A Shih Tzu dog’s coat grows quickly, so you’ll probably need a haircut relatively early in your dog’s life. A haircut is a big deal for a Shih Tzu, so you can try one for yourself if you think you can give your dog the right type of cut. If you’d rather have someone else do it, that’s fine and probably preferable. But in the end it’s important to do what you think is right for your dog.
A Shih Tzu puppy can start getting a haircut as early as ten weeks, but you should start by starting with little trimmings here and there. Get the puppy used to the idea of being trimmed. One thing that will help is to incorporate brushing with trimming, as these dogs generally love to be brushed. This will help keep the puppy calm while he learns to cut his hair. He can probably do full cuts around sixteen weeks.
The Shih Tzu has human hair that forms its coat instead of hair like any other dog, so when you cut its hair, you should keep that in mind. The things that hurt you when you cut your hair are even worse for your dog, so if you have scissors that are so dull that they pluck the hair instead of cutting it, or if you have a habit of yanking at the hair to cut it, you need to rectify these situations , since they will make your dog fear the grooming that he so badly needs.
Make sure the hair around the eyes is always trimmed, as hair in the eyes is not only very annoying for a Shih Tzu, it can also cause infection, so make sure to keep this area clean. You can try this yourself, but since we’re talking about an animal capable of sudden movements, you may want to leave the eye area to a professional to prevent injury to your dog.
Always make sure your Shih Tzu’s haircut makes the dog’s coat shorter in the summer and slightly longer in the winter. In summer it has to be short, otherwise your dog will start to have health problems with the heat. In winter you can leave it on as long as you want, but make sure the dog can still run and walk without tripping over its fur. Some people like to leave small strands of hair so they can attach bows and ribbons, which is common among owners. Dogs, however, don’t always like it.
Cutting your Shih Tzu’s hair yourself is fine, but you may want to see a professional do it first. After seeing what goes into getting a proper trim, you may find that the money you pay a professional once a month is well worth it to get your pet properly trimmed.
