If you start line brushing your Bichon while he is still a puppy, he will be completely accustomed to the process long before his adult, more time-consuming coat has developed, which is when proper grooming is extremely important. With your Bichon lying on his side, begin at the side front and make a part in the hair. Thoroughly brush that line from the skin out and then make another part a bit further down repeating the brushing process.

Continue this through to the rear of the puppy. Brush through the hair to the right and left of the part. Do a small section at a time. Part and brush. You will repeat this process working toward the rear until you reach your puppy’s tail.

Do the legs on the same side. Use the same process, parting the hair at the top of the leg and working down. Do this all around the leg. Be especially careful to attend to the hard-to-reach areas under the upper legs where they join the body and along the neck under the ears as mats occur in these areas quickly.

Some mats refuse to be brushed out easily. If this is the case, use your fingers and the Greyhound comb to separate the hairs out as much as you possibly can. Cutting the mat out will leave a big hole in his coat that will take a considerable length of time to grow back in. Apply baby powder or one of the especially prepared grooming powders directly to the mat. Then brush completely from the skin out. You will lose a bit of hair in the process but considerably less than cutting or pulling would cause.

With your puppy standing, you can start with the head, chest, and tail areas. When brushing the longer hair of the tail and face, do so gently so as not to break the hair. When brushing on and around  the rear legs make sure to give special care and attention to the area of the anus and genitalia.

Helpful tip: At around 10 months of age you will note that your Bichon puppy’s coat will begin to change. Coarser guard hairs appear at the top of the shoulders and on the back toward the tail. These changes represent the early stages of adult coat development. It will take up to a full year for the coat to fully mature but it is important to keep up with regular grooming sessions because this is the coat stage when mats are not uncommon.

The Bichon’s adult hair is not only of an entirely different texture; it grows much longer and much thicker. The pin brush with its longer bristles set in rubber is far more effective for line brushing the adult Bichon coat and is also less apt to tear out the longer hair.