Grooming styles
What is a teddy bear cut?
Teddy bear is a look, not a rule book. Ask three groomers for one and you may collect three slightly different dogs. This page pins down what the name usually means, which coats wear it well, how it differs from a puppy cut or a poodle pattern, and the words that get you the dog you pictured.
The short version
A round head, a soft face and an even body make the teddy bear look
The defining part of a teddy bear cut is the head. Instead of a clean, shaved face, the hair on the muzzle and cheeks is left on and scissored into a circle, the eyes are cleared so the dog can see, and the ears are blended into the outline. The body is taken to one even length, long enough to look soft, and the legs are shaped into rounded columns. Seen from the front, the effect is a stuffed-toy silhouette.
Because no kennel club defines it, the name covers a range of looks. Some owners want a short body with a big round head; others want plush everywhere. The AKC's poodle standard, by contrast, shaves the face, throat and feet in every one of its four recognized clips, which is exactly the part a teddy bear cut leaves alone. That is why a photo, and a short conversation with the groomer, matters more for this style than for most.
- Head: full and scissored round, with the eyes cleared
- Muzzle: left soft rather than shaved
- Ears: blended into the outline
- Body: one even length that you choose
- Legs: shaped as rounded columns
Who wears it
Doodles, poodles and small long-coated breeds wear it best
The style needs hair that keeps growing and can be scissored into a shape, which means curly, wavy or long, fine coats. Doodles of every mix wear it most often, along with poodles whose owners would rather not shave the face, and small long-coated breeds such as the bichon frise, Maltese, shih tzu, Havanese and Yorkshire terrier, plus crosses like the maltipoo. On these coats the round head holds its shape for weeks.
Double-coated dogs are a different story. A golden retriever, husky or Bernese mountain dog has a coat that sheds in seasons, and the AKC's chief veterinary officer warns that shaving one removes its insulating layer, so those dogs get a bath, a brush-out and a tidy rather than a sculpted haircut. The coat also has to be in a state to hold the look: a matted doodle cannot be scissored round, and our doodle grooming page explains what de-matting adds to the bill.
What to ask for
Ask in plain words: how long on the body, how full the head, how short the feet
Groomers turn your description into clipper blades, comb attachments and scissor work. Dogtown does not publish blade numbers or a fixed length for this cut, so describe the result instead. Say how much coat you want left on the body, using a photo or a finger width; whether the head should match the body or stand fuller; how short the feet, sanitary area and inner ears should be; and whether you want the eyebrows cleared or left soft over the eyes.
Show two photos, ideally of your own dog after a groom you liked, one from the front and one from the side, and say what you did not like last time. The groomer checks the coat at check-in and tells you what length it can hold today; if it is tangled, a slightly shorter body now gives a better teddy bear shape at the next visit. The final price is confirmed at that point, after the coat assessment.
- 01
Save two photos of the look you want, front and side
- 02
Choose the body length in plain terms: short, medium or plush
- 03
Say how full the head should be compared with the body
- 04
Pick the feet and sanitary trim: neat and short is easiest to keep
- 05
Mention any mats, sore spots or handling worries
- 06
Agree the length and the price at check-in before work starts
Teddy bear or puppy cut
The difference from a puppy cut is the head, and that changes the upkeep
Owners often use teddy bear and puppy cut as if they meant the same thing, and some groomers do too. In the most common usage, a puppy cut keeps one even length everywhere with a simple, tidy face, while a teddy bear cut puts the emphasis on a full, rounded head and a softer muzzle. Our answers on the puppy cut and the lamb cut describe those two styles in their own right.
The practical difference is the brushing. A fuller head holds more food, water and sand, so it needs more combing and more frequent tidying around the eyes; a $10 face trim between full grooms keeps the eyes clear without a full haircut. If brushing time is short in your house, ask for the teddy bear head on a shorter body, which keeps the look where people notice it and cuts the work everywhere else.
| Teddy bear cut | Puppy cut | Traditional poodle clip | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Face | Full, soft and rounded | Short and tidy | Shaved, per the AKC standard |
| Head | Scissored round, the focus | In proportion with the body | Topknot shaped on top |
| Body | Even, often plush | Even, often short | Depends on the clip |
| Brushing at home | Most time at the face and ears | Least time | Face and feet re-shaved each visit |
Keeping the shape
Keep the shape with a comb after meals, a mid-cycle face trim and a booked next visit
A teddy bear cut grows out from the face first. Comb the beard after meals, check behind the ears and under the collar or harness twice a week, and book the next full service before the head loses its outline; rebooking at pick-up takes $5 off. If your dog swims in the off-season, rinse salt and sand out the same day. At the time of writing, Gloucester opens Good Harbor to dogs on even-numbered days from October 1 to March 31 and Wingaersheek on odd-numbered days from October 1 to April 30.
A teddy bear groom can also go onto a daycare day once your dog has passed the free evaluation, or onto the last day of an overnight stay, where the Classic and Deluxe bundles take 10 or 15 percent off. Grooming on its own needs no evaluation, so you can book the cut online or in the Dogtown app today and drop off inside a regular window, from 6:30 AM on weekdays.
- Comb the beard after meals
- Brush behind the ears and along the harness line twice a week
- Rinse salt and sand out on the day of a beach walk
- A $10 face trim halfway through the cycle
- Rebook at pick-up for $5 off
At Dogtown
Grooming for curly and long coats
Full service with a custom haircut, priced by size, plus face trims between visits.
Asked and answered
Questions people ask about this
Short, complete answers you can act on today. More in the full FAQ.
How long does a teddy bear cut last?
Does a teddy bear cut cost more than other cuts?
Can my puppy have a teddy bear cut?
Can a shih tzu have a teddy bear cut?
Will the groomer shave my dog instead if it is matted?
More questions? Read the full FAQ
Sources
- AKC: official Poodle breed standard (clips)
- AKC: is it OK to shave your dog's coat in summer?
- City of Gloucester: beach information
Rules and dates change. We re-check every beach, licensing and ordinance page each spring and fall; the source above is the current word.
Keep reading
Next step
Bring the photo, get the round head
Book a full service by weight online or in the Dogtown app, add a face trim if you like, and agree the length at check-in.
- 01Free evaluationWeekdays 6:30 – 9:30 AM
- 02Book a dayOnline, in the app or by phone
- 03Play, rest, repeatReport card at pick-up
