Bichon Frise or Standard Poodle owners?

[bettagurl]

I do love big breeds, and pitties.
German shepherds are pretty high on my list.

I do like Bichons though, and their coat, hehe I'd love to have something like that to groom.
They have a good temperament overall, which is why I would also consider a standard poodle. 85% our of 224 passed their temperament tests.
There are many breeds that would meet what I want in a dog, although I am just curious to hear what someone says who actually lives with one of these breeds.

And NO! I do not plan on adopting one of these breeds until my current dogs have passed. Always good to do a lot of research into what you ma be getting yourself into later in life, though.

[UncaBret]

We have a 13 year old miniature poodle. For the most part she is a good dog, but at 13 she does have her moods. She is very friendly, and likes to play. And she doesn't shed!

[PuppyFluffer]

I don't own either of these breeds but after 20 plus years of grooming dogs, I've seen plenty of them!

I have loved all the standard poodles I've groomed. Truly ALL of them have been wonderful dogs. I have known two that had biological issues that effected their temperament. One was euthanized for seizures which made him aggressive. It was an adult onset event and up until then, he had been a really mentally sound dog.

Several of the bichons I've met were really rotten hyper dogs mostly because their owners treated them like human babies and not dogs. Their coats tend to be softer and finer and mat easily consequently. It's difficult to find someone to groom them properly as well (if you desire a bichon to look like a bichon). You'd be amazed at the number of people that get a poodle yet don't want it to look like a poodle! Always cracks me up!

I recently kept 2 standard poodles for 3 weeks and they were just awesome to have!

[bettagurl]

I don't own either of these breeds but after 20 plus years of grooming dogs, I've seen plenty of them!

I have loved all the standard poodles I've groomed. Truly ALL of them have been wonderful dogs. I have known two that had biological issues that effected their temperament. One was euthanized for seizures which made him aggressive. It was an adult onset event and up until then, he had been a really mentally sound dog.

Several of the bichons I've met were really rotten hyper dogs mostly because their owners treated them like human babies and not dogs. Their coats tend to be softer and finer and mat easily consequently. It's difficult to find someone to groom them properly as well (if you desire a bichon to look like a bichon). You'd be amazed at the number of people that get a poodle yet don't want it to look like a poodle! Always cracks me up!

I recently kept 2 standard poodles for 3 weeks and they were just awesome to have!

Yep, I'd have to say the reasons they acted like brats was because they were treated like little babies, and not a very intelligent predator.

I would either find a good groomer, or clip the coat myself, THEN go to a real groomer.
I normally do not care what the coat looks like, as long as the dog is comfortable. My shepherd looked ridiculous after I shaved her, but she was more comfortable.

[Squawkbert]

Standard poodles absolutely rock. There is an epilipsey issue that can crop up. As poodles get smaller, they lose the positives and gain some negatives, personality-wise (have had/been around lots of all sorts of poodles).

Bichons (never had one) are a totally different breed and have different personalities. They can be stubborn (as in tough to housebreak), are not as smart as poodles (only a small handfull of breeds are) and don't come in assorted sizes. As far as I can tell, they're less likely to have an innate mean streak than overly small (poorly bred) poodles are.