less it seems to hurt the dog. Simply pluck the hair in the ear between fore finger and thumb taking a little at a time. You can if you wish use blunt ended tweezers but do not poke around where you cannot see. When puppy is on your lap whilst you are watching television can be a good time to do this, although I prefer bath time since it is then part of a regular routine which the dogs get used to.

· Nails will need trimming, if the nail is white then you can see where the quick is and avoid it. If the nail is black then simply take a small sliver each time and look at the end of the nail, as you begin to approach the quick you will see a circle appear in the center of the nail. Do not cut the quick since that will give the dog pain, and make trimming more difficult next time. · If you really can not cope with the nail trimming then a metal nail file will work, and again when the dog is relaxed on your lap may be a good time.

REARING A WELL BEHAVED ANIMAL

· No matter how well behaved your little darling has been while growing up, at some point around puberty it will rebel. It will decide not to be groomed or to no longer be clean in the house. It may even decide to growl if you are trimming its nails. You MUST master it. This will be the time that will decide whether you are going to have a well behaved animal or a little monster who will make your life difficult

· Whatever you start to do with your dog, you must persevere until you have completed the task. If the young dog growls or tries to nip the brush or comb, you must say NO with a gruff, deep voice and hold the dog's head to the floor, or table if being groomed. This is the way a bitch teaches her young puppy and it works much better than physical punishment because it reinforces, in the dog's mind, that you are pack leader and it must do what you wish.

· Finally if at all worried or at a loss, contact your Breeder. No one should know your dog better than the breeder from whom you bought it. If you were unfortunate enough to have obtained your animal from a puppy farmer who is therefore not prepared to help, the Committee Members of the various Bichon Clubs are always happy to help.

John and Maureen Reynolds
Worcestershire
UK

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