message for leafty.

[chanel]

hi i was looking at your lovely little bichon shes gorgous. i also have a 12wk old puppy have you got any advice for me? i noticed your puppy as no tear staining my little pup as terrible tear staining i hate it because it spoils her look. iv brought lots of diffrent solutions but none of them work. how is your puppy takeing to house training? my little pups not getting the idea at all but shes only young.

[puttin510]

Sometimes its as easy as making sure there is absolutley no hair in the eyes. Including the lashes near the eye. I notice my poodle has much less problems with staining when hair is trimmed very short near the eyes. Also giving a very good premium kibble is good. Can you show us you bichon.

[chanel]

hi, thanks i will try cutting the hair below the eye. i can't send a pic because i dont have a digital camera im hopeing to get one soon. how old is your poodle? i was going to get a poodle befor i decided to get a bichon.

[puttin510]

I almost ended up with a rescue bichon before I got my poodle. LOL She is approx. 7 1/2 years old. She unfortunatley has arthritis. So if you can nip any jumping up and down off of chairs and beds it will be of great value to you and your bichon as she gets older. Sasha's arthritis started showing about the age of 4 or so. She's a beauty though. Get yourself a digital camera. Its alot of fun posting pictures.

[chanel]

oh no im glad you told me that because she goes running at speed up and down the stairs, i will have to stop her doing that shes used to doing now so i surpose it will be hard to stop her i have got an childs stair gate but she would beable to slip though the bars. how tall do bichons grow? my dad used to breed poodles when i was a child i rember they were black.

[leafy]

Hi Chanel,

Sorry for the late reply! As you know, tear staining in this breed is not uncommon...what I do is I constantly wipe her eyes anytime I see any wetness or 'gunk' in the corners with a tissue to absorb the moisture. I also gently wipe her eyes and face with a warm, wet cloth after every meal to ensure that the area around her face is as clean as possible at all times. As for her toilet training, our breeder had already began to paper train her, and when she arrived at my place, she took to it very quickly. I just made sure she was always within my eyesight within the first week or so of her being with us so that I would always be able to praise her for doing it right and quickly correct her when she had an 'accident'. Bichons are very smart and Daphne really surprised me! The best advice I think is to be very consistent with everything, whether it be praising or correcting, eyes wiping etc. Develop a routine and I think you'll find that your darling will adapt very quickly! If you need any more advice, I would be happy to give out any as another new owner of Bichons - I also seek advice from more experienced owners than myself! : ) Get yourself that digital camera - or borrow one as I did - and post up those pics, I can't wait to see them!

Kind regards,

Leafy