# Shichon/Teddy Bear



## kobes_owner (Mar 26, 2010)

Hi Everyone, 

I am new to this forum and will be a first time dog owner as of next week. 

I am getting a Shichon (Bichon/Shih tzu cross) otherwise known as a Teddy berry from a lady who is moving and can't take him with her. 

He's a year and the most adorable thing I have ever seen (In a picture I haven't met the dog yet)

Anyway, my question is, is there anyone on here who has a dog of this breed and if so at a year what are it's usual habits? 

So far for the next month or so he will be alone on Thursdays and Fridays for a regular work day of 9-5, i'm getting his crat with him and I'm wondering if it would be ok to leave him in the crat all day those two days since no one will be home and im not sure how he acts in a house alone quite yet. We all don't work close to home so he wont have a bathroom outting in this time frame either, will he be ok or should one of us come home on our lunch break to let him out? He would be out around 9 when my mom leaves for work and my step dad would be home around 5.

Again, I'm all new to this so anything anyone can tell me would be greatly appreciated. 
Thanks

Sarah


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## Crantastic (Feb 3, 2010)

A "Shichon" is not a breed, so none of us can tell you what one should be like. You should research both Bichons and Shih Tzus and learn about their temperaments and activity level and anything else you want to know, because as a mix of these two breeds, your dog could have any of their traits. Because it's not a real breed, no two "Shichons" are guaranteed to be anything alike, so even someone who owns one couldn't really tell you what to expect. Researching the two breeds that make up this dog is your best bet (besides asking his current owner all about him, of course -- he's a year old, so his basic personality is long since set).

I'm assuming that because he's a year old, the dog is housebroken and can hold his bladder for a decent amount of time. He should be fine in a crate from 9-5. This isn't ideal, though -- a dog should get out of the crate every four hours, at least -- so it would be much better if someone could take him out at lunch. This is only for the next month, you said? Hopefully by the end of the month you will have a better idea of how well he behaves in the house, especially when not being watched, and will be able to sort out future plans.

Have fun with your first dog... and post pictures! We love pictures here.


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## kobes_owner (Mar 26, 2010)

I've done all the research I could find on each breed and have been around each breed as well, my step sister (living out of the house I am in) and my friend each have one of the breeds and I've noticed that Shih Tzu are a bit quieter and easier when adjusting to new people (example boyfriend came over when my step sister had her Bichon here and all she did was bark her head off and growl at him because he was new... went to my friends place who has the Shih Tzu and all Gizzy did to me was smell me, bark once and when i proceeded to pick him up and let him smell me more, i put him back down and the first thing he did was go get his toy so we could play...BIG difference!)
Regardless, from the tiny descriptions and stories his current owner has told me, he sounds a bit more like the Shih Ztu i have mentioned above. I just wondered if there were any common things puppies of this type tend to do.

Also, she mentioned he was puppy pad trained, is this a good idea? Cause if so i could leave him in the basement (which is our family's rec room) (free of anything he can chew or get at to eat) and have the puppy pads rather than the crat all day on the thursday and friday?


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## RaeganW (Jul 14, 2009)

kobes_owner said:


> Also, she mentioned he was puppy pad trained, is this a good idea? Cause if so i could leave him in the basement (which is our family's rec room) (free of anything he can chew or get at to eat) and have the puppy pads rather than the crat all day on the thursday and friday?


That sounds reasonable. I'd probably section off an area so he doesn't have total run of the basement, because it's all but certain he'll find something to get into. 

Also, make sure he knows how to use the pads in your house before you leave him alone. Coming to your house will be a big change for the dog, so go easy on him while he's figuring out the rules. 

I am not a fan of puppy pads in general, I know it's helpful in some cases but it's really more helpful to just housebreak the dog. You can use them as a crutch and a sort of stop gap measure, but if you can try to get someone home to let the puppy out and maybe play a little. If you can tire him out a little at midday, oftentimes they'll go back to sleep in the afternoon. Eight hours is on the long side, but with some consideration it's not impossible.


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## Michiyo-Fir (Jul 25, 2009)

There are lots of Bichons that aren't barky at all. I know 2 very nicely socialized ones that almost never bark. I've also seen barky Shih Tzus, honestly barkiness is not really a trait common in either breeds. 

As long as you socialize your puppy well and train it, it shouldn't have any inherited barking issues.

I think since your puppy is young crating him all day won't help to potty train him. Pee pads would work but if possible try to wean him off them. The best thing to do is actually to find someone that can help let your puppy out a few times during the day while you work long hrs on Thurs and Fri instead of using pee pads because from what I've heard if a dog is pee pad trained, it's hard for them to learn that it's not ok to pee in the house when they get older. 

