# Which shampoo and conditioner for a long coat Shih Tzu?



## LaceyShihTzu (Aug 5, 2016)

I'm letting my Shih Tzu pup's hair grow into a full coat. She's 9 months old and her coat is feeling dry and looking fuzzy. She might also be blowing her puppy coat and changing into her adult coat. I've read not to use human shampoo because of the PH differences but not sure how much truth there is to that. She's not a show dog but I just want her hair to look and feel great. Can I use Pantene or Mane N' Tail?

She goes potty outside and also uses puppy pads inside when it's raining. She sometimes gets urine stains on her back leg when using the puppy pads but not outside. I've considered getting reusable puppy pads thinking maybe they absorb better than paper and will prevent the urine from wetting her leg. She's not stained from it because I clean her with a baby wipe right afterwards.

What recommendations can you give for me to try. I just picked up Espree Silky Show Shampoo and Conditioner to try but I'm open to others. I've read about Crown Royale and Chris Christensen but do not know which is better and more gentle on the skin. She can a little itchy too sometimes. I tried Earthbath and TropiClean and I felt like they didn't really get her clean. She smelled like wet dog after being scrubbed down. She does have some tear staining I'm working on. I'm switching to distilled or filtered water only and I bought some Henry Shein tear stain remover to see if it helps with the staining.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

I use a lot of Chris Christensen products on my Welsh springers and I like them. I've tried a number of things though and I haven't found one magical product. Cherrybrook.com has a variety of brands that are all good, so you should be able to find something specific to long hair.

She's at a tough age too. That fuzzy dry looking coat is most likely her puppy coat. I would work to strip that out as fast as you can so you can start seeing her adult coat more clearly.

For urine staining, I use Cherrybrook's waterless shampoo in a spray bottle. But you really just have to wash their feathers a lot. Most professional handlers bathe long coated dogs at least once per week.


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## Lillith (Feb 16, 2016)

I like Earthbath shampoo. It cleans really well and leaves a very "neutral" odor to your dog. Meaning you can't smell the fragrance from the shampoo, but you can't smell that "doggy smell" either! They have different varieties, some for itching, hot spots, ultra mild for puppies, hypoallergenic, white dogs to keep their coat bright, etc. I've only used the itch relieving formula so far. And, its all natural! Mostly thats for me because I'm allergic to many ingredients in chemical cleaning agents, and I haven't had any issues. It also leaves my dog's coat silky and smooth.

I buy it on Amazon.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

Isle of Dogs, #1 All Systems, and Bio Groom are some other brands to look at. All are very popular with show dog people.


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## RawFedHavs (Mar 26, 2016)

I use Chris Christensen Spectrum 10 as well as Silk Sheen on my medium-long coated fluffy Havanese (I like to call him my high maintenance cloud). His fur is so much softer, silkier & better now & he doesn't have horrible mats. The conditioner smells nice, too. I bathe him once a week now even though he doesn't go out much in winter because he tangles less when he's clean. In summer when he's muddier he's bathed twice a week if need be.


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## LaceyShihTzu (Aug 5, 2016)

I've never heard of stripping out the puppy coat. How do you do that? I'd love to get it rid of it if I can.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

No drop coated dogs and never actually worked with puppy fuzz but here's what I do with feather coated dogs that shed.

I pluck out undercoat that grows longer than the good fur. If you can tell which is which go for it. I suspect good adult hair is shorter, coarser and slicker than the puppy hair. Brush against the grain and see what's there. If you are lucky you can see a difference between nasty old and good new growth. All stripping out would be is taking the tips of the longest old hair and pull them out with the grain. Brush an area, pull the longest hairs, rebrush and pull and so on. The fine wispy dull stuff is old and doesn't hurt to pull, it's like brushing your hair and some hair comes out with the brush. A puppy is going to be wiggly and wonder what the heck you are up to though. It's a bit addictive and it doesn't take much work to get the coat looking better. Bucky's legs will be completely covered with fluff and in about 5 minutes be clean and sleek again and the ball of fluff is only about the size of a large marble.

Or take a metal flea comb and line comb the fur to get out a lot of nasty sticky old stuff. This can hurt if your lines are too far apart and you are going through too much hair so go slowly. Start on lower legs and work up so you are combing through nicely combed out fur and a narrow line of uncombed fuzz with each new line.

