The bichpoo is part Poodle and part Bichon Frise and 100% circus performer. This doodle has the French circus 🎪 in its blood on both sides. Easy to train and quite the entertainer, you will never be bored!

The bichpoo is a hybrid dog that combines the best of the Miniature Poodle and the Bichon Frise together. They can also be called the poochon or the bichon poodle.  They are equally soft and affectionate. Both parent breeds are very loyal to their owners and easy to train. 👍  The bichpoo is full of personality and is lively and playful. They do well in families with or without children. The bichpoo fits well in an apartment or condo and is ideal for city dwellers. They are also  very alert and curious and can make great watchdogs to let you know if anyone is coming to visit. 🚪

The Bichon Frise descends from an ancient group of breeds called the Barbichon types. The Barbichon comes from Tenerife, the largest of the Canary Islands 🇮🇨 . These dogs were very popular among the island’s sailors. 

The next documented historical appearance of the Bichon Frise was in the 13th century accompanying European Royals in countries such as Spain 🇪🇸 , France 🇫🇷  and Italy 🇮🇹 . 

Unfortunately, for the Bichon Frise their hay day as royal lapdogs faltered during the French Revolution in 1789. When the Bichon Frise lost its privileged position among the royals it found a home performing in the French circus. 🎪 They were smart and agile and did well as trick performers. 

The Bichon Frise hit hard times once more when WWI and WWII took place. They would have been extinct if a few Bichon Frise fans had not rescued and revived the breed after the wars. 👏

The Bichon Frise was formally recognized as a breed in 1933 in France 🇫🇷 by the Society Central Canine as the Bichon a Poil Frise. The Bichon Frise was later recognized by the Bichon Frise club of America 🇺🇲  in 1964 and the American Kennel Club in 1971.

The Bichpoo hybrid is believed to have been combined originally in Australia 🇦🇺 in the 1990s when ‘designer dogs’ were especially popular.

Let’s take a quick look at the other half of the bichpoo hybrid.

The Poodle is called Pudel in Germany 🇩🇪 and Caniche in France 🇫🇷 . Both of these names are a nod to the Poodles original breeding use as a water retriever. The German Pudel name translates to puddle or splashing water . The French Caniche name translates to duck dog. 🦆

The Standard Poodles were originally bred as hunters of wildfowl to retrieve the game out of the water. The Miniature Poodle was also bred in France as a talented circus performer 🎪 . These Miniature Poodles were trained to walk tightropes and even perform card tricks and skits. 

Both the Bichon Frise and the Poodle have long histories of circus life  and companionship. 

Sizing it all up

Bichonpoo sizing is pretty simple. This doodle is a hybrid combination of a Miniature Poodle 🐩 and a Bichon Frise. They can weigh about 18 pounds and stand about 15 inches tall when they are full grown. The Bichpoo is full grown at around 1 year old. 

Color Coding, Fur Real

The Bichpoo has super soft fur that is low shedding. Since the fur is relatively low shedding the hair can matt without brushing. The fur needs to be brushed daily if not every other day. The Bichpoo also needs a bath 🛀 about once per month. They will also need a hair trimming every 4 to 6 weeks. The bichpoos ears👂also need to be check every week for any issues. Doodles can be susceptible to ear infections due to debris or water not drying properly in the ears. 

 The AKC states that “there is no such thing as a completely hypoallergenic dog”. Unfortunately people with dog allergies are usually allergic to the dog dander 🦠, not the dog’s fur. Granted the dog fur can be a carrier for the dog dander it is not the cause of the allergen. The old school of thought was that less dog hair = less allergen. So breeders would attempt to have as many Poodle genes in a dog breed to lessen dog hair shed. Unfortunately, this does not change the level of dander. Please be cautious regarding the labels of “hypoallergenic” if you have dog allergies. If you would like more info on this please read 22 Hypoallergenic Doodles. ◀️

Working it out

The bichpoo has moderate exercise requirements. They need about 30 minutes of exercise per day. They may have long stretches of napping followed by intermittent spurts of zoomies. Bichpoos can be surprisingly fast. 🐕💨

If the bichpoo does not get enough exercise to get their excess energy out they can become destructive and start to exhibit bad habits. 

⚠️ One word of warning, it is not recommended to have your doodle participate in highly strenuous activities prior to the age of 10 months due to underdeveloped joints and bones. ⚠️

Come, Sit, Stay

Bichpoos are highly intelligent and easy to train. They learn quickly and like to please their owners. Bichpooos can be trained in obedience and agility 🥏 which they do well at. They respond best to positive training methods and don’t do well with harsh corrections. Bichpoos may need extra training to be left alone for long periods of time, they may become bored and destructive.

Their parent breed the Bichon Frise also has a reputation for being difficult to potty train 🚽 and your bichpoo may need more training in this area as well.

Quality of Life

The bichpoo is a fairly healthy hybrid doodle. In general hybrid breeds can be healthier than their parent breeds due to added genetic diversity. The hybrid doodle is still susceptible to the same medical issue that their parent breeds are. The medical concerns for the bichpoo include patellar luxation, progressive retinal atrophy, cushing’s disease and allergies. 🩺

There are also a few medical issues that can be screened for. The National Breed Club recommends that the following medical issues are tested for hip evaluation, patella evaluation and ophthalmologist evaluation. 🧪

Small dogs such as bichpoos can also have dental issues including early tooth decay and gum infections. Proper dental care is essential to prevent these dental issues. 🦷

So now you want an Bichonpoo….

If you are thinking about getting an bichonpoo you must make sure that you are in love with any combination of traits that a doodle surprise could offer. 🎁 Your doodle may look exactly like a Bichon Frise but act exactly like a Poodle. Would you be ok with that? What about the other way around? If you can love 💗 ALL of the traits of both parent breeds then DO IT! Doodles are the best! 

I would check at Poodle rescues and also at Bichon Frise specific rescues, they may have a mixed breed/hybrid there as well. Also check regular rescues. Just realize that if you want to rescue you may have to wait to find your dog or travel to pick it up. But there are great benefits to rescuing instead of buying. 👍👏

If you decide to buy a puppy please do your research on the breeder and don’t be afraid to ask the right questions. And good luck to you! I hope you find your forever puppy! 🥰