However, all 3 of our dogs came pad trained and switched to peeing outside very well.


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## kobes_owner (Mar 26, 2010)

His current owner said he is trained outdoors as well, and told me she only uses pee pads with him when she is gone for long periods of time and can't let him out. 

From the sounds of the way she talks he is very socialized, has been to those "pet hotels" at petsmart etc and when people come to the door instead of barking he just rolls over in hopes of a belly rub. 

I was hoping to avoid the pee pads if i could so that he didn't get use to the idea... but with the fact that he is already trained with them would it really be all that difficult for him to adjust to a new house with them?... our basement is divided into three rooms, part that is not finished, the "rec room" and then a bedroom.. he would only have freedom in the rec room which is a pretty small area consisting of the couches, tv and the stairs up an down.

there are periods of time when he will be alone during the day the other days as well (I am in college and have 3 hour classes and live about half an hour from school) Mondays are my other longest day but I am able to get home because of a 3 hour break between my classes it would just be difficult on the days when i am in a working situation... i am hoping that with only thursday next week due to the holiday on Friday that i might be able to teach and train him in preparation for the following week... my back up plan was to ask my mom to take him to her work for the day on thursday so that there are no accidents and then have a week of learning his habits. 

What about over night, would it be good to let him have freedom in the rec room with a puppy pad out? or to leave him in the crat (i'd like to avoid the crat and I don't think small areas for pets (regardless of size) is a nice idea) considering he is already trained outdoors and pee pad.)


Sorry for being full of questions, this is all new to me. 

In the car, because he is a smaller dog, is there a way to attach his leash to the seat belt, and this is going to sound crazy but is the backseat better or is the passenger seat fine?



Michiyo-Fir said:


> There are lots of Bichons that aren't barky at all. I know 2 very nicely socialized ones that almost never bark. I've also seen barky Shih Tzus, honestly barkiness is not really a trait common in either breeds.
> 
> As long as you socialize your puppy well and train it, it shouldn't have any inherited barking issues.
> 
> ...


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## kobes_owner (Mar 26, 2010)

Are there any specific toys someone would recommend for a "toy" breed dog?

I will be hunting for dog toys within the week and was curious on some opinions.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

> In the car, because he is a smaller dog, is there a way to attach his leash to the seat belt, and this is going to sound crazy but is the backseat better or is the passenger seat fine?


Do NOT attach a leash that is hooked to a collar to the seat belt or otherwise hook the seat belt to the collar. Very dangerous if you have an accident or pull a panic stop. 
The backseat is safer, especially if you have airbags in your car that can't be turn off (or don't have the weight sensors).
You can use either a crate (like the airline/travel style crates) or a seatbelt harness like the Easy Rider or one of the other brands they sell at pet shops. The harness will distribute any impact over the chest/body instead of on the neck like a collar. I use the harness but I have a large dog and he sits nicely and looks out the window. Harnesses are not quite as protective as a secured crate but are much more convenient if the dog might go in different cars etc.


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## kobes_owner (Mar 26, 2010)

Shell said:


> Do NOT attach a leash that is hooked to a collar to the seat belt or otherwise hook the seat belt to the collar. Very dangerous if you have an accident or pull a panic stop.
> The backseat is safer, especially if you have airbags in your car that can't be turn off (or don't have the weight sensors).
> You can use either a crate (like the airline/travel style crates) or a seatbelt harness like the Easy Rider or one of the other brands they sell at pet shops. The harness will distribute any impact over the chest/body instead of on the neck like a collar. I use the harness but I have a large dog and he sits nicely and looks out the window. Harnesses are not quite as protective as a secured crate but are much more convenient if the dog might go in different cars etc.


Thanks for your response.


When I said Leash, I meant like a harness of some sort. I wasn't sure if these were OK for a small dog like a Bichon. 

I do have the weight sensors in my car, so with that being said and him being such a small dog teaching him to sit in the front wouldn't harm him then. I'm just thinking if I had things in the back (example I tend to carry my laptop around and leave it laying on the back seat, or if i had groceries etc that I had in the backseat because I had filled my trunk etc) that he might get into trouble back there. 
I'd like to assume that a regular Harness wont work for this... 

Also, is a collar better, or should he have a harness for walks and every day use?


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

A friend of mine uses the smallest size of the Easy Rider harnesses on her 6 lbs toy poodle. Since she has a pickup truck, the dog sits in the front seat. If no airbag, then its pretty much okay. The dog can lay down on the seat while still buckled in.

The difference between a car harness and regular one is mostly that there is an additional loop on the back designed to put the seatbelt through, that the chest area is padded and that the fittings are usually metal instead of plastic to be sturdier. The car ones can be used for walking too just fine, there's a leash ring. 

