Shih Tzu Does your pet have short hair or long?

jazzy · 02-22-2007, 12:21 AM

well, the long and the short of it (sorry, i couldn't help myself), is that having long hair or short hair is a matter of how much time you have to spend on grooming your pet. i've also known dogs with skin conditions that caused me to have to give them shorter clips.
it really is all a matter of of taste and practicality.
as far as the breed being an agility dog, well why not? i know a man who is going deaf that has a shitzu as his service dog! they are bright and eager to please, for the most part. i don't know how a long coat would fair over the jumps though? LOL!
i have a chihuahua who has just learned her basic obedience, and can now go through the tunnel on command.
right now she's driving me nuts with every squeeky toy she owns. guess it's time to play!!!
thanks for letting me join in. this is fun!

[quote=jazzy;37244]well, the long and the short of it (sorry, i couldn't help myself), is that having long hair or short hair is a matter of how much time you have to spend on grooming your pet. i've also known dogs with skin conditions that caused me to have to give them shorter clips.
it really is all a matter of of taste and practicality.
as far as the breed being an agility dog, well why not? i know a man who is going deaf that has a shitzu as his service dog! they are bright and eager to please, for the most part. i don't know how a long coat would fair over the jumps though? LOL!
i have a chihuahua who has just learned her basic obedience, and can now go through the tunnel on command.
right now she's driving me nuts with every squeeky toy she owns. guess it's time to play!!!
thanks for letting me join in. this is fun!
fear not gang! try anything you and your dog love to do together!

well, the long and the short of it (sorry, i couldn't help myself), is that having long hair or short hair is a matter of how much time you have to spend on grooming your pet. i've also known dogs with skin conditions that caused me to have to give them shorter clips.
it really is all a matter of of taste and practicality.
as far as the breed being an agility dog, well why not? i know a man who is going deaf that has a shitzu as his service dog! they are bright and eager to please, for the most part. i don't know how a long coat would fair over the jumps though? LOL!
i have a chihuahua who has just learned her basic obedience, and can now go through the tunnel on command.
right now she's driving me nuts with every squeeky toy she owns. guess it's time to play!!!
fear not gang! try anything if you think you and your dog can do it!
thanks for letting me join in. this is fun!

i guess i messed up the editing part...

Haidden · 06-10-2007, 09:28 PM

I have a 5 month old shih-tzu and i plan to keep his hair long, i brush him daily and give him a bath about every 2 weeks or as he needs it. As far as food i feed him Innova Puppy Food..I would feed him raw but it gets pretty expensive. I got him cause I moved into and apartment for college and my girlfriend had always wanted one. So I was like ok ill get one. They are great dogs and I am glad i got him, he is wonderful. His name is Bailey. Here are a few pictures of him.

Bailey playing in the blinds to the patio (barking at people as they walk by)

Bailey sitting in my lap as im driving down the road.

Playing with one of his toys.

My girlfriends brother keeps his golden retriever fairly long also, here is a picture of her.

merrow · 06-11-2007, 07:48 AM

ahh ur pup is so cute iv found feeding raw is cheaper for me but im in the uk so a box of 12 chciken wings is like £1.34p for about 14 he has one or 2 of them a day with a hand full of mince which is like £2.00 and in that pack there is anough for 5 feeds so 1 pack of wings and a pack of mince cost under £4 in total for a week, but thats because i bye weekly its so much cheaper if u can bulkk bye i get free bones from the butcher as well but i havnt had to take teddy to the vet since iv started feeding this so its saved me money there as well

xxxx

peace36 · 06-11-2007, 09:23 AM

[quote=Haidden;84436]I have a 5 month old shih-tzu and i plan to keep his hair long, i brush him daily and give him a bath about every 2 weeks or as he needs it.
Bailey playing in the blinds to the patio (barking at people as they walk by)
Bailey sitting in my lap as im driving down the road.

My shih-tzu is almost the same color as yours! Except her legs are like a reddish color mixed with a little brown.

You did'nt happen to get him from a breeder here in Rockford IL did you?

Haidden · 06-11-2007, 11:22 PM

No I didnt.

I go to Univ of Tennessee, so pretty far from IL =). I got him locally , well about 45 minutes from where I am. Was the only solid color in the litter, out of 4.

peace36 · 06-12-2007, 06:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Haidden

No I didnt.

I go to Univ of Tennessee, so pretty far from IL =). I got him locally , well about 45 minutes from where I am. Was the only solid color in the litter, out of 4.

Oh, I was just asking because I usually do not see to many in that color. But seeing how you got yours so far away I guess they are not related

darknesshayz · 08-11-2007, 12:55 PM

when its coming up to winter, i let my dogs hair grow... summer i get it cut....

i have a pugzu called flossy (2 years), and two shihtzus called honey (6 months) and jack (5 months).. honeys hair isnt that long and not that bad....

jacks is like wow!! like all long and crimpled... no matter how long i bushed him for its like hes gotten himself electorcuted (the only way i can discribed it.).

where as flossy her face fir grows faster then her body fur when she is cut.

and im sorry about my spelling mistakes!

ShihtzuBeauty · 08-11-2007, 08:21 PM

Eve my gray tzu was my first and I had her in a full coat 'til she was about 7mths. She detested grooming of any kind and mind you from the time she was 8wks. and came home w/me I groomed everyday she just never liked it. Soo now w/4 I keep them in a puppy cut in the warm mths. and a teddy bear cut in the cool mths.

