Are You Thinking of Getting a Small Dog, but You Don’t Want One that Sheds a Lot?
Tired of getting dogs that shed fur everywhere? What about those small dogs you’ve heard about that don’t shed?
Which breeds are they? What should I know about these little dogs?
There are a lot of different dog breeds that are small, some are long-haired with flowing beautiful straight hair, others have short or medium hair. Some have wiry, coarse hair, and some even have curly hair.
So, I’m going to start out with the ones that have long hair in this post. These small dogs do not shed, or shed very little. Of course, many of these dogs are normally seen with their hair clipped or trimmed in certain ways, depending on the breed. But, these dog breeds hair does grow rather long if not trimmed.
Small Dogs That Won’t Shed (Long-haired)
- Bichon Frise (hypoallergenic)
- Bolognese
- Coton de Tulear (hypoallergenic)
- Maltese
- Lhasa Apso
- Poodles (Miniature & Toy) (hypoallergenic)
- Scottish Terriers
- Shih Tzu
- West Highland White Terrier
- Yorkshire Terrier
- Teddy Bear (not actually a breed as far as I know, but a mixed or crossbreed)*
If you’d like to learn more about these specific breeds, you can check them out on the American Kennel Club’s post Small Dogs That Don’t Shed.
Two Things You Should Know About Long-Haired Dogs that Don’t Shed
- Grooming is a daily task – just because they don’t shed doesn’t mean daily grooming isn’t needed.
- Expect to either learn how to use dog clippers or pay a groomer every couple months or so. Keeping the hair longer on most of these breeds is a ton of extra work every day!
How Do I Know?
The reason I know these for a fact is that I’ve been the proud mom of a few small dog breeds in the past, and even now I have Daisy, our Shih Tzu, and Mocha, the Teddy Bear.
Yes, I’m talking about a small dog breed, called Teddy Bear, which is actually a cross breed of small dog, usually a mix of Bichon Frise and Shih Tzu…
not the stuffed toy!
I also had a toy poodle for 15 years…the legendary Munchkin or “Munchie” as we ended up calling her. She was the tiniest dog I’ve ever had weighing only 5 pounds most of her adult life, but she was the boss!
We always had one or two big dogs too, along with our little Munchkin, but she kept them in line. Someday, I’ll have to somehow get her pics in here…none of them are digital since we hadn’t yet gotten a digital camera at the time she was still with us. Man, I miss her!
Now, back to what I wanted to share about the small dog breeds!
Grooming is not easy at all! At least with the ones I’ve owned. It’s a daily task, especially with the Shih Tzu and Teddy Bear.
Why? These dogs don’t shed, so why do you have to worry about grooming every day?
Well, the thing is because these little dogs don’t shed and lose fur everywhere, the fur keeps growing and it has to go somewhere, right?
And, it does go somewhere, it tangles and curls up into the rest of the fur creating mats. Oh, the mats! They are never fun to deal with for either you or the dog, which I’ve learned the hard way. Skip even a couple days of grooming and keeping their long hair untangled is a big mistake!
It mats up very easily, especially if they go outside and run around like crazy fools in the damp grass…or snow too. It seems to make the hair they have just automatically tangle up into mats if it’s long.
Which is why a lot of these dogs end up getting hair cuts. Sure, their fur is sooo beautiful when it’s long and flowing…
But, not if it’s got mats galore in it!
Or, pickers either…you know, those sticky little balls from those pesky weeds out there that they always seem to find! Now, those are usually an even bigger pain in the rear to get out of that long hair on these little dogs.
Believe me…it’s not fun!
Somehow, they found the one picker bush in the back yard here and of course, had to investigate… getting pickers all stuck in their fur. None of us were happy trying to get these out, but thankfully I caught most of them before they got too tangled up. Regretfully, I did miss a couple of the pickers, tucked in their underarms, between the front leg and belly area, and ended up having to cut them out of their fur, later that day.
Now, that didn’t make Mocha and Daisy happy at all! They hate getting a haircut! Meaning that even just a couple of these were a chore to cut out once I finally caught them. Soon as they see the scissors they run and hide if they can.
