Daily grooming is a must...No matter the length you keep the coat of your Shih Tzu it is essential to brush your dog daily if you want to maintain a mat-free coat. Most people will not completely shave down their Tzus, and a very short coat will not require much maintenance. But, consistent & daily brushing is essential. If you establish daily routines and grooming rituals your dog will be happier and healthier.
Starting from day one will help your puppy know what to expect and create fewer problems with grooming later down the road. Below are a few tips and areas for you to focus on.
Here is what we recommend:
At Shurbeez, we begin early getting our puppy used to being groomed daily. We clip nails, desensitize to hair clippers, brush, get puppies used to being touched everywhere, bathing starting at 4-5 weeks, blow them dry, use different types of combs & brushes, wash faces and eyes, at three weeks they get their first sanitary clip to keep private areas as clean as possible, feet are trimmed, between foot pads trimmed, etc. If your dog displays discomfort in any area of body handling, grooming, or care - please go slowly, give treats for small victories, etc.
**Being rough with bathing or other grooming practices
will set you and your dog up for a dubious future in grooming.
Starting from day one will help your puppy know what to expect and create fewer problems with grooming later down the road. Below are a few tips and areas for you to focus on.
Here is what we recommend:
- Comb out under the eyes with a fine-toothed comb daily (we like using a flea comb), remove any eye gunk, wash under the eye with a warm wet cloth, dry the area as best as you can. (see the article below for tips to avoid staining) Faces stay wet when pups are teething, so daily eye care will help with face staining, yeast build-up, etc. See our Products We Love page for the items we use regularly.
- Top knots should be fixed daily. Get your puppy used to hair bands, bows, and fixing the top knot from day one if you want to have a top knot. If the hair under the top knot is not frequently combed out it can create a hot spot under the band. Be kind and fix top knots daily!
- Check the ears daily. The hair in the ears should be plucked regularly to keep it free from buildup and prevent infections. Plucking a little here and there will be much easier on your dog than trying to have one giant session of plucking. If you begin to see dark discharge or the inner ear has a yucky smell you may have an ear infection starting. If caught early you can treat it at home instead of going to the vet for medication. See our Products We Love page for ear care items we use. Brush the outer ear hair daily to keep them mat free and smooth. Pay close attention to the back of the ears, this is where most mats form on the ears.
- Daily brushing, combing and dematting are essential. Regardless of the length of your puppy/dog's coat,you will need to brush daily - if you don't brush daily, and make it a pleasant experience, your puppy will forget - and become adverse to being brushed. Pay close attention to the areas under the legs, 'armpits', behind the ears, under the eyes, etc. Just brushing the top layer is the easy part, please make sure that you brush the under layers, all the way down to the skin. Watch a few YouTube videos and learn how to properly care for a long coat if you want to keep your dog in a 'show coat'. Even if you keep your puppy in the teddy bear cut you'll need to brush daily - mats form quickly and will be painful if you have many to deal with... or may require a complete shave if it is bad enough...
- Feet - check feet daily. The hair on the feet grows just as fast as the rest of the body. The hair between the toes can get matted as well and can become painful to walk on. The hair can also cover the foot pads making it hard for your dog to gain traction on slippery floors. Trimming hair on the bottom of the feet is essential.
- Skin - as you groom daily, check the skin under the hair. Make sure there are no sores under top knots, between toes, between foot pads, near the genitals, on the main body. Many skin problems can be easily fixed if you catch them early.
- Teeth - Brush them daily. Shih Tzu have notoriously trouble-prone teeth. They have shallow tooth roots, gums get inflamed easily, and they can loose adult teeth early if you don't pay attention to their oral health. Brushing teeth daily can be an easy process if you start young. Your Shurbeez pup is used to having things in their mouths, - we put our finger in their mouths, rub their teeth with a puppy toothbrush, and have oral protocols we do daily. Your puppy will easily be ready for daily oral care. Having a yearly dental cleaning at the vet, starting usually about year 3, or sooner if your vet suggests it. Conscientious oral care is a great way to prolong the life of your dog.
