The Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI) is the World Canine Organization. It includes 86 members from around the world and contract partners (one member per country) that each issue their own pedigrees and train their own judges. The FCI makes sure that the pedigrees and judges are mutually recognized by all the FCI members.
The FCI recognizes 341 breeds, Each of them is the ‘property’ of a specific country. The ‘owner’ countries of the breeds write the standard of these breeds (description of the ideal type of the breed), in co-operation with the Standards and Scientific Commissions of the FCI, and the translation and updating are carried out by the FCI. These standards are in fact the reference on which the judges base themselves when judging in shows held in the FCI member countries; they are THE reference assisting the breeders in their attempt to produce top-quality dogs.
FCI-Standard N° 215 / 11. 05. 1998 / GB
Bichon Frise
(Bichon à poil frisé)
Translation Mrs. Peggy Davis, brought up to date by Dr. J.-M. Paschoud.
Origin France / Belgium.
Date of Publication of the Original Valid Standard: 10.01.1972.
Utilization Companion.
Section 1 Bichons and related breeds.
Without working trial.
General Appearance
Merry and playful little dog, with a lively gait, medium length muzzle, long very loose corkscrew-curled hair, very like the coat of the Mongolian goat. Head carriage is proud and high, the eyes dark, lively and expressive.
Head
In harmony with the body.
Cranial Region
Skull
Rather flat to the touch although the furnishings makes it appear round. The skull longer than the muzzle.
Stop
Not much marked.
Facial Region
Nose
The nose is rounded, black, finely grained and glossy.
Muzzle
The muzzle must not be thick nor heavy, without however being snipey. The furrow between the superciliary arches slightly visible.
Lips
The lips are fine, rather lean, less however than in the Schipperke, falling only enough so as to cover the lower lip, but never heavy nor pendulous; they are normally black up to the corner of the lips; the lower lip must not be heavy nor visible, nor slack and does not allow the mucous membranes to be seen when the mouth is closed.
Jaws/Teeth
Bite normal, i.e. the incisors of the lower jaw are placed immediately against and behind the point of the teeth in the upper jaw.
Cheeks
Flat and not very muscular.
Eyes
Dark eyes, as much as possible with dark eyelids, of a rather round shape and not almond shaped; not placed obliquely; lively, not too big, not showing any white. Neither large nor prominent as in the Griffon Bruxellois and the Pekingese; the socket must not bulge. The eyeball must not stand out too much.
Ears
Drooping, well furnished with finely curled long hairs, carried rather forward when the dog is attentive, but in such a way that the front edge touches the skull and does not stand away obliquely; the length of the cartilage must not, like in the Poodle, extend to the nose, but stops halfway of the length of the muzzle. The ears are anyway not as broad and finer than the Poodle’s.
Neck
Reach of neck is fairly long, carried high and proudly. Round and fine near the skull, broadening gradually to merge smoothly into the shoulders. Its length is approximately a third of the length of the body (proportion of 11 cm to 33 cm for a dog of 27 cm high), the points of the shoulder blades against the withers taken as basis.
Body
Loin
Broad and well muscled, slightly arched.
Croup
Slightly rounded.
Chest
Well developed; the sternum is pronounced; the false ribs rounded and do not end abruptly, the chest having horizontally a rather great depth.
Flanks
The flanks are well tucked up at the belly; the skin is fine and not loose, giving quite a whippety appearance.
Tail
The tail is set a little more below the back line than in the Poodle. Normally the tail is carried raised and gracefully curved in line with the spine, without being rolled up; it is not docked and must not be in contact with the back; however the tail furnishings may fall onto the back.
Limbs
Forequarters
Seen from the front, forelegs really straight and perpendicular; fine bone.
Shoulder
The shoulder is fairly slanted, not prominent, giving the appearance of being the same length as the upper arm, about 10 cm.
Upperarm
Not standing away from the body.
Elbow
Not turned out.
Pastern
Short and straight seen from the front; very slightly oblique seen in profile.
Hindquarters
The pelvis is wide.
Thighs
Broad and muscular; well slanting.
Hock
Compared with the Poodle, the hock joint is more angulated.
Feet
Sinewy. Nails preferably black; it is however an ideal difficult to obtain.
Skin
The pigmentation beneath the white coat is preferably dark; the genitals are then pigmented either black, bluish or beige.
Coat
Hair
Fine, silky, very loose corkscrew curls looking like the coat (fur) of the Mongolian goat, neither flat nor corded and 7 to 10 cm long.
Grooming
The dog may be shown with the feet and muzzle slightly tidied up.
Colour
Pure white.
Size
The height at the withers should not exceed 30 cm, the small size being an element of success.
Faults
- Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog.
- Slightly overshot or undershot mouth.
- Coat flat, wavy, corded or too short.
- Pigmentation extending into the coat and forming rusty (red) patches.
Eliminating Faults
- Aggressive or overly shy.
- Pink nose.
- Flesh coloured lips.
- Prognathism (undershot-overshot) so developed to the extent that the incisors do not touch.
- Light eyes.
- Rolled up tail or twisted in a spiral.
- Black spots in the coat.
Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioral abnormalities shall be disqualified.
N.B.
Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.
