Bischon fur texture

Question
Our daughter has a bishon and a bishon/poodle mix. The last time the bishon was groomed he had to be stripped and his fur has grown back coarser (he is 2 years old) is this due to age or the grooming?

The bishon/poodle has a spot on his back hips that he chews on and the hair is coarser in that one area? How can we even out his coat?

Answer
Hello;
I can understand your questions. Here are some things to think about.
Bichons typically have courser hair than poodles. You have a mix of the two breeds.
The thing is the two types of hair do not genetically merge to create a mix of the two, the puppies have one or the other, and VERY often they have one kind of hair on part of their body and another kind of hair in another spot!
Sometimes, a pup has hair more like one parent than the other, and even pups from the same litter will have great differences in their hair.
It is not unusual for me to see dogs come into the salon and have GREAT springy curls on their head, and limp, thin hair on their tails. Some dogs have great hair on their chest, but the hair over their shoulders is a mix of type and will mat no matter what the owner does. It is like the hair fights with itself! Two types of hair growing closely together that acts like Velcro!
A spotted dog may have one type of hair in the spots and the hair may be course and prickly, the other places the dog may be soft and fluffy. You just never know with a mixed breed puppy!
No matter what kind puppy you have, purebred or mixed, poodle, or Maltese or Yorkie or Bichon, at about 1 year of age, the hair changes texture to adult hair. From one to two years of age, color may change also, as the adult hair comes in. So a black puppy may not be quite as black, a brown dog may turn tan, a cream dog may turn white, etc.
Also at this time, the texture of your puppys hair will change. Typically curls become tighter, and bichon hair becomes coarser.  Poodle hair becomes more springy and bouncy, Bichon hair changes and the shaft of each hair will become thicker.
During this time, it is easiest to keep the dog clipped shorter until the change is complete, which usually takes about 2 to 3 months.
So your dog is 2. I would guess that his hair changed after you had him groomed the time BEFORE he had to be clipped down short. You had coarser hair growing in, but it was hidden under the puppy hair. It got to fighting with itself, puppy hair and adult hair and he had to be clipped down.
When it was stripped down, you now are feeling the adult hair which he will always have. (cream rinse will temporarily make him softer, and in the long run, may soften the coat and cause the curls to become less tight, but as the hair grows in at the roots, it will always be coarser).
Chewing on his hip could be a medical problem. Dogs that chew in one area, especially a joint, sometimes have an ache in the joint. I would keep an eye on him for skipping with the back foot, and do not let him jump around on his back legs, (you know, a standing position on his back legs and then jumping up and down). This type of jumping is VERY hard on small dogs legs and will permanently damage the rear leg joints, including hips, hocks, stifles, both the joints and tendons, all connecting tissues.  
I would also carry him up the stairs and lift him onto the furniture as much as possible for a couple of weeks, and see if he quits licking so much. Put some bitter apple spray or other anti lick, dog safe, product on the area so it is not a habit.  
The hair there where he licks has changed texture due to the changes his licking has made in the skin in that area, and hence the hair follicles.  It has probably made a callous type area and if he quits licking and that goes away, the hair will return to normal. Often the hair will even change colors! If the dog is white or black, it may become a rust color.

I recommend that you keep your dog brushed and combed so that his hair can be kept in the style of your choice. Be careful to bush and comb him BEFORE his is bathed, so that the shampoo and water do not encourage the hair to act like velcro, which dog hair does. Unlike people hair, dog hair that is beginning to tangle will tighten when hit with water and rather than smoothing and the knots falling out, they will get tighter and become impossible to remove without being cut out.

Good luck with your dog. I bet he is really cute.  I have toy poodles myself, and love Bichons, they are just a little bigger and I can't have white because we live on a farm, so we have chocolate toy poodles, but I do love the Bichons.
These types of dogs have lovely dispositions and make wonderful pets!  I always enjoy having these types of dogs come into my salon!
Sincerely,
Lori