"BICHON FRISE" IS FRENCH FOR "CURLY LAP DOG"
"Frise" is the French word for "curly," and a "bichon" is a type of lap dog. Similar breeds like Maltese and Havanese dogs are also bichons. "Bichon" is etymologically related to the English word "bitch," meaning a female dog.
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BICHON FRISES ONCE WERE OFTEN EMPLOYED AS CIRCUS DOGS
In the 19th century, bichon frises grew popular as entertainers. Audiences found them performing frequently in circuses and with street performers like organ grinders. The breed's clownish personality and friendliness made them well-suited for old-timey show business.
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FRANCISCO GOYA PAINTED BICHON FRISES
The famous Spanish painter Francisco de Goya included dogs in many of his paintings, including several works that depicted bichon frises. This painting from 1819 is titled "Las jovenes o la carta" ("Young Woman With a Letter"). It can be found in the Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille in Paris.
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BICHON FRISES WERE ALL THE RAGE WITH FRENCH KINGS
Bichon frises gained great popularity in France, especially with French aristocracy and royalty. It is often told that King Henry III was so enamored with his bichon frises that he carried them around in a basket hung around his neck with ribbons. Pampering bichon frises became such a fad in France that it begat the French verb "bichonner," meaning to make beautiful, or to pamper.
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BICHON FRISES ARE HYPOALLERGENIC
There's no such thing as a totally nonallergenic dog, but some breeds are hypoallergenic, and the bichon frise tops the list. For dog lovers with mild or moderate dog allergies, bichon frises make good companions because their thick double coats don't shed. All bichon frise owners must attend to their favorite breed's extensive grooming needs, though.
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BICHON FRISES HATE WATER
Despite stereotypes, not all canines love water. Count the bichon frise under the category of dog breeds that don't like water. It makes you think about all the bichon frises those Spanish sailors brought with them aboard ships hundreds of years ago. We suppose there wasn't much worry about the dogs jumping overboard.
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