Shih Tzu came from the royal Chinese dogs. They are very lively, energetic and fun to have around. However, due to their coats that are soft and fluffy, they might appear quite delicate and regal to maintain.
This has really made a lot of dog lovers shy away from owning Shih Tzu’s. On the contrary, the secret to having these dogs thrive in a home is just by taking care of their coats. ‘’Shih Tzu hair care’’ is therefore a must read for anybody who aspires to own these dogs.
The Shih Tzu have their hair grow long in short durations calling for regular grooming. A lot of attention needs to be put on this little friend. In this article, we lay bare all the tricks on how to maintain your Shih Tzu’s coat.
Brushing Your Shih Tzu Dog
Shih Tzu dogs have coats of hair and not fur as is usually the case in other dogs. The hair isn’t shed and should therefore be brushed often to detangle the knots. It is recommended that you brush your dog’s hair daily.
Instead of using a comb that will consume most of your time, look for a top quality brush to perform the task. You can use the comb on isolated areas like around the eyes with the brush being helpful on the rest of the body.
The use of the right grooming brush will save you energy and time. Just buy the right one and enjoy grooming your ‘little lion’ without involving the services of a professional dog groomer.
In case there are knots that are proving tough to entangle, place some conditioner on the knots then brush them off.
Bathing Shih Tzu Dogs
There isn’t any recommended duration to bathe your dog. But you can bathe your Shih Tzu once every month. Remember if you over-bathe him, he will have a dried out coat and skin. However, there are instances when the dog can be extremely dirty and might require bathing even before the scheduled once a month.
When bathing the dog, make sure you use warm water to avoid upsetting him. Also ensure you have the correct detergent for the task. Shih Tzu’s have specially made conditioners and shampoos for their bathing. Look out for them when preparing them for a bath.
If you little friend is proving cheeky for a bath, you can use plastic toys to entertain him during bathing.
Trimming the Hair
Given that Shih Tzu’s don’t shed, the likelihood of their hair growing too long is very high. If the hair is not attended to in the shortest period possible, it can become unmanageable. You can use high quality trimmers like clippers to cut off the excess hair.
When trimming, make sure you don’t do it so low to an extent of almost causing injuries on the dog’s body. Make sure that hair around the eyes are also trimmed with caution to keep the area clean. If need be, look for extra hands to help hold the dog still as you do the trimming.
If you feel like you can’t brush, bathe and trim your Shih Tzu’s hair, you can consider hiring the services of a professional groomer. They are, however, just simple basic stuff that you can do on your own at home thereby saving you lots of money.
Handling of Hair Around Shih Tzu’s Eyes
Eyes are very sensitive areas in dogs as is with humans. Hair around these eyes can at times grow too long and even dirty when left unattended to. The natural tears from the dog’s eyes are meant to clean them and keep them healthy but this is not effective.
The much that these tears do is pushing debris to eyes’ corners. These will get accumulated here up to when they are cleaned out. So, just as you clean your eyes in the morning on a daily basis, the same should be done on your Shih Tzu.
To remove these debris before they clump your dog’s hair and becoming stuck, use a soft, warm dump cloth. Hold this over your hairy friend’s eyes for about 5 seconds. Thereafter, wipe the gunk off completely.
This needs to be done daily and gently. Don’t use detergents around the eyes as they can cause irritations when they find their ways into the eyes. Remember it is always easier to wipe clean the eyes after a bath.
Provide Well-balanced Dog Meals
The food we eat play very important roles in keeping our hair healthy. The same thing applies to dogs as well. There are very important nutrients and minerals that the hair need to grow and glow.
Such nutrients should be supplied to the dog in plenty. It is for this reason that you need to watch out your Shih Tzu is feeding on. Don’t feed him too much human foods but instead focus on the specially formulated dog food.
Some dogs have their hair looking bad not because they are ill but just because they lack some essential nutrients in the body.
Tips on Grooming Your Shih Tzu
You can actually groom your dog comfortably at home. You just need to have the right tools from brushes, clippers and detergents among others to keep your dog’s hair neat. However, you can have the best of tools but still fail terribly in this mission.
It is for this reason that you need to pay more attention to some of the grooming tips below.
- When performing any of the above discussed hair care services on your Shih Tzu, ensure that the room you are in is quiet and without any distractions. Most dogs can be so nervous at some strange sounds.
- Put on some classical music in a suitable low sound to provide some sort of entertainment when working on your dog’s hair.
- Engage your dog with some calm talking. This is essential when it comes to building trust between you and the dog.
Wrapping Up
Maintaining your dog’s coat is very important. It helps improve your dog’s health. But dogs have different ways of caring for their hair.
Shih Tzu dogs are one breed that need a lot of hair attention. But this has been made simpler by the tips shared above. Of the various ways of caring for your ‘little lion’s’ hair, just add caution and common sense and you will realize that they are things you can actually do on your own. We hope this article helps you in this sensitive topic. You can go ahead and share it with your other Shih Tzu lovers.
