Dogs That Look Like Teddy Bears
This site exists because of one dog who looked like a teddy bear. When Boo’s photos took over the internet in 2010, groomers started fielding a brand-new request: “make my dog look like that.” Sixteen years later, the teddy bear look is still the one people ask groomers for by name, and this is our honest guide to the breeds that deliver it, from the ones that fit in a tote bag to the ones that could pass for an actual bear.
One thing to know upfront: “teddy bear dog” is not a breed. It is a look, built from three things: a rounded face, plush fur, and button eyes. Some breeds are born with it. Some get it from a groomer. Boo got his from a haircut, and that difference matters more than you would think, so we flag it breed by breed and sort it out in a table near the end.
Small dogs that look like teddy bears
These are the lap-sized bears, roughly 20 pounds and under. Most of them are the reason the phrase exists.
1. Pomeranian (with the Boo cut). The one that started it all. A Pomeranian’s natural look is a fox with a lion’s mane; the teddy bear comes from the short rounded trim Boo made famous. At 3 to 7 pounds they are the smallest bear on this list, big-personality dogs who genuinely believe they are in charge, good with respectful older kids, and vocal enough to announce every delivery truck in the zip code. The catch: the teddy look is groomed into a double coat, clipping carries real coat-damage risk, and the maintenance is a standing appointment. Read the honest version before you book. If you want proof of the look’s staying power, Jiffpom still wears it.
2. Zuchon (Shih Tzu × Bichon Frise). The mix so teddy-bear-like that breeders literally market it as the “teddy bear dog.” Ten-ish pounds of round face and soft wavy coat, bred specifically to be a companion, which shows: they attach hard to their people, tend to be gentle with children, and mostly want to be wherever you are. Low-shedding but not low-effort; that soft coat mats without several brushings a week and a groom every 6 to 8 weeks.
3. Bichon Frise. The purebred plush toy. White, curly, naturally round-faced; the breed’s standard haircut is already a teddy bear cut, so this is the born-with-it option in its purest form. Cheerful, sturdy little clowns, 12 to 18 pounds, famously good-natured with kids and other dogs. The trade: that powder-puff coat is one of the most grooming-intensive of the small companion breeds, with professional trims essentially mandatory.
4. Maltipoo (Maltese × Poodle). The teddy bear most likely to be mistaken for an actual stuffed animal, because it comes in the same colors: usually white or cream, sometimes apricot or black. Anywhere from 5 to 20 pounds depending on whether the poodle parent was a toy or a miniature, friendly, playful, and quick to bark at the mail. The coat can lean curly (poodle) or silky (Maltese), and either way it needs brushing most days and a professional groom every 4 to 8 weeks to keep the round face round.
5. Cavapoo (Cavalier King Charles Spaniel × Poodle). Take the Cavalier’s enormous soft eyes and put them in a curly apricot or red coat and you get the dog that fills half the “teddy bear puppy” photos online. Nine to 13 inches tall and 9 to 22 pounds, sweet-natured, keen to please, and happier with company than without it. The curls are low-shedding, which is not the same as low-maintenance: they mat, so budget for brushing and a regular clip.
6. Cavachon (Cavalier King Charles Spaniel × Bichon). The Cavalier’s soulful eyes on the Bichon’s plush coat, arguably the most button-eyed entry on this list. Soft-tempered, quiet by small-dog standards, and content at an apartment pace, which makes them a favorite first dog. Same wavy-coat homework as the Zuchon: brush often or pay for the dematting.
7. Shih Tzu (in a puppy cut). Left to grow, a Shih Tzu’s coat sweeps the floor and the dog looks like a tiny show pony. Clipped short, the same dog is a teddy bear: flat sweet face, round skull, big dark eyes, 9 to 16 pounds of lap-dog bred for exactly that job in the palaces of old China. Groomed-into-it, then, and the long double coat underneath needs brushing every couple of days even when it is short, plus attention to the eyes and ears.
