# Bichon, shih tzu or lhasa apso?



## angel01 (Oct 19, 2008)

Can I have your thoughts and experiences of each of these breeds. At the minute we are doing research into getting a puppy and these are my 3 favourite breeds. I am in all day live 1 minute from fields have an enclosed garden and my children are all over 16.

Thanks


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## noushka05 (Mar 28, 2008)

my Mum has a lhasa & hes lovely,he has a great temprement is very playful & he's really smart. My Mum adores him


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## Guest (Oct 19, 2008)

I dont know much about any of the breeds but i think the bichon looks the cutest if that helps lol 

Have a look at Darren's pics of Monty hes adorable!!


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## JANICE199 (Feb 1, 2008)

poodles are fab. dogs


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## colliemerles (Nov 2, 2007)

hello, i have 3 shih tzu,s they are great little dogs, they do need grooming daily to keep the coat from getting matts. at the moment i trim them myself, but you can get a dog groomer to do it, and clip their nails and check there ears, as they do have alittle hair that grows in there ears and can cause infection if not not removed.but they are fun little dogs, i find them great family dogs,you can get them in lots of colours to,


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## clueless (May 26, 2008)

They arte all nice breeds of dog. All tend to need daily grooming, although Bichon coat imo needs more.
I used to own Lhasa Apso and Shih Tzu and they are great dogs.


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## angel01 (Oct 19, 2008)

Thanks everyone. I have read that bichons are the hardest to groom as their coat is like cottonwool. Please keep advice coming.


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## Fleur (Jul 19, 2008)

I'd go for shiih tzu. Just make sure you have time to brush them and can afford to take them to the groomers for a regular hair cut  They were originally bred to be a companion so think it's their job to sit on your lap and play.
I believe Lhasa apso's were originally bred to be guard gogs, they would bark and wake up the bigger dogs and give warning of intruders I think their name means Little hairy barking dog. They are a little more likely to bark because of this and are more independent.
Bichon's are lovely, I think they do need a little more grooming than the others and I think have a tendency to suffer from seperation anxiety unless this is managed carefully.
This is all from memory when I was researching breeds before we ended up with our Hienz 57's - I think because we couldn't decide


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## angel01 (Oct 19, 2008)

Anyone know if these are harder to housetrain than other breeds?

Thanks


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## englishrose943 (Feb 7, 2008)

I am owned by 4 Shih Tzus and they are lovely dogs. They are very stubborn dogs and can be slow with house training.Love to be on your lap. Need to be groomed daily and their eyes cleaned every day and ears checked regularly. They dont like 10 mile hikes they are more a half hour walk twice a day as anymore than that i have to carry mine back home.lol


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## noushka05 (Mar 28, 2008)

my Mums lhasa was a very good puppy, i think the breeder had got the litter use to going outside, so he was pretty much house trained within the 1st week or so dont know about the other 2 breeds & i suppose a lot of its down to the individual dog & the new owners

just to add he loves his walks & he can go for miles which surprised me with him being a small dog, hes a very solid little dog!
This was Teddy as a pup hes almost 2 now & completly changed colour hes a very pale cream now.


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## angel01 (Oct 19, 2008)

Lovely photos of all the dogs and puppies. Thanks


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## Darren (Sep 17, 2008)

louise5031 said:


> I dont know much about any of the breeds but i think the bichon looks the cutest if that helps lol
> 
> Have a look at Darren's pics of Monty hes adorable!!


Thanks Louise  x


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## thedog (Jan 4, 2008)

We have 2 shih tzu's here and they are adorable though a little stubborn but wouldn't have them any other way. They love to be fussed and love cuddles. I would like more but not getting my own way at the minute he hexx


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## sylneo (Oct 13, 2008)

I don't have a clue about Bichon's. I've learned a bit about Lhasa Apso and Shih Tzu as my dog is a cross of the two breeds. IMO Lhasa Apso's a loyal, inteligent dog. You need to train them from a very early age and they can be good with children, unlike my one. Their barking's very strong but yet again they are very sensitive to very loud voices/noises (if we have a party at home my one just hides away in a quiet room). They can become depressive if exposed to extremly loud noises. If trained well they can become very obedient but with loads of patience. It can take a while to house train them. Lhasa apso's can become quite indipendent and they also can be wary of strangers.

The Shih tzu's a very inteligent dog too, they can become independent too. Hard to house train. They love to please. With loads of training and patience they can become quite obedient. They are affectionate, plkayful and very good with kids and other dogs. Just like Lhas apso they're too wary of strangers. Shih tzu's can have more health problems than Lhasa apso's. Both breeds need a regular hair brushing as their hair can get knotted up very easily. And with the Shih Tzu's you need to clean their eyes quite reguraly. They're both lapdogs and they love lots of cuddling and loving.


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## MelanieW34 (Sep 28, 2008)

judge12345 said:


> I believe Lhasa apso's were originally bred to be guard gogs, they would bark and wake up the bigger dogs and give warning of intruders I think their name means Little hairy barking dog. They are a little more likely to bark because of this and are more independent.


We had a Lhasa...the name actually means little lion dog, because of their fearless nature 

Leo was a dream to train and very well behaved, but a stubborn little bugger!


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## katie200 (May 11, 2009)

dose a lhasa apso get on with cats and do vet groom them or cut there hair ?just wornderingas ive been looking into the lhasa apso/shih tzu/chihuahua breads and have leant that shih tzu and chihuahua do have a lot more health risk then the lhasa apso


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## Kinjilabs (Apr 15, 2009)

noushka05 said:


> my Mum has a lhasa & hes lovely,he has a great temprement is very playful & he's really smart. My Mum adores him


Its your choice in the end but my sister adopted a Lhasa and he is fab, naughty tho


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## louisehall21 (Jul 9, 2009)

i have pepi the bichon on foster and he is lovely a real famiy dog just wants to sleep and cuddle up with you he has a short coat at the moment but i have not found him hard to groom at all very easy a little brush and then i treat him to the groomers every two months really easy and lovely dogs.


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## shirleystarr (Mar 22, 2009)

I have 3 Bichons and yes you have to brush them each day but it does not take that long They can be hard to train although saying that all mine are rescue dogs 
one is naughty and will steal anything from you handbag and you dont see him doing it but he is so lovable and cute
the other one is an older girl and she is so well behaved 
last one is a 2 year old who will do anything you tell her 
all 3 are toilet trained 
i have in the past had bichon puppies and if you are at home all day with them i dont find them that hard to train at all 
they love children and they love cats too at least all mine have
one thing is they do not like to be left alone for long periods of time 
hope that helps


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## ad_1980 (Jan 28, 2009)

JANICE199 said:


> poodles are fab. dogs


Yep  I concur


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## vet-2-b (Sep 25, 2008)

are next door nieghbours have a lhasa apso called kenny hes very shy but very sweet they also have a westie whos the noisy one (but very cute as well)


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## Krystie & Chris (Sep 19, 2009)

i have a shih tzu X Lhasa apso and he's beautiful. hes cute n cuddly and loves to play! he gets into moods where he just runs wild in the house, back and forward, and does the cutest things. you do need to get them cuts more often but its generally pretty cheap and they loook great. so i think Shih Tzu's & Lhasa apso's are my fav out of the 3.


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