The Bichon Frise’s story is said to begin with a grouping of “little white dogs” as they would be called. Barbichon-type dogs was a larger term to cover these little white dogs but included Bolognese, Havanese, Maltese, and of course, Bichon Frise. This group came about on Tenerife, one of the largest Canary Islands. Over time, one of the dog breeds became closely associated with the island, so much so that people started referring to them as the Bichon Tenerife.

Between the personality and appealing look, Bichon Tenerife became the ancestor of the modern Bichon Frise we know today. Dating back to the 13th century, studies show this is the time when the bichon Frise started to have a close association with European nobles. The European leaders were crazy about these lapdogs and would sometimes act in odd ways because of their charmful wits.

 It is said that there was a transportation trend that King Henry III of France himself started. He would carry a few During this revolution, the Bichon Frise’s caretakers were sent to prison leaving the royal dogs to fend for themselves on the streets. Luckily, street performers began taking in the little white lap dogs and then turned them into performers as well. They were trained to walk on their hind legs, do somersaults, wave their paws in the air, and perform several other tricks to bring in money from those who passed by. They seemed to have survived the hard times until the 20th century happened which brought on two world wars causing shortages and difficulties for everyone.