Expert: Kaza - 9/4/2010

Question
My 8 mo. old female bichon is acting strangely all the sudden-she is extremely loving to everyone, but she has had 2 episodes recently where a child went to pet her and she began shaking and twisting and crying out.  She doesn't have this behavior with all children so I'm not sure what is causing this.  Since she has been staying with my parents, she is displaying angry behavior toward me-turns her head when I try to kiss her and love on her. What can I do?  

Answer
Hi Stefanie sorry for the delay however I can now answer, initially it sounds like the usual fear factor which occurs to all Bichon breeds between 8 months and 16 months, there is no set age , that depends on how developed mentally they are and in many cases what position they were in within the litter. I also suspect she will come into heat shortly hence the loving attention she is displaying. I would not alter her routine nad do not show her any more attention at this stage as this is likely to encourage her to seek more attention in the long term and this has many repercussions such as separation anxiety etc. Bichons have a knack of sulking so the short break between you altered her usual routine and she blames you for that, she will get over this , they can sulk for weeks ( I know mine have ) just carry on the normal routine with her and in about 6 weeks she will be back to her little bichon ways again.

If you are stuck and want to talk with another bichon owner lease feel free to use my 24 hour website and forum there are many owners from the USA who may be able to talk you through any difficulty.
www.eurobichons.com