I find most prospective Bichon customers seem to come to me with a predetermined preference for the sex of their new puppy. Some of the interesting reasons they tell me are: My mother said to get a female, We always had male dogs, Males mark in the house, females get a period, Males are more aggressive, and so on.
There are reasons why none of these things are true: A neutered male does NOT mark in the house, A spayed female does not have a period. Properly bred Bichon's are not an aggressive breed.
Most of these reasons don't make any sense. My favorite, above all, is "Let's sit down on the floor and the first puppy that comes to me is the one. OMG, that's like going to a dance and saying you are going to marry the first man who asks you to dance. Does that sound logical??
I usually tell my clients to pick the dog, not the sex, not the size, not the face, but the temperament.
"Pretty is as pretty does". A well bred Bichon Frise should have a fairly predictable temperament. Properly bred Bichon puppies are good natured and people loving dogs. However, that being said, among the litter the breeder can usually tell you which is the more dominant puppy, the more submissive puppy and frequently indicate which are middle of the road pups.
I question my prospective buyers as to their family make up, their home and working schedule And, most important, what characteristics they desire most in their new companion.
Evaluating temperament cannot be done in the 30 minute visit you have with the puppies. Before you walked in some may have been sleeping and some may have been playing. The sleeping puppies are now rested and happily playing while the playing puppies are tired and are now very quiet and sleepy. You would be in error assuming the activity level you see now is indicative of the personality of that puppy.
It is really important to consider the advice of the breeder who has observed their behavior since they were born. She has been watching their interactions with their mother, then their litter mates, most important with other dogs and people in her household. Bichon temperament should be fairly predictable when purchased from a qualified breeder. You run into trouble with pet shops or back yard breeders who are not paying attention to temperament or genetics and breed inferior quality dogs just to sell puppies.
In summation, ask a lot of questions, tell your breeder what characteristics you are looking for in your new puppy and, by all means, let your breeder help and advise you. She knows her puppies best.