Breed Information - Our Teddy Bear Zuchon, Shichon a Shih Tzu & Bichon Hybrid

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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, 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. See below for more details about our amazing little Teddy Bear Zuchons also called Shichon or Shih Tzu Bichon.

Health improvements – Our Zuchons (Shichon) are multi-generational or more progressed, you could say, and that makes a distinctive difference. We have been continuously working on and improving 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, stronger 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 and 18 lbs, with our average weight being around 9 to 16 lbs. They have long-flowing fur that is 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 inheritated trait from the Shih Tzu leads to puppies prone to deafness and is considered a health problem indicator). The majority of our puppies have the 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 along with the 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, 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 easy going Tiny Teddies - Teddy Bear Zuchons (Shichon) have cuddly, happy go lucky dispositions and love to dazzle and perform for you making them a wonderful choice for all people and various living environments, children and other pets.            They are well mannered, rarely bark unless someone at the door and has a strong natural propensity for learning and performing 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 and friendly and cuddly, with an excellent therapy suitable temperament. They are highly intelligent and always eager to please. Our Zuchons are comical, lively 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 a long 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 all day long with their people and toys. 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 nothing more than to spend 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, and because of this, they were originally bred as companions for handicapped 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 colour, 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 great for bonding and mat prevention along with nail trims and eye trims between haircuts/grooming. Teeth, as with all dogs, regular teeth cleaning and removal of tarter, is important for overall health. Regularly removing tarter keeps their teeth in excellent condition from adolescent 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 they are 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 puppy rearing as they catch on quickly.

Exercise -Ready to go or ready to snuggle! The choice is yours. Minimal exercise is needed or required, but they can easily keep up with an active family or active individual. They are well suited to be an indoor dog, but also enjoy outdoor activities such as walks, laying in the sun, 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 as well. 

Hybrid Vigor - Hybrid vigor is a term describing 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.