You might search for how groomers get old coat out. I think they slather conditioner on a clean and wet dog and brush/comb when dog is soaking wet. I know brushing a wet clean dog until dry is an excellent way to get old hair off the dog. Completely dry, the stage where dog is nearly dry is when you get the most old stuff out. I take the dog for a walk when sopping wet and stop every few minutes to go through the coat. Towel and brush out, keep her moving and every few minutes brush her out again until she's dry. Denser the coat the longer this takes. Sassy's lab type coat took a good 45 minutes in warm dry weather where Bucky's long double but thin coat is dry in about 20.


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## LaceyShihTzu (Aug 5, 2016)

I'll have to take a good look at her coat and see if I can tell where her new coat is starting.


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## animalcraker (Nov 9, 2006)

I use Chris Christensen exclusively on my Afghans. Started out with Day to Day shampoo and After U Bathe conditioner almost 15 years ago when I was showing my Cavalier and I continued to use it after I got my first Afghan Hound. I've since switched my Afghans over to their other shampoo lines, but I still use that combo for routine bathing when I'm not growing or mantaing a show coat and we use it at my work for routine baths on our veterinary patients. I've been using the Spectrum 10 for about 3-4 years and have been very pleased with the results; much easier to brush through the coat, less matting for a longer time frame, and increased durability of the hair coat. With the Day to Day combo I had to bathe my older Afghan every 2-3 weeks, with the Spectrum 10 I can stretch that out to 4-6 weeks depending on the weather. Keep in mind my older Afghan is retried from the ring and has already grown out her coat, so I'm only maintaing the coat that she already has. I picked up the new Tame It line from CC in September to try on my youngest Afghan that I'm going to be campaigning in the show ring and I am absolutely in love with the results. Her coat is softer and silkier than before and has an exceptional sheen to it. I also use CCs Liquid Silk, and have been for 3-4 years. If the coat has been overly damaged from dirt or blow drying and show prep then I'll do a deep conditioning and apply the liquid silk directly to the coat Otherwise I mix 2 Tbsp of the liquid silk with a quart of filtered or distilled water into a sprayer and use that to mist the coat for brushing.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

LaceyShihTzu said:


> I've never heard of stripping out the puppy coat. How do you do that? I'd love to get it rid of it if I can.


I use a stripping knife held parallel to the dog's coat. It's sort of like terrier stripping, because you're plucking out the dead coat that's ready to shed. You can also do it with your fingers. The fuzzy dry looking stuff is probably ready to go.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

I do better with my fingers. Little dog issue?

Just wanted to mention that puppy isn't going to think line combing/brushing is a fun way to spend time but if you keep his coat long he is going to have to learn to accept it. Pretend to groom him daily with longer sessions that really get the job done as needed. Brushing over the top is going to allow snarls that get missed to turn into mats. I can get away with it with my thin and shorter coated dogs but doubt you will be able to. I hope he has a nice adult coat and doesn't snarl daily. Do get some really good stuff to groom him, not just good shampoo, conditioner and brushing spray but brushes and combs and scissors and small clippers to keep his feet tidy.

I didn't get dogs because I wanted to brush and trim them but it is fun. Current dogs mostly need feet trimmed and floofy tails combed out and I love how tidy they look when it's just done.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

Kathyy said:


> I do better with my fingers. Little dog issue?.


My hands start to cramp up and I lose patience. lol I start with the knives and get out what I can, and then finish by hand.


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## LaceyShihTzu (Aug 5, 2016)

I'm going to order that Chris Christensen Spectrum 10 Shampoo/Conditioner as well as Show Off for touch ups. I need a new brush and I've read great things about the CC brushes so I'm ordering the oblong 27mm pin brush. My dog is used to being groomed since I've had her. Not her favorite thing but she's good about it. I love doing her hair and keeping her pretty. It's actually a stress reliever for me. We have a morning routine as well so she has always been matt free even with this puppy fuzz thing she has going on.


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## elrohwen (Nov 10, 2011)

I love my CC brushes. I have the T-shaped pin brush and a slicker.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

Me too. I have a slicker, pin brush and comb. The difference between these high quality tools and pet store tools is amazing. Dogs are a hobby and a luxury, pay more for the best that will last forever.


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