Teddy Bear Puppies

What a Teddy Bear puppy actually is

Teddy Bear is not a breed. It is the name that attached itself to one particular small cross — a Shih Tzu bred to a Bichon Frise — because of what the puppies look like: a round head, a short muzzle, dark round eyes set in a soft face, and a coat you want to put both hands into. You will also see the same cross called a Shichon or a Zuchon. All three names describe the same two parents.

Because there is no breed standard behind it, there is no single correct Teddy Bear. Some lean toward the Shih Tzu, with a longer, straighter coat and a broader head. Some lean toward the Bichon, with a tighter curl and a rounder outline. Most land somewhere in between, and littermates can differ from each other more than they differ from either parent. That is worth knowing before you start browsing photographs, because the puppy in front of you tells you far more than a picture of somebody else’s adult dog.

What is consistent is the size and the disposition. Both parent breeds were selected across several centuries for exactly one purpose — to be company for people, indoors — and the cross does not dilute that in the slightest.

Two very old companion breeds

The Shih Tzu comes from Tibet by way of the Chinese imperial court, where small lion-like dogs were kept as palace companions and given as gifts between rulers. The name means lion dog. Everything about the modern Shih Tzu — the size, the coat, the confident and sociable manner, the habit of settling on whichever human is nearest — comes from a very long run as a household dog with nothing else on its calendar.

The Bichon Frise comes from the other end of the Mediterranean, from the small white companion dogs that travelled the trade routes with sailors and settled in Spain, Italy and France. It was a court favourite under Francis I and Henry III, and later, when fashions moved on, it went to work in circuses and street performances across France and Belgium, which is where the breed picked up its reputation for cheerfulness and quick learning.

Put the two together and the arithmetic is simple. You get a small dog whose entire ancestry, on both sides, is people.

Coat, colour and size

A grown Teddy Bear generally stands somewhere around nine to twelve inches and weighs between eight and eighteen pounds, and the parents are the best guide to where a particular puppy will land. The build is compact and surprisingly solid — heavier in the hand than the fluff suggests.

The coat is soft and runs anywhere from a loose wave to a full curl, depending on which side it favours. It grows rather than holding at one length, and that is what makes the teddy bear trim possible: the face rounded, the body taken down to an even length, a little more left on the legs, and the whole dog ends up looking exactly like the name.

Colour is wide open, since neither parent restricts it much. Cream, white, apricot, gold, tan, chocolate, black, silver and every parti-colour combination of those turn up, often with a darker mask or ears that lighten as the puppy grows. A Teddy Bear rarely finishes in the colour it started in, and watching that happen over the first year is part of the pleasure.

The grooming routine

This is a coat that grows, so it comes with a routine, and the routine is a pleasant one once it becomes a habit.

Brush three or four times a week with a pin brush, working in sections down to the skin, and follow with a comb to catch anything the brush skated over. Ten minutes at a time. Give a little extra attention to the friction points — behind the ears, under the front legs, along the harness line — and the coat stays smooth all the way through.

Most owners settle into a groomer visit every six to eight weeks, and the teddy bear trim is the standard ask: rounded face, short even body, some length left below. Take a photograph of what you want along with you, because groomers appreciate one.

Around that, the small things. A damp cloth around the eyes every few days keeps the face clean and the hair there tidy. Ears cleaned when you brush. Nails every few weeks. Teeth done as a matter of routine, started early enough that a puppy decides the toothbrush is a game. Handle paws, muzzle and ears from the first week home and the first grooming appointment is uneventful, which is exactly what you want it to be.

A small dog that wants in on everything

Teddy Bears are affectionate, sociable and easy to please. They attach hard to their household, they follow whoever is home from room to room, and they are far happier included in whatever is going on than left to invent their own entertainment. Short absences go best when they are part of the routine from the first week, with a chew to work on and no ceremony on the way out or the way back in.

They are cheerful with visitors and generally easy with other dogs and with cats. With children they are patient and fond of the company, which is a large part of why families keep coming back to this particular cross.

Exercise needs are modest. Two short walks a day plus some indoor play covers a Teddy Bear comfortably, which makes it an easy fit for an apartment or a small yard. What they want more of is company, not distance, and a household that is home a lot has most of what this dog is asking for.

The face is worth a mention on its own, because it does a great deal of the work. The muzzle is short, the eyes are round and dark, and the expression stays puppyish well into adulthood. Combined with the coat, it means a grown Teddy Bear still gets stopped in the street, which most owners come to enjoy.

Training, and a day together

Both parent breeds are bright and food-motivated, and the cross is the same. Short, cheerful sessions do the work: two or three minutes, one thing at a time, generous rewards, finishing while the dog still wants more. Sit, down, come, wait at the door and settle on a mat are the five that make daily life smooth, and all five come quickly.

Tricks come faster still, and they are worth teaching. Spin, paw, roll over, take a bow, find the toy. Five minutes of trick work does more for a small companion dog’s contentment than another lap of the block would.

House-training runs on a schedule rather than a signal — a pen or a crate, a fixed routine, out to the same spot every time, and the reward delivered outside where you want the habit to form. Think in months rather than weeks and it goes smoothly.

Socialization deserves real investment through the first six months. New floors, new people, hats, umbrellas, the sound of traffic, calm adult dogs. A small dog that met the world early grows into one you can take anywhere, and this is very much a dog you will want to take everywhere.

A day, then, looks about like this: an early walk with plenty of greeting, a morning spent within arm’s reach of whoever is home, a nap in a patch of sun, a five-minute game in the afternoon, a second walk when the day cools off, and an evening stretched along the length of somebody’s thigh.

Come and meet the Teddy Bear puppies

Because this is a cross rather than a standardized breed, a photograph tells you less than usual. Coat texture, adult size and personality all vary between littermates, and all three are easy to read once a puppy is in your hands. Ask about the sire and the dam — which way each of them leaned, what their coats were like, how big they finished — and you will have a much better picture of where a particular puppy is heading.

Our Teddy Bear puppies come from our network of licensed breeders, and our team can tell you what each puppy’s parents were and what to expect as the coat comes in. We have a store in Orlando and one in Nashville, and you are welcome to sit on the floor with a puppy for as long as you like before deciding anything. Find directions and hours, and ask about financing while you are here. Every puppy here goes home with its vet records, its vaccination history and a health warranty, and our team will walk you through what those cover.