Harnesses are easy on the dog's neck but some rub the underarm area. The more delicate the dog's neck, the more I'd say a harness is better.


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## kobes_owner (Mar 26, 2010)

Shell said:


> A friend of mine uses the smallest size of the Easy Rider harnesses on her 6 lbs toy poodle. Since she has a pickup truck, the dog sits in the front seat. If no airbag, then its pretty much okay. The dog can lay down on the seat while still buckled in.
> 
> The difference between a car harness and regular one is mostly that there is an additional loop on the back designed to put the seatbelt through, that the chest area is padded and that the fittings are usually metal instead of plastic to be sturdier. The car ones can be used for walking too just fine, there's a leash ring.
> 
> Harnesses are easy on the dog's neck but some rub the underarm area. The more delicate the dog's neck, the more I'd say a harness is better.


Thanks for that info, very useful indeed. I am going to see what he comes with (his current owner is giving me all the stuff they have) and if it doesn't include the car harness I will be going to pick one up at the pet store as soon as I can. For the time being, when I bring him home, I'll make him sit in the backseat just to be safe. 

Thanks again, much appreciated. 

Is there anything else I should know/expect. I've never had a dog before...


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Bring some old towels with you in the car, both when you pick up the dog and just in general when you have the dog in the car with you. Cover the seat with one and have the other(s) handy for wiping muddy paws, wiping up drool or vomit, and drying off the dog if its raining. 

I took an old flannel sheet and cut holes it it for the headrests and seat belts for my backseat. The double sheet covers the entire backseat and is easily washable once it gets dirty from dirty paws. That way when I take the dog to the park, I don't worry about having to clean his feet till I get home (esp. good if the parking lot itself is muddy). They sell dog carseat covers but A) why pay $30-40 for something you can make for $5 or less and B) they aren't as easily washable as a sheet.


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## kobes_owner (Mar 26, 2010)

Shell said:


> Bring some old towels with you in the car, both when you pick up the dog and just in general when you have the dog in the car with you. Cover the seat with one and have the other(s) handy for wiping muddy paws, wiping up drool or vomit, and drying off the dog if its raining.
> 
> I took an old flannel sheet and cut holes it it for the headrests and seat belts for my backseat. The double sheet covers the entire backseat and is easily washable once it gets dirty from dirty paws. That way when I take the dog to the park, I don't worry about having to clean his feet till I get home (esp. good if the parking lot itself is muddy). They sell dog carseat covers but A) why pay $30-40 for something you can make for $5 or less and B) they aren't as easily washable as a sheet.


That's a good idea, the sheet, I might try and find one at like walmart in the mix-and-match bin rather than using one of the ones we have pairs of at home. 

I can imagine it would be easier to have a sheet rather than a dog seat cover also because if i was carrying people around in my backseat i could simply remove the sheet and i have regular car seats again. 

I wondered about bringing a dog blanket for him too since he'll be so small he might want to curl up on the sheet on top of the blanket... or even a second dog bed if I was going on a longer car trip (of an hour or more), would that make sense? 
I am usually the only one in my car on a regular basis anyway and it's a 4 door vehicle so it has easy accessibility to move stuff around if necessary.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Something soft might be comfortable for him to lay on, but if its not attached to the seat somehow it can slide around or even slide off the seat. This is more of a problem with leather seats than with cloth since the leather is so slick. If you have a small dog bed that has the kind of rubbery bottom it will sit well on a car's seat and "stick" to the cloth. I see dog beds pretty often at Dollar General and Big Lots for $10 or under, you wouldn't need a fancy one.

A good option is something with sides on it that kind of raises the dog and gives something extra for balance in the car-- example photo

Car seats are pretty well padded usually so I think they are comfortable enough for most dogs to sit/lay on even for long hours.


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## kobes_owner (Mar 26, 2010)

Shell said:


> Something soft might be comfortable for him to lay on, but if its not attached to the seat somehow it can slide around or even slide off the seat. This is more of a problem with leather seats than with cloth since the leather is so slick. If you have a small dog bed that has the kind of rubbery bottom it will sit well on a car's seat and "stick" to the cloth. I see dog beds pretty often at Dollar General and Big Lots for $10 or under, you wouldn't need a fancy one.
> 
> A good option is something with sides on it that kind of raises the dog and gives something extra for balance in the car-- example photo
> 
> Car seats are pretty well padded usually so I think they are comfortable enough for most dogs to sit/lay on even for long hours.


Thanks very much, I will make sure to look for one with a rubber bottom, i have cloth seats so it will make life much easier... 

We have stores similar to Big Lots here in Canada so I'll be sure to check them out, i def don't want to spend too much on something that wont get used all that often, i just want him comfy and like taking car rides (I'm not sure what type of dog doesn't haha)


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