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Skin problems is regarded as the common issue that these type of dogs experience with itchyness, rashes and sores which may cause the furs to fall out, letting the raw skin exposed with bleeding bald patches. Veterinarians blame this vulnerability to dermatological diseases as being due to the double layered coat that is characteristic of the breed. They’ve inner coats and outer coats, the inner coats being long and silky combined with the curly ones, these cause hair strands to get tangled forming some kind of a mesh. If the pet owner is not diligent in brushing their Bichon’s fur daily, dirt and bacteria collect on the skin, leading to irritation and infection. Fleas, mites and ticks also get trapped in the coat, with their bites causing itchy sores characteristic of mange (a persistent, highly contagious skin disease characterized by eczematous inflammation and hair loss).

Parvovirus infectin and Distemper are caused by deadly viruses this is exactly why bichon frises need to be vaccinated againts these viral diseases. Parvo infection is a very contagious disease which is marked by a high fever, loss of appetite, lethargy, bloody diarrhea and vomiting, leading to death. On the other hand, Distemper is caused by a Paramyxovirus.

Bichons residing in tropical countries would need to get an additional vaccination for heartworm. The heartworm – scientific name Dirofilaria immitis – is a parasitic filarial worm that is transmitted to dogs by mosquitoes. The worms connects to the heart of the dog the very moment it got inside the bloodstream. Symptoms of heartworm include loss of appetite, difficulty of breathing and generalized body weakness, resulting in coma and death. Sadly, once heartworm infects a bichon frise, there is no cure for it and the prognosis is very poor.

AIHA or Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia is one of the disease that all Bichon Frise owner should be aware and should watch out for as well as ITP or Immune-Mediated Thromboyctopenia and liver shunts. Based on Bichon Frise information on AIHA and ITP, these are diseases of the dog’s immune system. Bichons with such 2 problems will show with anemia signs and symptoms similar to darkish pee, skin pallor, light or yellow-colored gum area, weakness (due to insufficient power), appetite decline, looseness of the bowels and nausea, tachycardia (quick heartbeat) and tachypnea (rapid breathing).

The final one but equally dangerous is teh liver shunt that includes a large chance of occuring if the bichon frise is underweight. Some symptoms of this are seizures and can also come with voiding of dark urination, loss of appetite and thirtiness or lethargy.

Since there are many diseases that may afflict their dogs, pet owners are advised to read any Bichon Frise info on health that they can find, in order that they would be aware of any symptoms that may develop in their pets.