Wire Fo-Chon

The Wire Fo-Chon gets her personality and characteristics from her parent breeds, the Wire Fox Terrier and Bichon Frise. Originating in France, the Bichon Frise was developed in the 1300s as a companion pet and became a favorite with royal families like King Henry III, who would carry his dogs in a basket he had hanging around his neck. Some believe that the Bichon Frise was around even during ancient times when French sailors brought them back from the Canary Islands while others insist that it was the Italians who discovered the breed. They were originally called Barbichon, which means curly coat in French and they eventually shortened the name to Bichon. There are four types of Bichons, which are the Bichon Tenerifes, Bichon Havanese, Bichon Bolognese, and Bichon Maltais. They are also thought to be related to the Coton de Tulear. Eventually, street performers discovered how talented the Bichon Frise was and started using them to perform on the street and then in the circus. Once they became common, they were not as popular with the royal families and almost became extinct until the French breeders decided to preserve them and started the attempts in 1933. It was only 39 years later that they were accepted by the American Kennel Club and they are the 45th most well-liked dog breed in the United States. An English breed, the Wire Fox Terrier is believed to have been developed from different types of Terriers for fox hunting and bolting. They were mixed with smaller Terriers to get a brave little dog that could chase prey from their dens. When they started out, the Wire and Smooth Fox Terriers were bred together to get a smoother and cleaner coat that had more white in it so they did not get mistaken for a fox during hunting. However, they have not done that in many years and they are two distinctly different breeds. The Wire Fox Terrier was officially acknowledged by the AKC in 1885 but is still not as popular here in the United States, only ranking 101 out of 190 breeds.