A bichon is a distinct
type of
toy dog; it is typically kept as a
companion dog. Believed to be descended from the
Barbet, it is believed the bichon-type dates to at least the 11th century; it was relatively common in 14th-century France, where they were kept as pets of the royalty and aristocracy. From France, these dogs spread throughout the courts of Europe, with dogs of very similar form being seen in a number of portraits of the upper classes of Germany, Portugal and Spain; from Europe, the type also spread to colonies in Africa and South America. The name "bichon" is believed to be a contraction of "barbichon", which means "little barbet".
Breeds
Bichon Frisé
The Bichon Frisé, formally known as the Bichon Tenerife, Tenerife dog or Canary Island lap dog, was bred on the island of
Tenerife
Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...
; it was believed to be descended from bichon-type dogs introduced from
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
in the 16th century. From the Canary Islands, the breed was imported back to the Continent where it became the sometimes favourite of the European courts, its fortunes depending upon the fashions of the time; during an ebb in the breed's popularity it found its way into a number of
circus
A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicy ...
es, performing throughout Europe with organ grinders. The breed again fell out of favour from the end of the 19th century and it was due to the efforts of Belgian and French enthusiasts in the 1930s that rescued it from extinction, which is why it is today recognised as a Franco-Belgian dog breed.
Bolognese
The Bolognese, also known as the Bichon Bolognese, Bolognese toy dog, Bologneser, Gutschen Hundle or Schoshundle, takes its name from the northern Italian city of
Bologna
Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...
. It is usually claimed the breed descends from the Maltese. It is believed examples of the breed were kept by the
Medici family, who gave these dogs as gifts to garner favour. it is said that
Louis XIV of France
LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
,
Philip II of Spain
Philip II (21 May 152713 September 1598), sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent (), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and List of Sicilian monarchs, Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He ...
and
Catherine the Great of Russia, among other European rulers, all kept some.
Bolonka
The Bolonka, also known as the Bolonka Zwetna, is a recently developed breed from
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
. It is a coloured variation of the white Bolonka Franzuska that was established as a breed in 1988.
Bolonka Franzuska
The name of the breed means French lap dog (franzuskaja = French, Bolonka = lap dog, French Bichon). Since the Renaissance, Bolognese lap dogs have enjoyed great popularity and admiration in princely and royal houses. The close ties between the French and Russian nobility led to the spread of the lap dogs of the French ladies to tsarist Russia. Even Catherine the Great loved and adored these dwarf puppies. She owned a few puppies during her reign at the Romanov Tsar's Court.
Coton de Tuléar

The Coton de Tuléar takes its name from the
Madagascan port town of
Tuléar, where it originated. The ancestors of these dogs were likely brought to Madagascar in the 17th century, where they became extremely popular with the local ruling class; they became so popular that laws were passed to prevent them being owned by commoners. The breed was relatively unknown to the outside world until the 1970s, when examples were exported to Europe and North America.
Havanese
The Havanese, also known as the Cuban shock dog, Bichon Havanais, Havana silk dog, Havana Spaniel, Havana Bichon or sometimes just the Havana, is a bichon-type breed from
Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
, taking its name from
Havana
Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.[Cuban Revolution
The Cuban Revolution () was the military and political movement that overthrew the dictatorship of Fulgencio Batista, who had ruled Cuba from 1952 to 1959. The revolution began after the 1952 Cuban coup d'état, in which Batista overthrew ...](_bl ...<br></span></div>. The breed is believed to be descended from bichon-type dogs imported to Cuba by Europeans in the 18th century, where it thrived. The breed's fortunes turned with the <div class=)
in the 1950s; the Communists saw these dogs as the property of the former elite and sought to eliminate such dogs; the breed was saved by expatriates who fled with their pets to the United States.
Löwchen
The Löwchen, whose name means "little lion dog" in German, is another French breed of the bichon-type. The breed was known as early as the 16th century; by the 1970s, it was estimated only 70 remained, although thanks to a publicity drive the breed has recovered. Usually clipped to resemble a lion with a mane, when its hair grows naturally its resemblance to other breeds of the type is clear.
Maltese
The Maltese, sometimes called the Bichon Maltaise, is claimed to be descended from dogs brought to
Malta
Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...
by the
Phoenicia
Phoenicians were an Ancient Semitic-speaking peoples, ancient Semitic group of people who lived in the Phoenician city-states along a coastal strip in the Levant region of the eastern Mediterranean, primarily modern Lebanon and the Syria, Syrian ...
ns in ancient times. Proponents of this theory cite ancient artwork from Malta with dogs of similar form, although the first concrete record of this breed dates from 1805 when the
Knights of Malta wrote that the once famous local dog was almost extinct. Today's Maltese is likely the result of subsequent crosses, and they became increasingly popular throughout the 19th and 20th centuries.
See also
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List of dog breeds
This list of dog breeds includes both Neontology#Extant taxa versus extinct taxa, extant and extinct dog breeds, Designer breed, varieties and dog type, types. A research article on dog genomics published in Science/AAAS defines modern dog breeds ...
References
Citations
Bibliography
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