Best Brush for a Shichon (Teddy Bear Dog)

The best brush for a Shichon is a curved slicker brush with long soft pins, used with a long tooth comb to check down to the skin. A Shichon grows hair rather than fur, so the coat keeps getting longer instead of shedding out, and anything that tangles stays in there until you take it out. That one fact decides the whole routine.

A Shichon is a Bichon Frise crossed with a Shih Tzu, and is often sold as a Zuchon or a teddy bear dog. The coat can land anywhere between the two parents, from a dense cottony curl to a softer silkier wave, and the texture you get changes how often you need to be in it.

What does not change is where the trouble starts. Behind the ears, under the collar, in the armpits and around the rear are the four places a Shichon mats first, and they are all places a quick once-over misses.

If you want the short version, the three tools below handle a teddy bear coat between professional grooms, and the routine after them is what keeps the groomer from having to clip it all off.

Why the Right Brush Matters for a Shichon's Soft Wavy Coat

A low-shedding coat sounds like less work and is actually more. A shedding dog drops its loose hair on your floor. A Shichon keeps it, woven into the coat it is still wearing.

That trapped hair is what mats are made of. Add a soft wavy texture that grips itself, and a coat that mats from the skin outward rather than the surface inward, and you have a dog that can look fluffy and be solid underneath.

This is why pin length and pin softness both matter on a Shichon. You need to get to the base of the coat without scratching skin that is thin and close to the surface on a nine pound dog.

• A low-shedding coat holds its loose hair, so brushing is removal rather than tidying.
• A soft wavy texture tangles against itself, especially as the coat grows out between trims.
• Mats form at skin level first, so a surface brush can leave the real problem untouched.
• A small dog has thin skin over bone almost everywhere, so pressure has to stay light.

If your Shichon has come out more Bichon than Shih Tzu, with a denser springier curl, the Best Brush for Bichon Frises guide describes that coat type in more detail and the advice carries straight across.

How Shichon Mats Form Behind the Ears, Under the Collar and in the Armpits

Every mat on a Shichon starts as friction in a place where hair moves against something else. On a small dog with a long soft coat there are more of those places than you would expect.

Behind the ears is nearly always first. The ear leather is heavy and hairy, it swings on every step, and the hair underneath it is fine and long, so it ropes within days.

The collar line is second, and it is the one owners find hardest to believe because the coat over it looks perfect. Underneath, the hair is being rubbed in one spot for every hour the collar is on.

• Behind and under the ear flaps, where the hair is fine and the movement is constant.
• The collar and harness line, which looks fine from above and is felted underneath.
• The armpits and the inside of the back legs, where skin rubs on skin.
• The rear and the base of the tail, which gets soiled and then dries into a knot.

There is one period when all of this gets much worse. Somewhere between eight and twelve months the puppy coat gives way to the adult coat, and for a few months the dog is wearing both. Shichons that get pelted almost always get pelted then.

What a Realistic Shichon Brushing Routine Looks Like

Daily is the honest answer, at five to ten minutes. That sounds like a lot until you compare it with the alternative, which is a thirty minute dematting session once a week that neither of you enjoys.

Short and often beats long and occasional on this coat, because the window between a tangle and a mat is about two days. A five minute pass that reaches the skin in four or five places does more than twenty minutes of surface work.

Most Shichons also need a professional groom every six to eight weeks, because the hair does not stop growing. Brushing at home is what makes that appointment a trim rather than a clip-off.

• Five to ten minutes daily, with the four problem areas done every single time.
• A longer session once a week that covers the whole dog in sections.
• Daily during the puppy coat change, with no exceptions, for those few months.
• Finish every session with a comb, which is the only way to know you reached the skin.

Recommended Tools for a Teddy Bear Coat

Three tools cover a Shichon properly. Flying Pawfect does not make scissors, clippers or a detangling spray, so there is nothing to sell you there, and in the case of scissors near a small dog's face that is just as well.

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Flying Pawfect Curved Slicker Brush

The Curved Slicker Brush in the medium size is the right shape for a Shichon, and the reason is the dog rather than the coat. A Shichon is a series of curves: a round skull, a narrow neck, a small barrel ribcage and legs you can close a hand around.

A curved head follows those shapes and meets the coat at an even depth all the way across. A flat head bridges over them and drives its corners into skin at either side, which is how a small dog learns to dislike being brushed.

The pins are long and set on a flexible bed, which is what gets through a deep soft coat rather than skimming the top of it. On a coat that mats from the skin outward, that reach is the point.

Take the medium on an adult Shichon. The small is a better fit for a puppy, or for working around the face and ears where you want less brush in your hand.

• Best for: the body, legs, ears and the whole daily pass, in short light strokes.
• Why it works: long pins on a curved flexible head reach the skin without digging in.
• Keep it clear: a cottony coat clogs a pin bed fast, so clean the pad as you go.

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Flying Pawfect Pawfect Potion 4-in-1 Shampoo

A Shichon gets bathed more often than most dogs, because a white or cream coat on a small dog that sits on everything shows every mark. Roughly every three to four weeks suits most of them, usually around the grooming appointment.

The Pawfect Potion cleans, conditions, detangles and moisturises in one step, which is doing real work on this coat. A conditioned Shichon coat has less friction in it, and less friction means fewer tangles over the following fortnight.

