I love my Madan. The pins move with the coat so that the tangles glide through the brush...instead of getting caught up & pulling. The pins themselves bend a tiny tiny bit in the middle or sort of curve. It's a very slight curve though. They also bend at the base of the brush. A slicker brush's pins are tough, firmly attached to the base & always at a right angle in relationship to the base. A Madan's base is soft & rubbery, so the pins angle a tiny tiny bit during brushing. That tiny bit of give makes it much more gentle on the coat. I think you can get different grades of firmness in regard to that "bend". You should ask Jenny what the best kind is for a Shih Tzu. I got a Madan because everyone raved about about them & I was expecting a normal brush. I figured a brush is brush. But the first time I used it, I understood the hype & I totally fell in love. Lol. It glides through the coat like butter.
I'm POSITIVE you'll love it.