How can we tell the difference between a Bichon and a Toy Poodle?

We have a toy poodle (we believe), however people are always telling us she looks like a Bichon. How do we confirm she is a poodle?|||Toy poodles have longer, thinner legs, a lighter body, and usually a shortened tail. There are also not often pure white poodles, mostly you see apricots and creams which will have darker points on their hair, whereas a Bichon should always be pure white.





You can also tell by face shape:


http://www.calaistoypoodles.com/1.jpg


http://www.vanitonia.co.uk/Hermes_Gp2_Pt鈥?/a>


http://www.cnn.com/US/9802/17/dog.show/l鈥?/a>





Versus:


http://www.welcometothedoghouse.net/pics鈥?/a>


http://www.woofmanor.com/bichon42.jpg


http://www.honeycombdoggrooming.com/USER鈥?/a>





You can just see that the Bichon is a shorter, heavy-set dog (usually around 15lbs) compared to the tall, leggy, slender build of a poodle. Most people think ANY curly dog with a puffy non-shaved face looks like a Bichon. It's just lack of education.|||Do an online search for both breeds - bichons have much rounder heads than poodles, who have sharper muzzles too.





Poodles have tighter hair as well, there really is a big difference in looks unless you are talking about a young puppy, that would be the only time you could confuse a bichon with a poodle.|||Just look at the top of her haed and if its pointed then yep its a poodle but Bichons are a little bit heaver than a toy poodle and Bichons coat is more of an Afro than curly like a toy poodle.I really hope that helps your understanding or your dog.|||Go to www.akc.org and read the breed standards for each breed. However, without registration papers, you really can't confirm she's not a mix or something else other than what the breeder represented.|||Go to the AKC website and look at pictures of poodles and Bichons. They will list the "confirmation" points for each dog and that should tell you. I think the Bichon has a shorter, wider nose.|||I have a miniature poodle and i think they are usually much more playful and they have a longer nose than a bichon. Hope this helped.|||There is a company that does canine DNA testing. Bichons look like cotton balls and poodles have fur that is more curly.|||a bichon has flatter faces than a toy poodle