Teddy Bear

Teddy Bear (Shihpoo and Shichon)

Our Teddy Bear puppies are ONLY available from our network of families around the Greenville, SC, area.

While many of the Doodle breeds can be referred to as Teddy Bears (especially Cavapoos, Cockapoos, Maltipoos, Mini Goldendoodles, Mini Labradoodles, and Mini Bernedoodles), the term “Teddy Bear” has primarily been applied to Shihpoos and Shichons (aka Zuchons). At Crockett Doodles, we use the term Teddy Bear puppy specifically to apply to our Toy Poodle x Shih tzu cross (aka Shihpoo) as well as our Bichon Frise x Shih tzu cross (aka Shichon/Zuchon) and Maltese x Shih tzu cross.

Teddy Bear puppies are wonderful with children and adults alike. Like so many other Doodle breeds, Teddy Bears seldom meet a stranger and really enjoy being with people, whom they accept as part of the pack. Teddy Bears tend to have a pretty good mix of fun and calm. Most Teddy Bear puppies really enjoy a good cuddle session, and often have their forever families laughing with their hilarious antics.

Many of our small breed Doodles look very similar. In fact, some families have a hard time identifying the difference between a red Cockapoo, red Cavapoo, red Maltipoo, red mini Labradoodle, red mini Goldendoodle, and red Teddy Bear. In some cases they can look nearly identical (particularly to an untrained eye). We like to be very transparent that one thing that sets apart many of our Teddy Bear pups is their facial structure.

Some (but not all) of our Teddy Bear pups have an under-bite (aka canine malocclusion). Perhaps you’re wondering why some of our Teddy Bears have an under-bite when it is so uncommon for all of our other pups. The reason is quite simply that the Shih Tzu is a flatter faced dog breed (brachycephalic is the exact term), so an under-bite is considered normal for Shih Tzus. Many familiar breeds are also brachycephalic (e.g. Boxers, Boston Terriers, Pugs, Pekingese, English and French Bulldogs). The majority of dog breeds (including Poodles and Bichons) have long canine muzzles. When we cross a toy Poodle or a Bichon Frise with a Shih Tzu to get our Shihpoo and Shichon / Zuchon Teddybear puppies, there is a chance that the pup will inherit the flat-faced underbite from the Shih Tzu parent and there’s a chance that they will inherit the more typical facial structure of the Poodle or Bichon parent. Whereas normally, we would consider a canine malocclusion as a fault in a puppy, we do not with our Teddy Bear breed since it is normal for one of the parent breeds (the Shihtzu).