Somehow these smart little dogs know which scissors are their grooming scissors, no matter how sneaky I try to be!
Should You Bring Your Dog to a Groomer?
I’ve always tried to keep up on our dogs fur, but it can be hard! Especially these small dogs of ours that don’t shed. Actually, I think it’s so much easier to keep a regular type of shedding dog’s fur groomed. But, that’s me.
We’ve owned all kinds of other breeds in the past. Pepper a Husky/German Shepherd/yellow lab mix, Thor a black lab/collie/husky mix, Nikki a purebred Malamute, and also in the present we have Argon a purebred Old English bulldog, and Jade a Husky/Old English bulldog/yellow lab mix.
So, yes, I know what it’s like to have fur everywhere! All the time! On the couch,chairs, our clothes, etc. and yes, it’s a pain! But, at least it doesn’t mat up in ugly clumps of fur that are still stuck on the dog.
And, no keeping a small dog still to get every little tangle isn’t as easy as those professional groomers make it look. So, you end up missing a few little tangles here and there sometimes.
These little tangles don’t take very long in a Teddy Bear dog’s fur or a Shih Tzu’s fur to turn into a mat. You think you got them all one day and the next it looks like they haven’t been brushed in a couple of weeks! Which means out comes the de-matting comb…
And, maybe even the special grooming scissors.
It’s very frustrating when this happens. In my opinion, the hair on these dogs tangles extremely easily compared to any other dog I’ve owned. Even the toy poodle’s fur was a bit easier to keep up on. It grew slower, if I remember correctly. Plus, it grew into curls, not straight out, which seems to tangle much easier. Of course, the toy poodle’s fur had to be clipped at least every other month or so, which kept it much easier to manage.
The hair on the Shih Tzu is extremely fine, which is why it’s considered as hair. It’s very soft and cuddly as long as it’s kept clean and brushed. But, while the Shih Tzu’s hair is very fine, and baby soft, the Teddy Bear dog’s hair is a little different. It’s still soft and cuddly of course, but it’s not quite as fine as the pure Shih Tzu. More of a thicker or coarser type of fur…but, not by much at all.
Between these two small dog breeds, I’d have to say our Teddy Bear’s hair is a tiny bit easier to keep up on than our Shih Tzu’s. It doesn’t seem to tangle up as easily for some reason beyond me.
Have you ever owned a Shih Tzu or a Teddy bear dog? A toy poodle? Did you notice a difference in their hair?
I’d love to know if you have…maybe it’s just my dogs?
Anyways, if you’re thinking about getting a small dog breed that doesn’t shed in the future remember these two things:
- You still have to groom or brush them daily
- You’ll have to either learn how to use clippers or bring them to a professional dog groomer every couple months or so depending on the breed
Hopefully, I haven’t scared you off of bringing one of these breeds into your family. They’re wonderful dogs, don’t get me wrong! I just wanted to make you aware of the facts of grooming, lol!
It’s much easier to spend a little time each day and brush them out rather than spend hours trying to get those darn mats out!
And, it’s even easier if you keep its hair short…
I’ll be writing more posts soon about grooming tools such as scissors, clippers, brushes, and possibly some tips I’ve learned to get these tangles and mats out…so, check in again here for that. I’ll post the link here once I get it done…* You can read my post on dog grooming tools and tips by clicking the following link here: Thinking of Grooming Your Dog at Home? 7 Essential Dog Grooming Tools to Get the Job Done
Update! New review post for dog grooming scissors is done, you can read it here: Dog Grooming Scissors Reviews
Thank you for reading! I hope you’ve enjoyed it, maybe even found it helpful…
Do you have any questions or suggestions you’d like to share?
Maybe you know of other small dog breeds that do not shed? Or, maybe a helpful tip you use on your small dog’s hair? I’d love to hear from you!
You can let me know in the comments below….
One more thing…if I could ask you to do a tiny favor for me?
If you liked this or found it helpful, could you please share it with your friends? It’d help me out a lot and keep this site going…
I’d appreciate it ever so much if you do!
