Most adult Shichons weigh roughly 10 to 18 pounds and stand about 9 to 12 inches tall. No breed standard exists for this cross, so that bracket is built from the Shih Tzu standard, the Bichon Frise standard and PetMD’s Bichon figures. It is an honest range, not a specification.
What the two parent standards actually say
A Shichon is a Shih Tzu crossed with a Bichon Frise. No rule book exists for the cross, so the only authoritative documents are the two parent standards.
| Parent | Height | Weight | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shih Tzu | Ideally 9 to 10½ inches at the withers; not less than 8 inches nor more than 11 inches | Ideally 9 to 16 pounds for mature dogs | Official breed standard for the Shih Tzu |
| Bichon Frise | 9½ to 11½ inches given primary preference; in no case over 12 inches or under 9 inches | No weight given anywhere in the standard | Official breed standard for the Bichon Frise |
| Bichon Frise (typical adult, non-standard source) | “Just under 1 foot tall” | 12 to 18 pounds | PetMD Bichon Frise breed page |
Read the middle row again. The Bichon Frise standard is a height document from end to end, and never puts a pound figure on the breed. That is why the third row exists: the 12 to 18 pounds and the phrase “just under 1 foot tall” are PetMD’s. We quote that phrase as written rather than converting it into inches it never claimed.
Where the 10 to 18 pound bracket comes from
Lay the two weight figures side by side. The Shih Tzu standard says 9 to 16 pounds; PetMD says 12 to 18 for the Bichon. The combined span is 9 to 18, and the two ranges overlap from 12 to 16, where many of these dogs end up.
We publish roughly 10 to 18 rather than 9 to 18 because a puppy with a Bichon parent rarely finishes at the very bottom of the Shih Tzu’s range. That half-step is a judgement, not a measurement. Call it a bracket: where a dog is likely to land. A specification is what a breed club says a dog must be, and nobody has written one here.
Height is the easier number to call than weight
This runs opposite to most crossbreed size questions, where weight is the trusted figure. The parents overlap almost entirely in height: the Shih Tzu standard wants 9 to 10½ inches, with outer limits at 8 and 11, and the Bichon standard prefers 9½ to 11½, with outer limits at 9 and 12. Whichever parent a puppy favours, “how tall” lands in the same narrow band. About 9 to 12 inches covers it.
Weight is the looser figure, because one parent’s range was written by a breed club and the other’s was not written at all. Two dogs of the same height can differ by several pounds.
There is no breed standard for a Shichon
Shichon is a marketplace name. No purebred registry recognises the cross, and mixed breeds do not have an official standard. No size clause, no ideal, no disqualification.
That absence is why published Shichon weights vary so wildly from site to site. Each is assembling a range from the same two parent breeds, one of which has no published weight in its own standard, and each rounds differently. The disagreement is not a sign that one site has better data. None has data on the cross, because none exists. The purebred side is on our Shih Tzu size chart, and the other crosses from that parent on our Shih Tzu mixes page.
How small dogs grow
General growth guidance exists even where cross-specific data does not. Veterinary guidance from Dr. Jerry Klein puts small breeds at the end of their growing around six to eight months, with full adult size by about twelve months. We publish no weight-by-age table for this cross and we will not: nothing credible publishes age-by-age weights for a Shichon, so any such table is somebody’s arithmetic dressed up as data. Check the dog by hand instead, as VCA’s Body Condition Scores guidance describes, and take growth questions to your vet.
Why a Shichon looks bigger than the scale says
Both parents are heavily coated, and this is the biggest coat-versus-scale illusion we deal with. The Shih Tzu standard describes a coat that is luxurious, double-coated, dense, long and flowing; the Bichon standard, one that springs back when patted and is scissored to reveal the body’s natural outline. A Shichon in full coat is mostly outline.
Owners around Lawrenceville often run a shorter trim through the Georgia summer and are startled by how much smaller the dog looks in July. The scale has not moved an ounce. Judge size over the ribs, not from across the room. Our teddy bear puppies page covers the crosses behind that round look, and available puppies by breed shows what is here.
Common questions
How much does a full-grown Shichon weigh?
Roughly 10 to 18 pounds, a bracket drawn from the Shih Tzu standard’s 9 to 16 pounds and PetMD’s 12 to 18 for the Bichon. No standard exists for the cross, so no Shichon figure comes from a registry.
How tall does a Shichon get?
About 9 to 12 inches. Both parent standards sit in nearly the same height band, making height the more predictable figure here.
Why do different websites give different Shichon weights?
Because there is nothing to copy from. The Bichon Frise standard gives no weight at all, and none exists for the cross, so every published range is assembled from the parent breeds and rounded by hand.
Can you tell me what my puppy will weigh as an adult?
Not as a fact, and we will not guess. Small dogs generally finish growing around six to eight months and reach adult size by about twelve months, per veterinary guidance. Your veterinarian is the right person to follow a puppy’s growth.
Come and meet a Shichon
Every puppy here is health-checked by our on-staff veterinarian, raised in our family home nursery, and waiting to say hello.
1848 Old Norcross Rd, Lawrenceville, GA 30044
Mon–Sat 12:00–7:00 PM • Sun 2:00–6:00 PM
