| Bichon Frise | Rat Terrier | |
|---|---|---|
| Lifespan | 14-15 years | 12-18 years |
| Size | Small | Small |
| Weight | 12-18 lb | 10-25 lb |
| Energy | Moderate | Very high |
| Grooming | High | Low |
| Shedding | Low | High |
| With kids | Good with kids | With supervision |
Marketed as 'hypoallergenic' and easy, but that curly coat needs professional grooming roughly every four weeks for the dog's entire life or it mats painfully down to the skin, and the breed carries a real, well-documented risk of luxating kneecaps and lifelong dental crowding that small-dog buyers routinely underestimate.
Rat Terriers were bred as working vermin-hunters and keep a genuinely high prey drive and farm-dog energy level in a body small enough to look like a lapdog in a photo — new owners regularly underestimate how much daily exercise and secure fencing this breed needs, and small pets in the house shouldn't be trusted around it unsupervised.
Bichon Frise ·
Rat Terrier
Health problems, origin and what living with each is actually like.