The Grass Eating Bichon Frise (Part 2)

Even Bichon Frise who usually don’t eat grass will head straight for the nearest patch when they’re feeling sick. They’ll gobble a few mouthfuls, retch, and then throw up, or at least try to. Veterinarians still aren’t sure if dogs eat grass because their stomachs are upset or if their stomachs get upset after they eat grass. However, many vets suspect it’s the former, because dogs who are energetic and perky seem to be able to eat grass without getting sick afterward. It seems likely that there’s something in grass that does stimulate the urge to vomit. The stomach has all kinds of neuro-receptors that respond to what dogs ingest. They react to acidity, chemical content, and textures. The texture of the grass has something like a tickle effect on the stomach, which may induce vomiting.

This tummy tickle may explain why healthy dogs can eat grass without getting sick. They take a mouthful, chew it thoroughly and swallow, then reach down for some more. dogs who are sick, however, appear almost desperate for the grass. They don’t chew it carefully or savor the taste. They gobble it. Without the chewing, those prickly little stalks hit their stomachs all at once. This may be what stimulates the urge to throw it all back up - along with whatever was irritating their stomachs in the first place. They can’t stick their fingers down their throats or ask for syrup of ipecac like people can, so eating grass is something that works. And once dogs find something that works, they tend to stick with it.

Watch Out What Grass Your Bichon Frise Is Eating

Unless your dog is in the habit of regurgitating grass on the dining room floor, there’s no reason to worry about it. dogs have been eating grass for thousands or tens of thousands of years, and there’s no evidence at all that it’s bad for them. That isn’t the case, however, when grass has been treated with insecticides, herbicides, or other chemicals. Most products say on the label whether they’re dangerous for pets. In any event, you should certainly keep dogs away from grass soon after chemicals have been applied. Most products break down fairly quickly, but they can be quite dangerous if your dog eats them while they’re fresh.

Serve Sparky Some Broccoli

It’s just a theory at this point, but some veterinarians believe that Bichon Frise eat grass because they’re not getting enough fiber in their diets. You may want to buy a higher-fiber food - pet foods for “seniors” generally have the most. These foods can be expensive, however, so you may want to look for other ways to supplement your dog’s diet. Most dogs don’t care for raw vegetables, but you can run some broccoli or green beans through the blender, adding chicken or beef broth for flavor. Or add a sprinkling of bran to their food.

The Grass Eating Bichon Frise (Part 1)

Nearly every Bichon Frise eats grass sometimes, and some dogs eat it all the time. You would think that veterinarians would have a pretty good idea by now of why they do it. But they don’t, mainly because no one has figured out how to ask dogs two important questions: “Do you like the taste?” and “If it tastes so good, why do you throw it up?”

If only dog’s could talk! But if you are like many dog owners who live in a grassy area you would swear sometimes that your dog is an Angus. dogs just lay out in the yard and graze just like a cow. dogs explore their worlds with their noses and mouths. And there’s the grass, attractive, sweet-smelling, with an appealing texture; and it’s ever-so-accessible on the ground. Why not eat it?

Bichon Frise May Have A Craving For Greens

Bichon Frise are remarkably flexible in their tastes. They’ll polish off a bowl of dried dog food, then walk over to see if there’s anything good in the trash. If they’re still hungry, they’ll wander upstairs to see what’s in the cat’s box. Basically, they’ll eat, or at least sample, whatever they find in front of them.

There’s a good reason for their liberal tastes. Unlike cats, who evolved solely as hunters, dogs survived by scavenging. When they couldn’t catch live prey, which was a lot of the time, they’d eat the ancient equivalent of roadkill. They didn’t care too much if had been lying in the sun for a week or was half-buried under old leaves. It was food, and they weren’t going to pass it up. When meat wasn’t on the table, they’d root around for tender leafy stalks, or roots, or an old polished bone. They simply weren’t fussy, and dogs today haven’t gotten any fussier. They’re predisposed to like just about everything.