It is pH balanced, uses plant-derived cleansers, and is free of dyes, SLS, parabens, phthalates and alcohol. It is made in the USA with organic ingredients.

• Best for: the regular bath a light-coloured coat needs, every three to four weeks.
• Why it works: cleaning and conditioning in one step, which reduces brushing friction.
• Order matters: brush out first, then bath. Water turns a tangle into a mat.

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Flying Pawfect Long Tooth Comb

The Long Tooth Comb is the tool that tells you the truth about a teddy bear coat. A slicker brush can leave a Shichon looking beautifully fluffy while a felted layer sits against the skin, and the comb is what finds it.

Run it from skin to tip behind each ear, along the collar line, under each armpit and around the rear at the end of every session. Four quick passes, and you know whether the brushing worked.

It is also the right tool for the ears and the area in front of the eyes, where a brush is too blunt and scissors have no business being in a home routine.

• Best for: the four check points, plus ear hair and the area around the face.
• Why it works: long dual density teeth pass through the full depth of the coat.
• Never: force it. If it stops, work the tangle loose with fingers and the brush.

Step by Step: Line Brushing a Shichon Without Pulling

Line brushing is the method that works on any coat that mats from the skin outward. You part the hair in a line, brush only the band below the parting, then move the line up and repeat.

On a dog this size the whole body takes about ten minutes once you are used to it, and it is the difference between a coat that holds and a coat that gets clipped off at the next appointment.

• Sit the dog in your lap or on a non-slip surface at a comfortable height for your hands.
• Start at a back leg, part the coat low, and hold the hair above the parting back.
• Brush the exposed band gently outward from the skin until it releases with no resistance.
• Move the parting up a little and work your way to the spine, then do the other side.
• Finish with the ears, the collar line, the armpits and the rear, then comb all four.

Do the face last and do it with the comb rather than the brush. If you find a tangle right beside an eye, that is a groomer's job rather than a home one. A soft wavy coat also fills a pin bed quickly, and How to Clean a Slicker Brush covers getting it out without bending the pins.

Prevention Tips for Shichon Mats Between Grooms

A Shichon coat is mostly a prevention problem. Once a mat is solid there is no brush that fixes it kindly, so the whole game is not letting one form.

• Take the collar off indoors where it is safe to, and check under it every few days.
• Keep the coat shorter through the puppy coat change rather than trying to hold the length.
• Dry the coat fully after a bath or wet walk. A damp soft coat felts as it dries.
• Book the groomer on a cycle rather than when the coat looks bad, so you never fall behind.

Tear staining is the other thing most Shichon owners deal with, from both sides of the cross. Keep the hair around the eyes short and the area clean and dry, and if the discharge changes or the eye looks sore, that is a vet visit rather than a grooming fix.

Common Mistakes Shichon Owners Make

The usual mistake with this coat is reading low shedding as low maintenance. It is the opposite, and the gap between those two ideas is where most pelted Shichons come from.

• Brushing the top of the coat, which looks productive and leaves the mats where they are.
• Bathing a tangled dog, which tightens everything you had not yet taken out.
• Skipping the ears because the dog objects, which is exactly why they mat first.
• Working at a solid mat with a brush instead of accepting that it needs to be cut out properly.

If your Shichon leans towards the Shih Tzu side, with a longer silkier coat and a flatter face, Best Brush for Shih Tzus goes further on that texture. For a very similar cross with a softer wave, Best Brush for Cavachons covers the same ground on a Cavalier cross.

FAQs

What is the best brush for a Shichon?

A medium curved slicker brush with long soft pins, used with a long tooth comb to check down to the skin. The curved head suits a small round-bodied dog, and the long pins reach the base of a deep soft coat. Use the small size on a puppy or around the face.

How often should a Shichon be brushed?

Daily, for five to ten minutes, with a longer whole-body session once a week. The window between a tangle and a mat on this coat is about two days, so frequency matters more than session length. Daily is not optional during the puppy coat change.

Do Shichons shed?

Very little, and that is the problem rather than the benefit. The loose hair stays in the coat instead of falling out, and it becomes the material that mats are made from. A low-shedding dog needs more brushing than a shedding one, not less.

Why does my Shichon keep getting mats behind the ears?

The ear leather is heavy and it moves on every step, and the hair underneath it is fine and long. That combination ropes within a few days if nothing gets in there. Comb behind both ears every day and keep the hair under the flaps short.

How often does a Shichon need professional grooming?

Every six to eight weeks for most of them, because the hair grows continuously rather than shedding out. Brushing at home does not replace that appointment, but it decides what happens at it. A well brushed dog gets a trim, a matted one gets clipped short.

What should I do if my Shichon is already badly matted?

Do not try to brush it out. A coat that has gone solid against the skin cannot be combed free without hurting the dog, and pulling at it can tear the skin underneath. Book a groomer and expect a short clip, and if the skin underneath looks red, broken or sore, see a vet first.

Final Thoughts

A Shichon is an easy coat to keep and a very easy one to lose. Five minutes a day with a curved slicker and a comb, with the ears and the collar line done every time, will hold it between appointments without either of you dreading it.

The coat you get is a lottery between two parents, so watch which way yours leans and adjust. Curlier and denser means more frequent work at the skin, softer and silkier means more work around the ears and the face.