Tiny Teddys Breed Information - About Our Teddy Bear Zuchon Puppies - Also Called a Teddy Bear Shichon Dog, a Shih-Tzu Bichon Cross Hybrid Descendent

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Our Zuchons have sweet, loving easy-going dispositions, making them the perfect choice for children, companionship, and other pets. Their absence of prey drive makes them uniquely gentle and kind to all living things. Their unique high intelligence allows them to quickly pick up and retain hundreds of different words and commands, with an uncanny ability to read their people's emotions, mannerisms, and body language on a higher level than other breeds. Making one of the best and most sought-after dogs for future therapy, service and emotional support needs and more. The best of both worlds! See below for more details about our amazing little Teddy Bear Zuchons, also called a Shichon, or Shih Tzu Bichon mix or cross dogs.

Health improvements – Our Zuchons (Shichon) are multi-generational or more progressed, you could say, and that makes a distinctive difference. We have continuously worked on and improved our line for over two decades to create the ultimate Teddy Bear breed standard Zuchons (Shichon) will be known by. Every breed has different traits. Anything "extra added" is not comparable to a Tiny Teddy Bear Zuchon.   This also means they no longer tend to have the issues of their purebred ancestors consisting of the Bichon and the Shih Tzu. For example, our progressed Zuchons (Shichon) have more athletic builds with longer, more muscular legs, stronger bones with larger joints & tendons and deeper sockets compared to the Bichon and the Shih-Tzu as well as longer noses, larger, stronger teeth with a more aligned bite and deeper eye sockets rather than the flatter face and bulgy eyes of the Shih-Tzu, in gorgeous green, gold, hazel and dark brown eye colours.      

Appearance - The beautiful Zuchon (Shichon) has little Teddy Bear faces with big beautiful eyes and cute little black or chocolate button noses. Their adorable Teddy Bear features and sweet, cuddly personality continue into adulthood. When fully mature, they can range in size from 5 to 18 lbs, with our average weight around 9 to 16 lbs. They have long-flowing fur, either soft and curly or sleek and silky. All colours and colour combos are possible. From our unique and very rare black phantom or chocolate phantom (Phanton markings also called Dobie marking) to our beautiful rare solid chocolate, and chocolate & white patches, solid black and black & white patches to solid white, cream, intense reds, apricots and red browns to tricolour browns and tricolour white with hazel or brown eyes or our rare golden or green eye colour. (Side note - We do not have blue eyes in any of our lines, this undesirable inherited trait from the Shih Tzu leads to puppies prone to deafness and is considered a health problem indicator). The majority of our puppies have straight-aligned type bites. Underbites & overbites are always possible from the Shih Tzu and Bichon ancestors. Any of these bites are considered a healthy and acceptable breed characteristic that comes with a more rounded head shape and a part of their overall look.

 
Definition - Impressively, Teddy bear puppies are a hybrid cross between the Shih Tzu and the Bichon Frise. They are also called Zuchon, Shichon, Teddy Bear, Shih-Tzu/Bichon, Daisy face, and Ragdoll. It is expected the American Kennel Club will official recognition the breed to be officially named the Zuchon after more generations are born and raised.  

Disposition - Naturally easygoing Tiny Teddies - Teddy Bear Zuchons (Shichon) have cuddly, happy-go-lucky personalities and love to dazzle and perform for you making them an excellent choice for all people and various living environments, children and other pets. They are well-mannered dogs who rarely bark unless someone is at the door and have a strong natural propensity to learn and perform tricks. They always make eye contact and enjoy a good one on one conversation. They are becoming a more and more popular dog because of its cute Teddy bear looks and friendly disposition.  

Temperament - Young and old alike, the Zuchon (Shichon) is very sociable, friendly, and cuddly, with an excellent therapy-suitable temperament. They are highly intelligent and always eager to please. Our Zuchons are comical, lively, and happy-go-lucky but also mushy and affectionate with no prey drive and non-aggressive by nature. Our Teddy Bears love to be held and can be for an extended period of time and always aim to please. They are so easy to communicate with, making them easy to train. They love to play and will play with their people and toys all day. Due to these prime requirements that come naturally to the Zuchon (Shichon), they were originally created to be an optimal service dog companion in a small package that loves to be held and cuddles like a Teddy bear.​

Description - Teddy Bear Zuchons (Shichon) is a mix of a Shih Tzu and a Bichon Frise and may demonstrate any combination of traits from those two breeds.  

