FCI-Standard N° 215 / 11. 05. 1998 / GB
BICHON FRISE
(BICHON A POIL FRISE)

TRANSLATION : Mrs. Peggy Davis, brought up to date by Dr. J.-M. Paschoud.

ORIGIN : France / Belgium.

DATE OF PUBLICATION OF THE ORIGINAL VALID STANDARD : 10.01.1972.

UTILIZATION : Companion.

GENERAL APPEARANCE : Merry and playful little dog, with a lively gait, medium length muzzle, long very loose corkskrew-curled hair, very like the coat of the Mongolian goat. Head carriage is proud and high, the eyes dark, lively and expressive.

HEAD : In harmony with the body.

CRANIAL REGION :
Skull : Rather flat to the touch although the furnishings makes it appear round. The skull longer than the muzzle.
Stop : Not much marked.

FACIAL REGION :
Nose : The nose is rounded, black, finely grained and glossy.
Muzzle : The muzzle must not be thick nor heavy, without however being snipey. The furrow between the superciliary arches slightly visible.
Lips : The lips are fine, rather lean, less however than in the Schipperke, falling only enough so as to cover the lower lip, but never heavy nor pendulous; they are normally black up to the corner of the lips; the lower lip must not be heavy nor visible, nor slack and does not allow the mucous membranes to be seen when the mouth is closed.
Jaws/Teeth : Bite normal, i.e. the incisors of the lower jaw are placed immediately against and behind the point of the teeth in the upper jaw.
Cheeks : Flat and not very muscular.
Eyes : Dark eyes, as much as possible with dark eyelids, of a rather round shape and not almond shaped; not placed obliquely; lively, not too big, not showing any white. Neither large nor prominent as in the Griffon Bruxellois and the Pekingese; the socket must not bulge. The eyeball must not stand out too much.
Ears : Drooping, well furnished with finely curled long hairs, carried rather forward when the dog is attentive, but in such a way that the front edge touches the skull and does not stand away obliquely; the length of the cartilage must not, like in the Poodle, extend to the nose, but stops halfway of the length of the muzzle. The ears are anyway not as broad and finer than the Poodle’s.

NECK : Reach of neck is fairly long, carried high and proudly. Round and fine near the skull, broadening gradually to merge smoothly into the shoulders. Its length is approximately a third of the length of the body (proportion of 11 cm to 33 cm for a dog of 27 cm high), the points of the shoulder blades against the withers taken as basis.

BODY :
Loin : Broad and well muscled, slightly arched.
Croup : Slightly rounded.
Chest : Well developed; the sternum is pronounced; the false ribs rounded and do not end abruptly, the chest having horizontally a rather great depth.
Flanks : The flanks are well tucked up at the belly; the skin is fine and not loose, giving quite a whippety appearance.

TAIL : The tail is set a little more below the back line than in the Poodle. Normally the tail is carried raised and gracefully curved in line with the spine, without being rolled up; it is not docked and must not be in contact with the back; however the tail furnishings may fall onto the back.

LIMBS

FOREQUARTERS : Seen from the front, forelegs really straight and perpendicular; fine bone.
Shoulder : The shoulder is fairly slanted, not prominent, giving the appearance of being the same length as the upper arm, about 10 cm.
Upperarm : Not standing away from the body.
Elbow : Not turned out.
Pastern : Short and straight seen from the front; very slightly oblique seen in profile.

HINDQUARTERS : The pelvis is wide.
Thighs : Broad and muscular; well slanting.
Hock : Compared with the Poodle, the hock joint is more angulated.

FEET : Sinewy. Nails preferably black; it is however an ideal difficult to obtain.

SKIN : The pigmentation beneath the white coat is preferably dark; the genitals are then pigmented either black, bluish or beige.

COAT

HAIR : Fine, silky, very loose corkscrew curls looking like the coat (fur) of the Mongolian goat, neither flat nor corded and 7 to 10 cm long.

GROOMING : The dog may be shown with the feet and muzzle slightly tidied up.

COLOUR : Pure white.

SIZE : The height at the withers should not exceed 30 cm, the small size being an element of success.

FAULTS : Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree.
Slightly overshot or undershot mouth.
Coat flat, wavy, corded or too short.
Pigmentation extending into the coat and forming rusty (red) patches.

ELIMINATING FAULTS :
Pink nose.
Flesh coloured lips.
Prognathism (undershot-overshot) so developed to the extent that the incisors do not touch.
Light eyes.
Rolled up tail or twisted in a spiral.
Black spots in the coat.

N.B. : Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.

AKC STANDARD
Bichon Frise Breed Standard
Non-Sporting Group
General Appearance

The Bichon Frise is a small, sturdy, white powder puff of a dog whose merry temperament is evidenced by his plumed tail carried jauntily over the back and his dark-eyed inquisitive expression.
This is a breed that has no gross or incapacitating exaggerations and therefore there is no inherent reason for lack of balance or unsound movement.
Any deviation from the ideal described in the standard should be penalized to the extent of the deviation. Structural faults common to all breeds are as undesirable in the Bichon Frise as in any other breed, even though such faults may not be specifically mentioned in the standard.

