Tips On Grooming A Bichon Frise

Grooming a Bichon Frise regularly is a necessity. This is a habit that both you and your Bichon must become accustomed to.

Be sure to start this process as early as possible,preferably when your Bichon Frise puppy is about 12 weeks of age.

This page deals primarily with brushing and combing your Bichon. If you would like to find out about bathing a Bichon Frise or the different kinds of Bichon Frise hair cuts be sure to check out their respective articles.

The Bichon Frise Coat

Because of the Bichon Frise's double coat, the hair will become tangled and matted if not brushed and combed out on a daily basis.

Bichon Frise puppies will not experience matting issues until they reach about 1 year of age but they still need to be brushed frequently so that they become accustomed to the feel of the comb and brush.

How to Groom a Bichon Frise

Grooming a Bichon Frise, as far as the brushing and combing aspect, really needs to be done on a daily basis. . The Bichon is not like other breeds of dog, and he requires special handling and attention.

A quality, stainless steel coarse/medium greyhound comb, slicker brush and pin brush are what we use and recommend.

• Use your slicker brush first to remove any debris, dirt or grass from the coat. When using the slicker brush, brush against the grain or in the opposite direction of the hair growth.

  If your dogs are anything like ours, they sometimes like to roll around in the grass. As a result, leaves and grass clippings often become entwined into their coats.

• Next, use your greyhound comb on your Bichon Frise. Work small sections at a time until you have done the entire body except for the tail and ears. When combing, try to comb up and out from the skin.

  If you come across any tangles or mats, be very careful and as gentle as possible when removing them. The removal of these tangles, if not done delicately, can be very painful for your Bichon Frise. We always try to break apart these mats first with our fingers, beginning furthest away from the skin going inward.

• After you have broken the mat considerably, then use a few teeth on the end of the comb to finish removal and smoothing out the hairs. If you come across some very stubborn mats which seem impossible, just take some scissors and clip them off, making sure that you don't come into contact with the skin.

• At this time use your slicker brush again. Brush the entire coat making sure you go in the opposite direction of the hair growth.

• Finally, we like to use the pin brush for grooming the tail and ears. On these two areas, you will want to brush in the direction of the hair growth. The tail and ears are very sensitive on the Bichon Frise, so be as gentle as possible. If you are not gentle, your white fluffy friend will let you know.

Grooming a Bichon Frise takes time and dedication. So make it as enjoyable as possible.

And, the earlier you introduce regular grooming to your Bichon Frise puppy, the easier it will be.

Grooming a Bichon Frise to Bichon Frise