What breed is best for us? Bichon or Maltese Questions

Hi
Im new to this and so im not sure if this is the right place to type this but...
My family and I have thought long and hard about getting a dog and have finally narrowed our choices down to two dogs- maltese and bichon frise. we have neighbours with bichon frises but have only seen the maltese from the internet etc. Mnay websites have doffernt opinions about both dogs. We have young children so our dog must get on well with kids and we dont want a dog whch has a relly short life time or is prone tpo illnesses.. what breed do you think is best for us? can you tell us the pros and cons of each dog?
thanks

hi and welcome to Dogsey

As the (i think) the only member on here with a Bichon you can guess which i would recommend.

My Bichon Princess (dont ask!) is a fabulous dog, shes smart and fun, boisterous and loving. The reason we went for a Bichon is because we have an asthmatic child but tbh i cant imagine me ever owning a different breed now. I am totally converted.

Yes they need a lot of grooming, daily brushing if possible.
yes they need a daily walk (not just a nip round the block)
yes they can be yappy (princesss goal in life is to protect us from my neighbours cats - a job she takes very seriously)

A lot of what i read stated that Bichons are very hard if not impossible to housetrain - Princess was housetrained within her first week here and nearly two years later we have NEVER had an accident in the house.

One thing that is a definate trait is seperation anxiety - this is not a dog if you are out all day! I can leave for a few hours now, but before working on it she was very destructive digging plants and eating garden furniture etc etc.

Just because they are a fluffy cute little dog dont think they wont want to act like a dog. Jumping in streams, chasing birds and rolling in poo is all in a days walk in our house! Treat a bichon like a dog and you will be rewarded with a hardy, fiesty, healthy, funny ball of fabulousness.

good luck.

I'd say Bichon. Slightly sturdier and bigger if you have children and the coat would be a lot easier to deal with because in my opinion why buy a breed with a long flowing coat, which must have been the first thing to appeal if that's going to be clipped off?

I would think the maltese would require more grooming.
I have ever really known one, he was a very study dog, but he could be fiesty as well.I don't know if it was just him or a general trait.
Out of the 2 i would say the bichon, would be a better choice with young children.

All so very true! The yapping drives me nuts!!!!:smt043

I would say one thing though, my Sisters Bichon Harvey, is one of those Bichons that is nearly impossible to housetrain! He's now 2 years old and although now housetrained, he does like to leave little poo parcels if left. This is however only when his routine changes, if they go on holiday and following school holidays where he's had company for most of the time etc. From that though, I would say his pooing was more to do with the anxiety of being left rather than untrainable-ness! So yes, they certainly aren't a breed that can be left for long periods regularly!

Have to say though, he suits them down to the ground. Great with the kids, no problems with other dogs, only needs mininmal exercise and hypo allergenic. My Sis has him clipped/trimmed every 6-8 weeks so gets away with brushing him once a week too.

One thing I will say though, being so low to the ground Bichons tend to spend most of their time brown/black in colour during the winter. Thankfully though they're "sink" sized though!

Maltese I've no experience with I'm afraid so can't help you there. Good luck with your decision.

just to offer what i do know about maltese - the breeder my mum got her yorkie from bred maltese too. They were gorgeous and when i asked her about them she said they were more of less white yorkshire terriers! dont know how true that actually is but they were about the same size with the same temperament - nippy with kids, possisive about their owner and very strong willed. This lady loved her dogs dearly but said in all her time she only had one maltese that was a darling!

so glad other dogsey people are recommending a Bichon - makes me all warm inside

Hi and a very warm welcome to Dogsey

Jasmine x

Thanks everyone for your replys
I think i will be getting a bichon frise (zoby- you wont be the only owner of a bichon for long!)
I have to say though a close friend of ours has a bichon and is also a teacher. Her husband works all day so the dog is left alone for preety much the whole day but seams fine although i dont plan to leave my dog alone for this long what would be the longest i could keep my dofg alone for? do you think alot of bichons wil have the same problem as your sister

OOOOOhhhhh another Bichon, im so excited.

I have two dogs of the same age together so that will definitely help any seperation anxiety when I'm not there but even at that i wouldnt leave any dog for more than 4 hours!

