Bichon-Frise. Help please!

[BecauseICan22]

Hello,

I'd like to preface this post by saying I've never owned a dog or ever considered that I would.

However, I married my DH this year and he is a huge dog person. My daughter who is 10, has also stated that she'd love to have a dog. She's currently going through ASD assessments and this has come out through her conversation with the Psychologist.

Because my daughter is allergic to dog dander, we've looked at the most allergy friendly breed and the above keeps coming up.

I would like to educate myself and have as much understanding as possible before we even consider getting a dog.

Any advice, direction, tips or information by experienced dog owners would be wonderful. I could just talk to my DH but he is so desperate for us to get a dog that I don't think he'd be objective.

I'd like to know the good, the bad and the ugly and also how to get a puppy, should we decide to, ethically and from a decent breeder/seller.

Aah thank you both. I'm looking at these resources now.

In terms of training etc. There are so many different approaches and methods. I'm kind of treating it like a new addition to the family, so I appreciate that love is the first element of that but boundaries and training are key. Any suggestions on where to start on this?

Thank you 😊

Hey OP, good luck with your Bichon! They are really lovely little dogs.

Our little girl is 4 now but when we first got her we read the Easy Peasy Puppy Squeezy book by Steve Martin. It was great for helping us simplify and prioritise her training. They are smart little dogs and so will pick it up quickly with consistency :)

Also get yourself to some puppy training classes as these are great for training you just as much as the pup.

Kikopup is a great free resource - she has a YouTube channel and teaches loads of basics.

I'd also look at this Facebook group - it's run by professionals and has loads of amazing advice on raising a puppy, and you can ask any questions they don't cover.