Your four-legged furry friends keep you happy and make you feel loved.
Do you remember having a long day at work and you just cannot wait to come home to rest?
After opening the front door, nothing else brings the same kind of joy as seeing your dog running, trying to lick your face, and waving their tails like crazy.
As much as dogs make the perfect companion, you also need to take care of them properly to keep them happy and healthy. Shih tzus, for example, require extra care for their hair since they’re extra fluffy.
Their coat requires regular grooming; otherwise, their hair can end up a tangled mess. Although managing your shih tzu’s hair might be a challenge, with proper care, you could achieve healthy and manageable hair in no time.
Here are some ways on how you can keep your shih tzu’s hair clean, soft, and healthy:
• Bathe Your Dog
Bathe your dog at least once every other week. When choosing a dog shampoo, remember that there are products out there especially designed for shih tzus.
You should also choose a dog conditioner that can help soften their hair and make it look silky and shiny. If your dog is suffering from a skin condition, consult with your vet before buying anything.
• Groom Them Well
With proper care comes with proper grooming. With shih tzus, the demand for grooming is much higher because they tend to have fluffier and longer hair. This means that their hair needs to be managed to avoid tangles that can hurt your canine companion.
Along with brushing their hair regularly, make sure that you also to keep their nails short so that when they scratch themselves, they won’t harm their skin and cause scratches that might adversely affect the growth of their hair.
If you’re confident about your skills, you can try grooming your pet on your own by using a hair clipper. Remove any excess hair from your dog’s face and body.
Remember to do this in a calm and quiet setting, because a lot of dogs tend to get scared when they hear the noise coming from the clippers. If you’re not sure you can finish the job without harming or injuring your dog, it’s best to leave the job to a professional.
• Use A Dog Brush
Choosing the right dog brush varies on their size and hair length. Always choose a great brush for shih tzus that can help you manage their hair perfectly.
There are 8 different types to choose from:
- Comb
- Slicker Brush
- De-Shedding Brush
- Bristle Brush
- Pin Brush
- Rake
- Glove
- Blade
Which brush type you should use depends on the condition of your Shih Tzu’s hair. If your dog has long hair, use a comb on the tangled parts of their hair and use a brush for the rest of their bodies. This will help you work faster and untangle any knots that might be present.
Remember to brush your dog’s hair every day to help maintain its condition and keep their coat healthy, soft, and shiny. Always do it gently, especially when you’re brushing tangles because you can unwittingly cause your dog pain.
• Brush After Bathing
It’s a good idea to brush your Shih Tzu’s hair after you’ve given them a bath and once their hair dries. You can choose to let it air dry and let them go crazy or you could choose to blow dry on cold air settings for faster results.
Frequently brushing your shih tzu’s hair will help their hair become softer and healthier since you’re keeping their hair tangle-free. When your dog has hair tangles it can be painful when you’re trying to remove them.
Along with this, it will also be painful when they scratch their bodies in the areas where tangles are present.
The best way to remove tangles from your shih tzu’s hair is to bathe them, comb their hair, focusing on the tangles, and brush them afterwards for a softer and healthier effect.
Removing the tangles from your dog’s hair might be hard especially when you don’t have the tight tools. You could go for a comb or a detangling brush that is designed specifically for this purpose.
If, unfortunately, the tangles are extremely hard to remove because they come in compact and large sizes, you can simply cut them, continue with your routine, and help your pet avoid an excessively painful detangling session.
• Clean Their Faces
It’s quite common for dogs to get dirty faces because of discharge from their eyes, nose, and mouth. But the top culprit are the eyes.
Your dog’s tears provide a natural way for them to keep their eyes clean. These years can accumulate and clump together. It’s similar to eye gunk for humans. Make sure that you’re removing this eye gunk from your pet’s face regularly.
Most of the time, when you have not cleaned your dog’s eyes as regularly as possible, there’s a high chance that the hair surrounding their eyes will clump and get stuck. The gunk will form into a hard texture that can be difficult to remove if left for too long.
If that happens, grab a damp cloth, apply to the area to help soften it, and wipe it away. The process would be a lot easier if you just wash their eyes every bath time.
Conclusion
Maintaining the quality of your shih tzu’s hair might be hard work, but with proper care and diet, it’s definitely achievable. Soft, tangle-free hair isn’t just great to look at, it can also make your shih tzu’s feel more comfortable.
Just remember that when you notice something unusual with your dog’s coat, it’s still a good idea to visit your vet for as soon as you can before relying on home remedies.
Prevention is always better than cure. Brush their hair regularly to prevent the formation of tangles. This will help you avoid a world of heartache when you need to do detangling sessions, where you can potentially hurt your pet.
Along with this, wash your dog’s eyes regularly to prevent their tears from clumping up. If you need to remove gunk from their eyes, use a damp cloth to gently remove it.
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