Bichon Frise - Non-Sporting Group

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The Bichon Frise is gentle mannered, sensitive, playful and affectionate. A cheerful attitude is the hallmark of the breed. Because of their merry disposition, they traveled much and were often used as items of barter by sailors as they moved from continent to continent. The dogs found early success in Spain and it is generally felt that Spanish seamen introduced the breed to the Canary Island of Teneriffe. In the 1300s Italian sailors rediscovered the little dogs on their voyages and are credited with returning them to the Continent, where they became great favorites of Italian nobility. Often, as was the style of the day with dogs in the courts, they were cut "lion style."