At Shurbeez, we begin early getting our puppy used to being groomed daily. We clip nails, desensitize to hair clippers, brush, get puppies used to being touched everywhere, bathing starting at 4-5 weeks, blow them dry, use different types of combs & brushes, wash faces and eyes, at three weeks they get their first sanitary clip to keep private areas as clean as possible, feet are trimmed, between foot pads trimmed, etc. If your dog displays discomfort in any area of body handling, grooming, or care - please go slowly, give treats for small victories, etc.
**Being rough with bathing or other grooming practices
will set you and your dog up for a dubious future in grooming.
How to Have and Keep a Super White Face (and Remove Existing Stain) On Your Shih Tzu
by Chris Jones
First be sure your food and treats have no added color. Stick to white or pale colored "cookies" and treats. Examples would be Old Mother Hubbard's puppy training biscuits, or IAMs biscuits or Nature's Recipe Lamb and Rice Bones. Better quality foods usually don't have color added. If the stools have a red tinge or if you use canned as a supplement check for a pinkish tinge. If it's there, chances are the food has been colored.
In many areas of the country, water is very hard, has a high iron content or has chemicals that aren't good for you or your little dog. Use bottled water or have a reverse osmosis water purification system installed in your home. (In some areas the water is so hard it is known to contribute to kidney and bladder stone formation in both people and pets. That's the first thing we were told by a local water company when we moved here.)
Be sure to use a pet water bottle. This way your dog's face will stay dry. He will always have fresh water, free of crumbs and debris. His face will stay cleaner, too, since he won't get into his food when his face is wet and start to look "muddy."
A stainless steel bowl is best. Shih Tzu, being a "brachycephalic," or short faced breed, prefer shallow bowls. Stainless steel is bacteriostatic, it doesn't chip or crack and is easy to keep clean. Some plastics are known to discolor faces. Plastic absorbs odors. Food or water left in plastic containers may have an unpleasant odor, undetected by humans but quite obvious to dogs who have a much more developed sense of smell.
Some folks like to add a little cider vinegar to the water or even lemon juice. We found that our dogs didn't seem to drink as well. Adding about 100-200 mg. a day of vitamin C daily won't hurt, if you'd like to do that. Some vets say it works, others say it doesn't. A naturopathic vet recommended that I try a zinc supplement for face stain.
If tear ducts are blocked, often tears will spill over and possibly stain the face. Take your thumb and forefinger and gently massage the bridge of the puppy's nose up on the sides under his eyes. Most dogs like this. At first do it once or twice daily for a week or two then just once or twice a week. You may be surprised after a while when the hair starts to grow back in white.
Sometimes an eye inflammation contributes to the eye stain. It is probably "conjunctivitis." You can have your vet check to be sure. You can order or ask your vet for Tetracycline ointment, commonly called "Terramycin." Some folks like to use oral tetracycline. I am afraid we don't recommend it. Ask your vet. We would only recommend this as a last resort. Tetracycline can cause seriously upset stomachs and has to be eliminated through the kidneys. It is best to save an antibiotic for when it is really needed. And then always use enzymes and friendly bacteria to reseed the intestinal tract.
Some people use powders or corn starch under the eyes and on the mustache. Corn starch is fine, talc is not advised. Some dogs will tear and react to powders of any sort coming near their eyes. So use your own judgment here. When we use powder, we use a cosmetic "blusher applicator" brush. Some people use a baby toothbrush or use their fingers to work the cornstarch in. A plastic bottle with a pointed snipped tip is okay, too. You may add 1-2 Tbsps to 1/2 cup of boric acid powder to your cornstarch. Do not use boric acid if there is a chance of another dog chewing on the face hair. Don't get into the mouth. It is caustic to the stomach. The boric acid will help dry, whiten and kill germs on the face hair.
