Congrats on the new family member JoAnn. We have an Aussie/GSD mix that is 3 1/2 years old and STILL gets excited when someone walks in. I wasn't bright enough to ask questions when I got her so she never went to obedience school. I will say though, my mom took their Jack Russell to obedience, but she never really worked with him so it didn't do much good. I think obedience school is more to teach the humans than it is to teach the pooch...it just sounds better! lol I don't know anything about Bichons so I'm of no use in that department. But I agree with the others, obedience school would be a good choice. Welcome to the wild and crazy bunch of poochie lovers.