In addition, there’s some evidence that dogs get cravings for certain foods. It’s possible that dogs occasionally get a hankering for greens, just as people sometimes go to bed dreaming about mashed potatoes and meat loaf. It’s not as strange as it may sound. Grass was part of their ancestors’ regular diets.

dogs are omnivores, which means they eat meat as well as plants. They don’t need grassy nutrients any more because most commercial dog foods are nutritionally complete. But Bichon Frise aren’t nutritionists. They don’t know or care that they’ve already gotten their vitamin or mineral quotients from a bowl of kibble. Their instincts tell them that grass is good, so they eat it. Besides, there’s a world of difference between satisfying the minimal nutritional requirements and having a great meal. And for many dogs, a mouthful of grass clearly tastes great. It’s like a salad - they eat some, then want more.

The Bichon Frise Game Of Jumping (Part 2) - Jumping Through Hoops

Does your Bichon Frise have you jumping through hoops? Well here’s your chance to get back at her. The simplest hoop for your dog to jump through is a store-bought hula hoop. You can just hold it and have your dog jump through. But if you want something a little closer to an agility tire jump, you can get a tire. Depending on the size of your dog, you can use an old car tire or a tractor tire: Be sure to drill a hole in the bottom so rainwater doesn’t accumulate in it.

A fancier and more lightweight solution can be made using corrugated drainpipe (it looks like a fatter version of flexible vacuum cleaner hose), which is available at any home supply store. Get about 90 inches of four-inch drainpipe and place it in the sun for awhile. As it warms it becomes more flexible, and eventually you will be able to tie it into a circle. Once you decide what size hoop you want, cut the pipe and force one end into the other. You can drill some holes and use cable ties to secure it, or if it seems to be firmly attached you can just wrap the joint with duct tape.

A cheap super-quick just-for-fun tire can be fashioned with the foam “funnoodle” pool toys they sell for kids. Just bend it into a circle and tape the ends together with duct tape. Once you’ve decided how high off the ground you want your tire jump, you’ll need to hang it. You’ll also want to secure it on both sides so it doesn’t sway when the Bichon Frise tries to jump through it. The ideal set-up is to secure the tire inside a square PVC pipe frame, with the vertical legs of the frame steadied by horizontal legs at the front and rear, similar to the base of the PVC jumps.

You can drill holes in the tire and attach eye loops, or you can use buckle dog collars and loop them around the tire. Use ropes, strong Velcro, or elastic bungee cords to hang and secure the tire. Leave a little give just in case the dog hits the tire. Make sure the ties going to the side can’t be tripped over; you may need to put a barrier in front of them. Now your all set to begin teaching your dog to jump through the hoops. Be careful not to injure your pet, and always consult with training possibilities for faster progress.

The Bichon Frise Game Of Jumping (Part 1) - Building A Jump Structure

Jumps are simple. Depending on the size of your Bichon Frise, you can turn picnic table benches or chaise lounges on their sides and have usable jumps. For higher jumps, you can use panels from large cardboard boxes, propping them up so they will fall if the dog hits them. You can place a broom handle between two cinderblocks and have a beginner’s bar jump.

You can make an inexpensive bar jump using two electric fence poles as posts (not ELECTRIFIED fence poles!). Electric fence poles are lightweight posts that stick in the ground and are available at farm supply stores. They come in heights up to four feet. Pound them into the ground a little less than four feet apart. Buy a four-foot length of skinny (half-inch) PVC pipe; this will be the bar the dog jumps over. For a fancier look and more stability, slip two more four-foot pieces of half-inch PVC pipe over each upright.

You want the horizontal bar to fall off if the dog hits it, so you can’t attach it to the vertical poles. Instead, clip clothespins alligator clips or large paper binder clips around the uprights to provide a ledge on which to rest the PVC pipe. A ledge that slopes downward won’t work; one with a slight lip works best.

The Bichon Frise should only jump in the direction in which hitting the PVC pipe would knock it off the uprights. You can buy more horizontal bars and clips for a multi-barred jump, and you can hang a sheet from the top bar for a jump that appears to be solid but still has plenty of give.

For larger Bichon Frise, you can use larger PVC pipe, but if the upright pipes are too large you’ll have to devise another way to hang the horizontal bar. Some people drill holes in the large diameter uprights and then hang the horizontal bar from pegs placed in the holes. This works, but unless the pegs are very short the bar won’t fall off as easily as it should. The best solution is to use “jump cups” which are rounded cups in which the horizontal pole rests. When knocked, the pole rolls right out. Making a jump cup is a little tricky. The best way is to take a PVC end pipe and cut it into lengthwise quarters, then screw what’s left of the cap part into your vertical pole.

