A Brief (and Possibly True) History of the Bichon Frisé

The late Renaissance lap dog becomes a Parisian street performer ... and our modern-day Bichon Frisé.

[zondrabarricks]

Our bichon frisée of blessed memory was the best worst dog we ever had. He was the boss no matter how hard we tried to be the leader but he gave us 15 years of love and fun. We miss him every day….and cherish the memory of all of his antics and charms!

[stevepowsinger]

I lost my Bichon recently. I’m so sad.

[juliamckenzie]

Wow look at that rich lady sitting on a Boston Common park bench with a tough street dog on her lap

[ysbryd]

The fluffy white doggies known today as bichon frises are Mediterranean in origin. Many centuries ago, dogs called barbets, or water spaniels, were crossed with little white lap dogs, creating four types of "barbichons, " a name later cut to bichons. They were Bolognese, Havanese, Maltaise, and Teneriffe bichons. The latter, eventually became known as the bichon frise, were developed on the Canary Island of Teneriffe. They probably were first brought there by Spanish sailors. At some point in the 1200s or 1300s, Italian sailors encountered the dogs and brought them back to Italy, reintroducing them to the European continent.

In the early 1900s, French breeders created a breed standard, which was officially adopted by the Societe Centrale Canine of France on March 5, 1933. The doggies were given one name, bichon frise, which translates to "curly coat." About a year and a half later, these small furballs were accepted into the French Kennel Club's stud book. In 1956, a French family brought their bichon frises with them when they moved to Michigan, and by 1960, two breeders were working to develop the breed in the US. In 1964, The Bichon Frise Club of America was founded. These pooches were allowed to compete with the American Kennel Club in the Miscellaneous class in 1971, and the organization admitted the breed to its roster in 1973.

[Su-riob]

Oh my giddy aunt! I have a Bichon Frise and my name is Susan Wilson. Neither are unusual, but still...

[BettyTheLion]

Niko was very vocal! Nice presentation by you both!