8. Toy Poodle (in a teddy bear clip). Nobody thinks “teddy bear” when they picture a show poodle with pom-poms, but ask a groomer for a teddy bear clip, which leaves the face and ears rounded and the body one even length, and a Toy Poodle turns into one of the most convincing bears on this list. Under 10 inches tall and 4 to 6 pounds, among the smartest small dogs there are, athletic, and sociable. The curly coat barely sheds and needs a full groom every 4 to 8 weeks.
9. Coton de Tuléar. Named for its cotton-like coat, a small, cheerful white cloud from Madagascar that looks hand-sewn. Cotons are the sleeper pick on this list: sturdy, comedic, notably easygoing, with a long soft coat that still wants brushing most days. Bred for centuries to do exactly one job, which is to be delightful nearby.
Medium teddy bears: the doodles and spaniel crosses
Most of these land between 15 and 45 pounds, though both ends stretch depending on the poodle parent. These are the bears that need real walks.
10. Cockapoo (Cocker Spaniel × Poodle). Soft curls, floppy ears, and permanently puppy-ish proportions, one of the original designer crosses and still one of the most popular. Sizes range widely (a toy Cockapoo and a full Cocker-sized one are different lifestyles), but the temperament runs reliably affectionate and eager. The spaniel side wants exercise; this bear needs real walks, not just a couch.
11. Mini Goldendoodle. A teddy bear at golden-retriever warmth settings, and the dog that carried the teddy bear cut beyond toy breeds; groomers use the exact same name for the doodle version of the trim. Miniatures run roughly 15 to 35 pounds, friendly to a fault, and genuinely good family dogs. Budget for both the grooming AND the energy: there is a retriever in there who wants to fetch things.
12. Schnoodle (Schnauzer × Poodle). Less famous than its doodle cousins but the wavy coat and beard-y round face land squarely in bear territory, with a bonus: the schnauzer side brings a watchful, clever streak that makes them entertaining problem-solvers. Sizes span toy to giant depending on the parents, so ask what you are actually getting.
13. Mini Bernedoodle (Bernese Mountain Dog × Poodle). The tricolor teddy bear: black, white, and rust in a wavy low-shedding coat, with the Bernese’s calm, gentle temperament and the poodle’s brains. The mini version runs 20 to 45 pounds; a standard Bernedoodle can pass 60 and belongs in the next section. Quiet for a doodle, adaptable, and the coat needs weekly brushing plus a regular professional groom.
Big fluffy dogs that look like bears
These are not teddy bears so much as bears. All four are double-coated spitz or mountain types, which means real shedding, and all four have personalities that have nothing to do with how huggable they look.
14. Keeshond. The Dutch barge dog, a silver-and-black plush with a thick ruff, a fox-bear face, and the famous “spectacles” markings around the eyes. Seventeen to 18 inches and 35 to 45 pounds, so a bear you can still lift, and one of the friendliest spitz breeds: playful, eager to please, loud when someone comes to the door. The double coat blows out once or twice a year and should be brushed in lines, never shaved.
15. Chow Chow. The full-size teddy bear. Deep plush coat, round bear face, and the entry that looks most like an actual bear cub, 45 to 70 pounds of it. Here the look and the personality diverge completely: Chows are dignified, independent, one-family dogs, closer to a cat’s temperament than a Goldendoodle’s, and they need an experienced, patient owner. Do not buy the stuffed-animal exterior without reading the contents label.
16. Samoyed. The polar teddy. A big, thick-coated white spitz with the famous “Sammy smile,” 35 to 65 pounds, bred to haul sleds and sleep in tents with their humans, which left them pathologically people-oriented. The bear look comes with the biggest workload on this list: that double coat sheds in weather events, and a bored Samoyed will narrate its boredom to the whole street. Glorious dogs for people ready for the project. For the Instagram version, see Maya the Samoyed.