If you don’t have any land to pound posts into (maybe you got fed up long ago with your dog’s digging and covered the yard with concrete), you’ll have to add legs to stabilize the jump. The easiest way to do this is to add a four-way elbow fitting that enables you to place the upright section in the top of the fitting and attach one-and-a-half-foot PVC pipe “legs” to the front, back and sides. (You can also run a pipe between the two uprights to connect them at the base.) The greatest challenge here is finding the four-way fitting; if your hardware store doesn’t carry them, a PVC supply company will.

The Dangers Of Protection-Training The Family Bichon Frise

Bichon Frise can be trained to be a dangerous threat and they can be trained to bark bite and attack. Some breeds adapt more readily to such training than others, but all dogs with vocal chords and teeth have the potential for threatening behavior.

First of all, it is not advocated to administer protection training a family pet. There have been too many unfortunate incidents involving people who have been talked into this type of training by the local guard dog trainer. Veterinarians have encountered an endless number of dogs who had to be euthanized because they had become vicious. Not all of these dogs had been protection trained, but a great many had. Some guard dog trainers will argue that if the right dog is properly protection trained, he will never become vicious and randomly bite.

While this may be true, the bottom line is that the average family cannot handle an attack trained dog. Most people find it difficult enough to get their Bichon Frise to come when called and not drag them down the street at the end of the leash. Attack-trained dogs are very useful; to the police and military, and in most cases that’s where they belong. The average family certainly does not need a dog who has been conditioned to attack and bite on command.

Most dogs are instinctively protective. Rarely does a dog need protection training to be wary of intruders. This is particularly true of dogs who have been selectively bred to guard, herd, or protect. Examples of such breeds are the German shepherd, border collie, and Bichon Frise. In the wild, canines naturally protect territory and fellow pack members. The protective instinct is further strengthened when the individual feels that he is an integral part of the pack. Keep in mind that your domestic dog views your family as his pack. If he lives in your home and is part of your family, chances are good that his protective instincts will emerge.

The instinct to protect territory and fellow pack members develops with age. Many people are dismayed that their five-month-old dog is not the least bit protective. It is not a puppy’s job to be protective! A well-adjusted puppy of any breed should be friendly and love everybody. It is the role of adult pack members to be protective. The puppy instinctively expects you to protect him. With most dogs, the sense of responsibility for being protective of the pack begins at around one year old, give or take a couple of months depending on the breed and the individual dog. At maturity - eighteen months to two years old - the Bichon Frise should show even stronger signs of the protective instinct.

How To Control Your Chase Me Please Attention-Seeking Bichon Frise

Does your Bichon Frise drive you and your family crazy by picking up a knick-knack and running crazy around the house with it, encouraging everyone to join him in a wild and crazy game of chase? The solution is simple: let him wear his leash around the house, and when he steals something, it will be easy to catch him and take it away. No game, no fun, no more stealing. Try this on your pup if she’s become a thief; just be sure you’re watching her so that her leash doesn’t get caught on anything.

Next, to remove an object or a piece of food from your Bichon Frise’s mouth, act fast, before she’s had a chance to enjoy it: grab her snout from the top with one hand and squeeze inward on the sides (pressing on her upper gums and teeth), and with the other hand reach in and extract the goods. Use the word “Out” or “Give,” then praise her when she releases her grip. If she’s really tenacious, hold her head still and blow very quickly and sharply in her ear; she’ll unclench her jaws for a moment, and you can snatch away her prize.

How To Come Up With A Fun Loving Name For Your Bichon Frise

Naming a Bichon Frise has to be one of the most delightful parts of getting one. It seems not a year goes by without a new book of dog names being published, including ones that specialize, such as a book on Irish names. We have no fewer than six books of names on our bookshelves, including two that were meant for the parents of human babies, not canine ones.

Do you need to keep anything in mind when naming a Bichon Frise? Yes. Avoid names that sound like common obedience commands. A friend of mine who had worked in Alaska adopted a beautiful husky mix and wanted to name her Sitka, after a place he’d loved visiting. After I pointed out she’d have a hard time telling the difference between “Sitka” and “sit,” he named her Bella instead.