NOTE: You may also want to try adding about ¼ teaspoon of powdered buttermilk to your Shih Tzu’s food daily. This seems to change the chemical composition of the tears and help reduce staining. The powder (available in many supermarkets) must be refrigerated once it is opened but keeps for a long time. We do not recommend using hydrogen peroxide or other bleach solutions, as they can injure the eyes. In addition, bleach makes the hair more porous and therefore more likely to restain and become brittle.
First be sure your food and treats have no added color. Stick to white or pale colored "cookies" and treats. Examples would be Old Mother Hubbard's puppy training biscuits, or IAMs biscuits or Nature's Recipe Lamb and Rice Bones. Better quality foods usually don't have color added. If the stools have a red tinge or if you use canned as a supplement check for a pinkish tinge. If it's there, chances are the food has been colored.
In many areas of the country, water is very hard, has a high iron content or has chemicals that aren't good for you or your little dog. Use bottled water or have a reverse osmosis water purification system installed in your home. (In some areas the water is so hard it is known to contribute to kidney and bladder stone formation in both people and pets. That's the first thing we were told by a local water company when we moved here.)
Be sure to use a pet water bottle. This way your dog's face will stay dry. He will always have fresh water, free of crumbs and debris. His face will stay cleaner, too, since he won't get into his food when his face is wet and start to look "muddy."
A stainless steel bowl is best. Shih Tzu, being a "brachycephalic," or short faced breed, prefer shallow bowls. Stainless steel is bacteriostatic, it doesn't chip or crack and is easy to keep clean. Some plastics are known to discolor faces. Plastic absorbs odors. Food or water left in plastic containers may have an unpleasant odor, undetected by humans but quite obvious to dogs who have a much more developed sense of smell.
Some folks like to add a little cider vinegar to the water or even lemon juice. We found that our dogs didn't seem to drink as well. Adding about 100-200 mg. a day of vitamin C daily won't hurt, if you'd like to do that. Some vets say it works, others say it doesn't. A naturopathic vet recommended that I try a zinc supplement for face stain.
If tear ducts are blocked, often tears will spill over and possibly stain the face. Take your thumb and forefinger and gently massage the bridge of the puppy's nose up on the sides under his eyes. Most dogs like this. At first do it once or twice daily for a week or two then just once or twice a week. You may be surprised after a while when the hair starts to grow back in white.
Sometimes an eye inflammation contributes to the eye stain. It is probably "conjunctivitis." You can have your vet check to be sure. You can order or ask your vet for Tetracycline ointment, commonly called "Terramycin." Some folks like to use oral tetracycline. I am afraid we don't recommend it. Ask your vet. We would only recommend this as a last resort. Tetracycline can cause seriously upset stomachs and has to be eliminated through the kidneys. It is best to save an antibiotic for when it is really needed. And then always use enzymes and friendly bacteria to reseed the intestinal tract.
Some people use powders or corn starch under the eyes and on the mustache. Corn starch is fine, talc is not advised. Some dogs will tear and react to powders of any sort coming near their eyes. So use your own judgment here. When we use powder, we use a cosmetic "blusher applicator" brush. Some people use a baby toothbrush or use their fingers to work the cornstarch in. A plastic bottle with a pointed snipped tip is okay, too. You may add 1-2 Tbsps to 1/2 cup of boric acid powder to your cornstarch. Do not use boric acid if there is a chance of another dog chewing on the face hair. Don't get into the mouth. It is caustic to the stomach. The boric acid will help dry, whiten and kill germs on the face hair.
NOTE: You may also want to try adding about ¼ teaspoon of powdered buttermilk to your Shih Tzu’s food daily. This seems to change the chemical composition of the tears and help reduce staining. The powder (available in many supermarkets) must be refrigerated once it is opened but keeps for a long time. We do not recommend using hydrogen peroxide or other bleach solutions, as they can injure the eyes. In addition, bleach makes the hair more porous and therefore more likely to restain and become brittle.
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