17. Tibetan Mastiff. The bear that was bred to guard against bears. Seventy to 150 pounds of mane and thick coat, originally the night guardian of Tibetan monasteries against wolves and snow leopards, and it has never forgotten. Calm and devoted indoors, reserved with strangers, stubborn, and inclined to patrol and bark after dark. The coat drops once a year in a single enormous spring molt. This is the least teddy-bear personality on the page attached to the most bear-like body, and it is a dog for experienced owners with space.
Puppies that look like teddy bears (and what they grow into)
Almost every fluffy puppy looks like a teddy bear at ten weeks. The question is which ones keep it. The small born-with-it breeds (Bichon, Zuchon, Maltipoo, Cavapoo, Cavachon, Coton) keep the look for life with regular grooming. The doodles keep the face but grow into athletic, leggy dogs that need the walks to match, and their soft puppy coat changes to the adult coat within the first year, which is when the grooming bill starts. The spitz and mountain breeds trade the puppy-bear look for an adult-bear look, which is a different thing: a Samoyed puppy is a snowball, and a Samoyed adult is a sled dog. If the teddy bear phase is the whole point, choose from the small section, not the big one.
Born with it or groomed into it
The test is simple: if the breed’s normal coat and standard trim give you the teddy bear, it is born with it. If the look only appears when a groomer departs from the breed’s usual style, it is groomed into it. Either way the clip is a standing appointment.
| Breed | The look comes from | What keeps it |
|---|---|---|
| Pomeranian (Boo cut) | the groomer | clip every 4–8 weeks; double-coat clipping risk |
| Shih Tzu · Toy Poodle | the groomer (puppy cut / teddy clip) | clip every 4–8 weeks |
| Zuchon · Bichon · Maltipoo · Cavapoo · Cavachon · Coton | born with it | brushing most days, clip every 4–8 weeks |
| Cockapoo · Goldendoodle · Schnoodle · Bernedoodle | born with it | clip every 6–8 weeks, plus exercise |
| Keeshond · Chow Chow · Samoyed · Tibetan Mastiff | born with it | line brushing, seasonal coat blows, never shaved |
The honest part
Three of the seventeen dogs above get the look from a groomer; the other fourteen are born with it and still need the clip to keep it. Before choosing a dog for its teddy bear face, know which kind you are choosing, and if the plan is to give a dog you already have the Boo treatment, read the real story of Boo’s haircut first, including the part groomers will warn you about with double-coated breeds. Pomeranian owners weighing the options have a whole page of cuts to compare.
The teddy bear look is wonderful. The dog under it is the actual pet. Boo was beloved for the face, but the 16 million people who stayed stayed for the dog.
Teddy bear essentials
Teddy bear dog plush →Grooming starter kit →
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Frequently Asked Questions
What dog breed looks most like a teddy bear?
The Zuchon (a Shih Tzu and Bichon Frise mix) is so teddy-bear-like it is literally nicknamed the “teddy bear dog.” Among purebreds, the Bichon Frise is the closest natural match.
What is the smallest dog that looks like a teddy bear?
The Pomeranian, at 3 to 7 pounds, once it has the short rounded Boo cut. The Toy Poodle (4 to 6 pounds) gets there the same way, with a teddy bear clip. Among dogs born with the look, the smallest Maltipoos and Zuchons are the tiniest.
Do teddy bear dogs shed?
The small ones mostly do not: Bichon, poodle, and their crosses are low-shedding, though they still need clipping every 4 to 8 weeks. The big bears are the opposite. Keeshonds, Chow Chows, Samoyeds, and Tibetan Mastiffs shed heavily and blow their coats every year.
What was the teddy bear dog from the internet?
That was Boo, a Pomeranian whose short rounded haircut made him look like a living teddy bear. He was known as the World’s Cutest Dog until his death in 2019.
Is a teddy bear dog a real breed?
No. “Teddy bear dog” describes a look: a rounded face, plush coat, and button eyes. It is achieved either by breed (like the Bichon Frise or Zuchon) or by grooming (like Boo’s famous cut).