A Bichon Frise is a small dog wrapped in a cloud: a soft undercoat under a curly outer coat that, kept in full puff, hides the actual animal almost completely. Do the check after a brush-out, in good light, with the dog on a raised surface where you can see what you are doing.
Eyes and Tear Staining
Bichon eyes are a weekly headline. Keep the hair below the eyes clean and dry with a soft cloth, because permanently damp skin under staining can become sore and is itself a finding worth mentioning. Check that no hair from the fringe is lying across the eye surface, which irritates quietly and is often mistaken for the breed's normal tearing.
Skin Under the White Coat
Part the coat in sections — neck, back, belly, inside the legs, around the tail — and look at the skin itself. Bichons are a breed in which itchy, reactive skin is a familiar story, so know what you are looking for: pinkness between the toes and in the armpits and groin, small scabs, flaking, greasy patches, and the beginnings of a hot spot where the dog has been chewing. The paws deserve their own minute, since a Bichon worrying at a foot will stain the white hair there a rusty colour with saliva — that staining pattern is a map pointing at where the itch lives. Note where the dog chews, scratches or licks most, and since when; that location-and-date record is genuinely diagnostic gold at a vet visit compared with a general report that the dog is itchy. Also run your fingers through the coat to the skin feeling for lumps, which on a small dog are easy to find early if your hands actually make the trip.
Teeth and Ears: The Small-Dog Pair
Lift the lips on both sides every check. Bichons, like most small breeds, crowd a full set of teeth into a small jaw, tartar builds quickly on the upper back teeth, and gum disease creeps in quietly — look for red or receding gums, build-up, loose or broken teeth, and breath that has changed for the worse, and note which side is worst. A dog who starts dropping kibble, chewing on one side or pawing at the mouth between checks has escalated the message. Ears pair with the coat: Bichons grow hair inside the ear canal and the drop ear limits airflow, so lift each flap, look for redness and dark wax, and note odour or head shaking. If you pluck or trim ear hair as part of grooming, the check is the moment to see whether the ear underneath is calm or already irritated.
Body, Legs and the Waist Under the Puff
Feel the body with both hands: ribs should be findable under a light fat cover despite the coat's insistence that the dog is round — the puff is hair, and a Bichon can quietly become overweight inside it, which matters for the small joints that carry her. Watch her walk across a hard floor: look for skipping steps with a hind leg, stiffness after naps, or reluctance on stairs, and note whether she still jumps up as she used to. Check nails, including dewclaws, which on a light indoor dog grow long unnoticed inside the leg curls. Finish with appetite, water and toilet habits — a small dog off her routine shows it quickly, and a change in drinking or urinating is always worth a dated note.
Keeping Small Notes That Make a Big Difference
A Bichon's problems tend to be chronic and creeping — skin that flares seasonally, teeth that deteriorate gradually, staining that worsens over months — and creeping problems are defeated by dated notes, not by memory. When those notes travel with her vaccination record and history, any vet can see the pattern at once. KinsLe's Pet Passport keeps your Bichon Frise's records and check notes together in one portable packet, so the timeline you have been building at home is in the vet's hands at every visit.