Keep names short, one or two syllables, and easy to pronounce. I tend to use “people” names for my own pets, but you don’t have to limit yourself. Name books are a good start, but don’t forget atlases or special dictionaries such as those for foreign words or a book of baseball, railroad, gardening, or music terms, if your interests lie in any of those directions.

Make your puppy love his name as much as you do by making sure that it has a positive association. Never scream your puppy’s name at him or use it in punishment. The late dog trainer Job Michael Evans used to recommend making up a song with your Bichon’s name in it and singing to him. Commercial jingles are wonderful for this, he said, because they’re catchy and you can put the pet’s name in where the product is mentioned.

“You Are My Sunshine” becomes “You Are My Andy” (”you make me happy/because you’re gray”) and Benjamin gets regaled with the Monty Python, “Spam” song, with Ben substituted for Spam “Ben, Ben, Ben, Ben, Ben, Ben, Ben, Ben, Wonderful Ben …”

Yes, it’s silly. But try it anyway. You’ll both smile. If you have a purebred Bichon Frise, he’ll have a registered name, too. You get 28 letters and spaces with the American Kennel Club to come up with a registered name for your pet. If you choose a name someone else has already chosen, the AKC issues it along with a number to distinguish your dog’s name from the others, so unless you want your collie to be the AKC’s 897,042th “Lassie,” use all those spaces to come up with something sure to be unique.

How To Calm Your Bichon Frise By Using A Dog-Massage Technique

dog massage is a veterinary technique used to hasten rehabilitation following fractures and to restore muscle tone. It can give you a new appreciation of canine anatomy. For the busy dog owner, it is a way of disciplining oneself to make contact with the pet. It is a welcome break for dogs in obedience training. For show Bichon Frise, massage is an excellent calming procedure before entering the ring, where a delicate balance between relaxation and animation must be maintained if the dog is to look its
best.

A technique for calming down a stressed Bichon is to place your open palm over the Bichon Frise’s groin area and hold it there. On females, this is just below the stomach, on males, just in front of the genital area. The groin area is a traditional greeting place between fellow canines. dogs often tell each other “it’s all right” by nudging this area. When you gently place your hand there, it has the same effect on the dog as an arm around the shoulder or a handshake can have for worried humans. Try this technique if your dog becomes agitated while at the veterinarians, when you need to groom it, cut its toenails, or anytime the Bichon Frise is under stress.

How To Banish Your Bichon Frise’s Destructive Scratching

Destructive scratching is related to escape chewing, digging and jumping out of windows. This is a behavior that the Bichon Frise normally undertakes when he has been confined and wants to escape.

To discover the causes of this destructive behavior, you must determine when and where the scratching takes place. Obvious causes of this behavior is when the female dog next door is in heat, or confinement because the dog is a social problem or is being punished, which are the usual causes relate to confinement alone.

One exception is the Bichon that scratches on the seats or cushions of furniture or through bedding or mattresses. These excavators are usually digging a hole for themselves to curl up in or are scratching in frustration at their owner’s anal and/or genital scents. When pillows and clothing are the target, the dog may be attempting to masturbate with them.

Scratching in order to escape can occur in dominant or overdependent dogs. In either case, correction involves the same methods as for destructive chewing. The owner must teach at least the Come, Sit, and Stay commands without the use of force. These commands should be used whenever the Bichon Frise nudges for attention. The dog should be praised for desirable responses. If punishment has been used, this must be stopped immediately, as this is usually counterproductive.

To minimize the contrast between the owner’s presence and absence, all unsolicited attention, such as talking to the dog, petting him or playing with him in response to the dog’s attention seeking, should be stopped. Examples of these activities include tug-o’-war, wrestling, chasing the dog, and playing fetch when the owner must force the dog to give up the ball or stick.

In other words, interactions must involve the dog’s responding to the owner, rather than vice versa. Coming and going rituals must be avoided. It is also helpful to leave a radio turned on at a normal volume at all times to stabilize the acoustic environment and keep the dog company.

If the cause of destructive scratching is known, that cause should be eliminated, if possible. If a confined male Bichon Frise is scratching because a neighborhood female dog is in heat, the use of some medication for the female dog in heat has proved to be successful, providing her owners are willing. If not, and if the problem is recurrent with a male that is not to be bred, castration has proven helpful if combined with the other steps outlined here. If the Bichon Frise is unruly or shut away as punishment for some other behavior, the basic behavior problem should be corrected.