Personality - Enchanting Zuchons (Shichon) are loyal dogs with a passion for playing. They love to engage with their people all day and sleep with them all night.

Training - Dedicated with very high trainability, they are known for their high intelligence and trainability and are always eager to please their loved ones. They are very responsive to facial expressions and body language and love spending time close to the people they love.

Activity - Delightfully, they enjoy an active lifestyle or just being a couch potato, whatever you're into. They are also mellow, calm and cuddly, happily matching your mood and activity from day to day.   

Life Span  - Young at heart through all ages, the Zuchon (Shichon), like most hybrids, tends to outlive its originating breeds, the Shih-Tzu & Bichon. The Zuchon (Shichon) can be expected to live 15 to 18 years. 

With Children - Service & therapy dogs to companion pets, Zuchons (Shichon)  are known for being very patient, cuddly and gentle in temperament, making them an excellent choice for children. They pay attention to children of all ages and love to interact, make eye contact and play with them, creating uniquely special bonds with them to remember for a lifetime. Teddy Bear Zuchons (Shichon) are calm, gentle, lovable and cuddly. Because of this, they were originally bred as companions for disabled children who needed a cuddly and squeezable dog that would gladly handle hours of snuggling without becoming irritated or nippy.   

With Other Pets - Charismatic and charming to all, they are excellent with other pets of various types and sizes.    

Eye Color - Our Tiny Teddies - Teddy Bear Zuchons (Shichon) have rare golden or green eye colours, hazel or brown eyes. Colour - Many colours and colour combos are possible in various patterns, from solids, tri-colouring, and bi-colouring. In hues of black, black & white patches, whites, creams, tans, apricots, reds, browns, to our rare chocolate, chocolate & white patches and any combination of these colours.

Health - Outstanding, this breed is very healthy, typically free from defects of the pure-breeds  

Grooming - With regular combing, very little grooming is needed if their hair is kept in a low-maintenance "teddy bear cut" or "puppy cut," generally every three months. It best represents the Teddy Bear Zuchons(Shichon) look. Regular combing is recommended; it is excellent for bonding and mat prevention, along with nail trims and eye trims between haircuts/grooming. Teeth, as with all dogs, regular teeth cleaning and tarter removal are important for overall health. Regularly removing tarter keeps their teeth in excellent condition from adolescence to elderly. It makes an enormous difference!  

Hypoallergenic Non-Shed Coat - Non-shedding and hypoallergenic, meaning most individuals will not be allergic to them as they may be to other breeds, making them great companions for allergy sufferers. Their hair is easy to groom, and they love baths, gladly jumping in when asked to. Their fur grows like hair and keeps growing until it is cut and doesn't fall out like fur.  

Learning Rate - Eager to please their owners, they have a high learning rate as they inherit the high intelligence of both the Shih-Tzu and the Bichon Frise. This means enjoyable puppy days and easy raising as they catch on quickly.

Exercise -Ready to go or ready to snuggle! The choice is yours. Minimal exercise is required, but they can easily keep up with an active family or individual. They are well suited to be indoor dogs but also enjoy outdoor activities such as walks, laying in the sun, and playing outdoors on sunny days. They love the water and love to swim, even as puppies. They will run to any body of water, so keep an eye on them. They can adapt to long outdoor walks and outdoor activities but can easily be satisfied with indoor living. 

Hybrid Vigor - Hybrid vigour describes the breeding of a genetically superior offspring by combining the benefits and not the disadvantages of the originating breeds, the Shih-Tzu & the Bichon. Not all cross-bred dogs are necessarily superior to their originating breeds, but delightfully the Zuchon (Shichon) hybrid is superior to both the Bichon Frise and the Shih Tzu.

Purebred Ancestors - Purebreds commonly have genetic disorders, disadvantages caused by years of inbreeding. The Bichon Frise has been bred since the 14th century in Spain and was a cross between a Barbet Water Spaniel and a Poodle. The Shih-Tzu comes from China and is known to date back at least to the sixteenth century. Cross-breeding the Bichon Frise and the Shih Tzu results in the Zuchon (Shichon), which has less chance of inheriting the genetic disadvantages of either originating breed.