Expert: Kaza - 3/13/2008

Question
our 1 1/2 year newly aquired reg bichon is 13 inches at the shoulder...isn't this rather large for a frise???
he seems to eat and drink plenty but, only toilets twice a day...should i be concerned??? previously owned pooches toileted more frequently...thanx for your expertise...

Answer
Hi KC
well , size matters so they say.. or does it ?
For show purposes yes the dog is large but for a pet would that really matter, only if you will breed from it. I have seen some very leggy bichons at show and they just scrape in for size, personally I would not use them to breed from as they are likely to push up the overall average size of progeny, so some may argue to show those is actually detrimental to the breed stock for the future....
Really you would have to assess exactly how much he takes in as a large amount in comparison to what he expels out as being a bigger dog he is likely to eat and drink more, this will further be exacerbated if he is on a dry food diet, of which I would not recommend for bichons breeds.
I have also found that dogs on a commercial diet do potty more often and yes its more smelly too, being on the big side I would place him on a raw food diet with fresh fruit, vegetables, raw chicken wings, raw stewing lamb etc, kidney, liver (1 per week only)

Ground oatmeal is a slow release carb far more beneficial than corn which is what commercial feeds use.

In general if he is well, and not lethargic, not hyper and just eating a little too much then he sounds quite healthy.

I would advise that you log into my free health site and read all about raw food diets, i have a whole section on the subject, this will give you more scope with the diet angle.
www.eurobichons.com

Good luck