# Grooming a shih tzu



## dianaw (Feb 19, 2009)

My 12 wk old shih tzu has a lot of hair growing in face, making it wear he cant see. is he old enough to go to the groomers?


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## Binkalette (Dec 16, 2008)

If he is fully vaccinated you should be fine.  If not you can always *carefully* clip the hair from his eyes at home. It's a good idea to start him getting used to grooming at an early age anyway..(brushing, bathing, clipping, nails, ears and teeth) so he will be more used to it and it won't be such an ordeal when he's older. You'll probably want to start on some of that stuff soon.. I think it's between 10-14 weeks that dogs are the most accepting of new experiences. And having a long haired breed like a shih tzu, he will need to get used to this stuff, as he's going to be getting LOTS of grooming his whole life.


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## dianaw (Feb 19, 2009)

what do you do with their ears and teeth? he likes baths and getting brushed though.


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## Binkalette (Dec 16, 2008)

You'll want to clean out his ears, either with a cotton ball, or you can use ear cleaner that is made for dogs.. You just put a few drops in, massage it for a second, and then let your dog shake the rest out. It helps to prevent ear infections and other ear problems. Some dogs, (like our Lhasa) need to have the hair plucked from their ear canals. I don't know if the same is true for shih tzu's or not.. 

For teeth you'll just want to brush them. Get him used to that right away! You can start by just getting him used to you having your hands in his mouth. Gently massage his gums and such with your fingers for a few minutes to get him used to that. You can either get him a regular dog tooth brush, or a finger brush. They also make special tooth paste for dogs. Don't ever use human tooth paste! It's very important to keep your dogs teeth clean so that they don't suffer from a loss of teeth, gingivitis, and bad breath later in life. I knew a dog who's owners didn't think tooth brushing was important for their dog, and the dog started losing teeth at 6 years old :-(


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## Love's_Sophie (Sep 23, 2007)

For tooth care, you can also start him on raw marrow bones; or even a partial raw diet; these clean the teeth naturally, and the dog will love his 'tooth cleaning sessions' too. My Poodle puppy LOVES his raw days, and his breath and teeth are looking\smelling great. Now if only he'll lose those extra canines!!!


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