Right now I have them all in a cocker cut but w/out the skirt. I really like the legs being left fuller. I used to take them to my friend/groomer but for the last 3mths. I've been doing them myself here at home and they like it alot better plus I have the control. You can't mess them up 'cause the hair always grows back. Here's a pic. of Eve in a full coat w/pig tails and another of her groom from last wk.

poodleholic · 08-13-2007, 01:55 AM

A little Shih Tzu I fostered needed to be rehomed, so I ended up keeping him. I've got two Standard Poodles, whom I groom myself, so I'm not growing this boy's coat! I keep his body longer than his legs, round the toes, and keep him in the typical puppy cut with the teddy bear face/head. He's adorable, our Luc, and I prefer that look to the show coat.

bluesbarby · 08-13-2007, 12:02 PM

Riley is half shih tzu. I keep him in a teddy bear cut. We have a back hill full of burrs that he loves to get into. I comb him out daily and pretty much anytime he gets into the burrs and whatever else he gets into. His body hair is probably about 3 inches in length on the body, any shorter and he would have a problem with sunburns. He's white so I keep the hair around his eyes clipped short to prevent staining. I love the pig tail look on shih tzu's only if they're female which is probably why I do the teddy bear cut on Riley. But that's just a personal preference.

Isie boo my shih tzu · 08-14-2007, 09:53 PM

I have a 3 year old Shih Tzu and her hair is almost to the floor right now. It is a lot of trouble. She has been shaved and longer than she is right now. I really love her with long hair. She just looks so much more girlie, but I do find that it is really hard to keep up with. Her hair is really soft and really fine. She gets mats a lot and I have to get her cut. I really would love to keep her long all the time, but with the texture of her hair I do not think that is possible. I have lots of friends who also have Shih Tzus and there hair is no where near as soft and fine as mine. I think it just really depends on the texture of your dogs hair whether or not it is going to work out long or not. I wish you the bet of luck! Oh, if your dogs hair has been growing for 10 months and there are no mats now, then you should not have any trouble. My dog really mats around her legs and back end.

newman · 08-15-2007, 09:44 AM

I have newman in full coat. Though I have been noticing some mats in his coat I was told by a breeder to buy a sparkler brush which has to ordered. Unless someone else has a better idea or a brush u can find at a local pet store ( this brush has no balls on the end of the posts). Heres a photo of newman.

Angelina

brett · 09-12-2007, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mom to lil buddy

I recently acquired an 8 yr old Shih Tzu. He had previously been shaved, and I am letting him grow. But I wonder, how many pets really have the beautiful long coat, or does everybody shave them off? Max's coat has grown out about three inches now and he looks like a barrel of fluff! (When he was shaved he shivered all the time, just in the air conditioning.)

I usually comb him as he sits on my lap in the evening and so far we have had no problems with matts. I just really don't know what to expect as his coat gets longer.

Virginia

i just got a 7 year old shih tzu and he is fluffy and when i got him groomed i got it very long still but i want his hair to grow long like picture shih tzue's

Durbkat · 09-12-2007, 09:02 PM

I've been letting my shih tzu's coat grow out since I got him at 9 weeks old, he is 4 months old now. But I have noticed he gets hot real easy so when I get the chance I'm taking him to the groomers to get a small trim.

TeddieXRuxpin · 09-12-2007, 10:27 PM

When I brouht Teddie home the people that picked him up had shaved him down. His coat was so short that he had balding spots.

Since then I have let his hair grow. It's not 3-4 inches long and silky. All I can say is you've got to make sure you groom him at least every other day or matts shall come.

Haidden · 09-12-2007, 11:38 PM

I have a 9 month old Shih tzu his hair is the silkier type and I keep him long haired and always will. The main areas on him that get matted are on under his ears and the arm pit area. These of course are the 2 spots he HATES for me to brush. I usually brush him twice a day, some times I give him a break and only do it once.

This is picture from top. He has a very light undercoat and kind of brownish (dark) highlights here and there but majority of him is black. ( I had just applied flea and tick medicine to him not even 15 minutes, so his neck looks wierd to me in the pic)

rsanna22 · 09-13-2007, 05:34 AM

I have a six month old shih tzu and have never cut her hair.She been trimmed...but I personally feel it to be no big hassel,you have brush their hair everyday weither it be long or short.I also like the fact that I can do more with it long.its up to you good luck =0)

Lulilgus · 11-27-2007, 05:53 PM

My 8 month old Lhasa Apso has a full coat, and despite her being a total nutter loving the great outdoors and running around, there is nothing more theraputic and bonding than us having an hour together in the evenings for a groomng session. Once the puppy coat is out, the adult coat doesn't matt up or knot nearly as badly.

As I stated previously, I went on an intensive day course to learn how to look after her coat properly without needing to employ a groomer. I am loving every minute of it and Lily certainly isn't objecting.

lenagroomer · 03-29-2008, 02:34 PM

I am a groomer, and probably about half our business in our town is shit tzus. I definitely agree that whether it is long or short is owner preference and dog tolerance over anything else, that is unless you are planning to show your dog.

It's all about keeping the coat maintained and brushed regularly. I know with most of my clients who keep their shit tzus in longer coat, they will a lot of times shave the under side of the belly and do closer sanitary cuts to help keep the dog clean and especially if the dog goes out doors, help keep things from getting caught in the coat.

What I'm always interested in is when an owner chooses to keep the dog in full coat, is how they choose to do the face. you would think logically they would keep the face long and maintained, but ironically that's not the case the majority of the time.

I have seen more owners choose to keep the face shorter and cut back with a full body coat than visa versa. The other popular style is pulling the top knot back into a ponytail. I would say that the ratio is 80-20 when it comes to this. More people would rather have longer bodies and shorter faces, than the full body, and face cut. I wonder why that is?

Durbkat · 03-29-2008, 05:34 PM

I think the reason people want the face shorter is because its hard for the dog to see and I don't think a shih tzu looks good with the ponytail. When my shih tzu had long hair over his face he was constantly running into things, it was pathetic. So I took some scissors and trimmed it back, but his hair is short now.