Size, Proportion, Substance
Size Dogs and bitches 9½ to 11½ inches are to be given primary preference. Only where the comparative superiority of a specimen outside this range clearly justifies it should greater latitude be taken. In no case, however, should this latitude ever extend over 12 inches or under 9 inches. The minimum limits do not apply to puppies. Proportion--The body from the forward-most point of the chest to the point of rump is ¼ longer than the height at the withers. The body from the withers to lowest point of chest represents ½ the distance from withers to ground. Substance--Compact and of medium bone throughout; neither coarse nor fine.

Head
Expression--Soft, dark-eyed, inquisitive, alert. Eyes are round, black or dark brown and are set in the skull to look directly forward. An overly large or bulging eye is a fault as is an almond shaped, obliquely set eye. Halos, the black or very dark brown skin surrounding the eyes, are necessary as they accentuate the eye and enhance expression. The eye rims themselves must be black. Broken pigment, or total absence of pigment on the eye rims produce a blank and staring expression, which is a definite fault. Eyes of any color other than black or dark brown are a very serious fault and must be severely penalized. Ears are drop and are covered with long flowing hair. When extended toward the nose, the leathers reach approximately halfway the length of the muzzle. They are set on slightly higher than eye level and rather forward on the skull, so that when the dog is alert they serve to frame the face. The skull is slightly rounded, allowing for a round and forward looking eye. The stop is slightly accentuated. Muzzle--A properly balanced head is three parts muzzle to five parts skull, measured from the nose to the stop and from the stop to the occiput. A line drawn between the outside corners of the eyes and to the nose will create a near equilateral triangle. There is a slight degree of chiseling under the eyes, but not so much as to result in a weak or snipey foreface. The lower jaw is strong. The nose is prominent and always black. Lips are black, fine, never drooping. Bite is scissors. A bite which is undershot or overshot should be severely penalized. A crooked or out of line tooth is permissible, however, missing teeth are to be severely faulted.

Neck, Topline and Body
The arched neck is long and carried proudly behind an erect head. It blends smoothly into the shoulders. The length of neck from occiput to withers is approximately 1/3 the distance from forechest to buttocks. The topline is level except for a slight, muscular arch over the loin. Body--The chest is well developed and wide enough to allow free and unrestricted movement of the front legs. The lowest point of the chest extends at least to the elbow. The rib cage is moderately sprung and extends back to a short and muscular loin. The forechest is well pronounced and protrudes slightly forward of the point of shoulder. The underline has a moderate tuck-up. Tail is well plumed, set on level with the topline and curved gracefully over the back so that the hair of the tail rests on the back. When the tail is extended toward the head it reaches at least halfway to the withers. A low tail set, a tail carried perpendicularly to the back, or a tail which droops behind is to be severely penalized. A corkscrew tail is a very serious fault.

Forequarters
Shoulders--The shoulder blade, upper arm and forearm are approximately equal in length. The shoulders are laid back to somewhat near a forty-five degree angle. The upper arm extends well back so the elbow is placed directly below the withers when viewed from the side. Legs are of medium bone; straight, with no bow or curve in the forearm or wrist. The elbows are held close to the body. The pasterns slope slightly from the vertical. The dewclaws may be removed. The feet are tight and round, resembling those of a cat and point directly forward, turning neither in nor out. Pads are black. Nails are kept short.

Hindquarters
The hindquarters are of medium bone, well angulated with muscular thighs and spaced moderately wide. The upper and lower thigh are nearly equal in length meeting at a well bent stifle joint. The leg from hock joint to foot pad is perpendicular to the ground. Dewclaws may be removed. Paws are tight and round with black pads.

Coat
The texture of the coat is of utmost importance. The undercoat is soft and dense, the outercoat of a coarser and curlier texture. The combination of the two gives a soft but substantial feel to the touch which is similar to plush or velvet and when patted springs back. When bathed and brushed, it stands off the body, creating an overall powder puff appearance. A wiry coat is not desirable. A limp, silky coat, a coat that lies down, or a lack of undercoat are very serious faults. Trimming--The coat is trimmed to reveal the natural outline of the body. It is rounded off from any direction and never cut so short as to create an overly trimmed or squared off appearance. The furnishings of the head, beard, moustache, ears and tail are left longer. The longer head hair is trimmed to create an overall rounded impression. The topline is trimmed to appear level. The coat is long enough to maintain the powder puff look which is characteristic of the breed.

Color
Color is white, may have shadings of buff, cream or apricot around the ears or on the body. Any color in excess of 10% of the entire coat of a mature specimen is a fault and should be penalized, but color of the accepted shadings should not be faulted in puppies.

Gait
Movement at a trot is free, precise and effortless. In profile the forelegs and hind legs extend equally with an easy reach and drive that maintain a steady topline. When moving, the head and neck remain somewhat erect and as speed increases there is a very slight convergence of legs toward the center line. Moving away, the hindquarters travel with moderate width between them and the foot pads can be seen. Coming and going, his movement is precise and true.

Temperament
Gentle mannered, sensitive, playful and affectionate. A cheerful attitude is the hallmark of the breed and one should settle for nothing less.

Approved October 11, 1988
Effective November 30, 1988