If you are planning on keeping the bichon in your home when you are out - be prepared for some destruction - i leave my two in garden where they have access to their kennel should they need it. If you are going out, i would suggest a good walk - maybe some off lead time and before you go a filled kong to keep her occupied while you are out.

I cant really comment on whether you are going to have problems or not as anytime i meet another bichon owner we seem to spend our times talking about groomers and bichon blitzs and not on any problems (other than the blitzing!) The one thing that will be important is consistent basic training. Treat a bichon like a proper dog and you will be rewarded

btw Princess says hi

why noy pop along to crufts and get a feel for the breed talk to owners etc...

welcome to dogsey

It's hard to say really! What I would say is ask your future breeder what her dogs are like and that might give you some indication.

I personally wouldn't want to leave a Bichon for more than 4 hours, they really do love their human family! Harvey is left every day during the week for just over four hours and he's absolutely fine, doesn't chew or anything. It's only when his routine changes that he starts leaving little presents around the kitchen!

My Sis had a big problem housetraining him as she didn't want to be getting up in the middle of the night, which meant he tended to poo in his pen area to start with. After a couple of weeks she started to go down to him half way through the night, let him out, go back to bed - but he'd have pooed anyway regardless!

After about a year of almost constant yapping overnight (as he didn't like being left downstairs) she finally relented and he now sleeps upstairs in his bed, but is now working his way onto her bed at night. Smart little pooch he is!

Strangely, whenever he stays at our house (which he has done since he was 6 months old) we never have any of these problems. He's never messed in the house over night and has never ever yapped during the night either (but then we do have other dogs in the room with him!). Drives my Sis nuts! :smt043

That said after all is said and done he's a lovely little thing who suits there needs perfectly. Certainly not a breed for me, but one I'd certainly recommend for those that have children.

This would be an excellent idea if you can mangae to get there?

Don't know who the breeder is, but I know for a fact, haveing owned several maltese and am in close contact with several maltese owners and breeders, Maltese are nothing like yorkies!!!!!!!! Maltese are by nature not yappy or nippy, actually are very mild mannered and pleasant dogs. I have a maltese and I also have 3 children, 7, 5, and 3. I do not know much about bishons as I have never owned one, but maltese are great with kids. They require little exercise, they potty train rather easy, and are not possessive or territorial. Maltese do need groomed regularly, but are hypo allergenic do to the long coats very little shedding. Many people keep a short cut on them which can be achieved by a trip to the groomer every 6 to 8 weeks. Some are very small, but many will reach up to 10 lbs. I highly recomend a maltese. but as I said I know nothing about bichons.

I agree with you! My little Maltese x just loves children in fact he loves everyone!

Thanks fo the pic she is gorgeous.. the thing i love best about them is her black eyes against the white coat. Thanks for the idea of coming along to crufts. i will try but we have a big family... and so are quite busy so... thanks everyone you have all been very helpful.. cant wit to show yhoo pictures of my puppy as soon as we get it.. we have just had a house extention (a new play room where the dog will stay!) we just need to get our floor and then we will be ready.. so exciting

just to say thanks again to everyone yhoo have all made me feel very welcome!

This is what one of my friends had to say about her maltese:

I'm just curious what attracted other people to choose the Maltese dog breed?

Besides the obvious (they are sooo dang adorable), here are some of the reasons I chose a Maltese over any other breed:

1. They are non-shedding
2. They are good watch dogs, but not overly yappy
3. They have a long life span
4. They are very loyal
5. They are small enough to be good travel companions
6. They get along great with other animals
7. They are very intelligent
8. They don't seem to mind if you put bows in their hair
9. I love their black, sensitive eyes

Don't suppose you have a decent pic of a clipped Maltese? Can't find any good ones on the net!

There you go

Aww so cute! A bit like a Bichon, but without the perm!

A very cute pup. I love the puppy cut. I am actually growing my babies hair out. He has got a good coat that doesn't mat alot though. Some do some don't. From what I understand bichons mat easily because of the curly hair, I don't know though.

Not in my experience, as long as they go to be trimmed regularly they don't mat at all.