# Long Hair Shih-Tzu No More



## peace36 (Jan 29, 2007)

Well I finally gave up on my little Princess Mea's long hair. You know I just think maybe she was just not well bred or something. her tail never got full and bushy and her fur as it grows just got all thin and stringy . Not luxurious like I have read it should. 

So I finally gave up and gave her a really cute puppy cut. left her face hair and ear hair long and a cute top knot. and left her legs a little longer than her body.

She really looks cute. I just love it. One day I would like to have one with long pretty hair though.


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## workingdog (Oct 19, 2006)

Iv'e thought about shaving my pom. His hair gets all over and i'm sure he would feel better in this hot weather and he pee's on his chest hairs (yuk).I just do not know what part to shave. Did you shave yours or take her to the groomers?


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## Jen D (Apr 23, 2007)

I saw a chow yesterday that was shaved just like a lion.


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## Purplex15 (May 28, 2007)

there are a lot of shih tzus that are well bred and do not inherit the beautiful coat we have connected them with. in fact most shih's i see do not have a coat suitable for being long. So she just might not be as lucky.

DO NOT SHAVE YOuR POM. this will not help with the heat, in fact it is worse for them. their coat keeps them cool as well as warm. and if you love your poms coat, well chances are if you shave it you will never see that coat again. same thing with the chow. if these dogs were meant to be shaved, then they wouldnt have been born so much hair


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## poodleholic (Mar 15, 2007)

> Iv'e thought about shaving my pom. His hair gets all over and i'm sure he would feel better in this hot weather and he pee's on his chest hairs (yuk).


DON'T shave your Pom! Their coat serves to protect in winter from the cold, and in summer from the heat. Shave him and you're going to have problems - not to mention the coat growing back in wierd!

You can trim the hair on the end of the shaft so he doesn't pee on himself.


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## workingdog (Oct 19, 2006)

Good thing i didn't shave him. He has a very nice coat and would hate to do something to it and not have it grow back. I just saw a person that i know yesterday with her pom and he had,( HAD) a very pretty , pretty coat. She shaved him. He had the nicest coat that i have ever seen on a pom. I do hope it grows back just as nice....


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## mom to lil buddy (Dec 17, 2006)

It would be nice to see some before and after pictures. I am thinking of getting a puppy cut for Max, but every time I convince myself, I change my mind, even though he doesn't have the beautiful Shih Tzu coat and looks more like a "chow". My granddaughter, says "It is just a dog! Cut it or leave it long but quit dithering about it!" She just doesn't understand.


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## peace36 (Jan 29, 2007)

workingdog said:


> Iv'e thought about shaving my pom. His hair gets all over and i'm sure he would feel better in this hot weather and he pee's on his chest hairs (yuk).I just do not know what part to shave. Did you shave yours or take her to the groomers?


I shave her my self. I do leave a little more hair on her than I see most of them leave the groomer with. I also shave the tummy and chest and armpits. Actully I had a groomer do that for me because she is so jumpy but I am able to do it on my other dog (malti-poo)



Purplex15 said:


> there are a lot of shih tzus that are well bred and do not inherit the beautiful coat we have connected them with. in fact most shih's i see do not have a coat suitable for being long. So she just might not be as lucky.


Hmm. maybe she is just not one of the lucky ones when it comes to the beautiful "luxurious" coat I read about.



mom to lil buddy said:


> It would be nice to see some before and after pictures. I am thinking of getting a puppy cut for Max, but every time I convince myself, I change my mind, even though he doesn't have the beautiful Shih Tzu coat and looks more like a "chow". My granddaughter, says "It is just a dog! Cut it or leave it long but quit dithering about it!" She just doesn't understand.


I do wish I could post some. One day I will get it together. 
 "just a dog" Shame. LoL. I was the same as you back and forth trying to decide what to do cut it or leave it. I figured it is summer and her hair does grow pretty quick so what the heck. I think I will keep her like this though. I still left her ears and head long and she looks so cute. I really like it.


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## ashes (Apr 15, 2007)

the coat on any dog does not come back weird after shaving if your dog is healthy and getting all the nutrient and vitamins it needs. my mother has got a VERY full coated husky that i shave every summer and in 4 months she looks exactly the same as she did before. we get tons of poms that come into the store that get shaved or lion clipped for the summer and when winter rolls around again their fine. same goes for goldens, labs, samoyeds, shepherds, anything. when the coat does come back in weird its usually due to the not eating a good brand of dog food, thyroid problems, or they're really old.


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## 3212 (Feb 4, 2007)

I have seen a chow shaved like a lion too...it was so cute! 

I did meet this family at the dog park last year that had shaved their Saint Bernard's coat in the summer and that had been a year previous...it never grew back. How disastrous! Especially since it snows here in the winter.

We also had a lafy bring her Himalyan cat into the vet to be shaved. When she came to pick it up I thought I'd never see a more pissed off cat in my life lol. The lady said that the cat is always mad afterwards and it was growling like crazy...pitiful as it was, it was also rather humorous!


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## peace36 (Jan 29, 2007)

ashes said:


> the coat on any dog does not come back weird after shaving if your dog is healthy and getting all the nutrient and vitamins it needs. my mother has got a VERY full coated husky that i shave every summer and in 4 months she looks exactly the same as she did before. we get tons of poms that come into the store that get shaved or lion clipped for the summer and when winter rolls around again their fine. same goes for goldens, labs, samoyeds, shepherds, anything. when the coat does come back in weird its usually due to the not eating a good brand of dog food, thyroid problems, or they're really old.


Yeah I would believe that because really why in the world would'nt it come back the same? I always wonder why people say it does not.


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## blackgavotte (Sep 28, 2006)

The idea that keeping a sweltering dog in a full coat, will actually protect them from the heat, is another fallacy I am personally sick to death of. Think of it. Nature, if left alone, does not actually create dogs that have the massive, exceptionally heavy coats we breed them with. Most dogs or canids I should say, if nature had its way, would have a coat thick enough for winter, but which would shed itself out enough for summer, and depending on where they were living, the genes would sort themselves out for that region.

We breed dogs with excessive coats, which can often not shed fully. These dogs suffer horribly, often to the point of heat prostation and death. Most owners do not know how, or won't spend the money, to groom these coats out as much, or as often, as they need to be for the dogs to get comfortable.

If a person wears a fur coat all year round, 24/7, in all heat and humidity, do you really believe that's a protection from the heat and sun? It is not. Think about it. 

Most breeds of dogs can be shaved, ( not necessarily pig-shaved, there are moderate blades to choose from ) very successfully, and the relief they get is often literally lifesaving.

Its true that some chow, pom, or samoyed, indeed SOME of the northern type spitzy-type breeds can after that, be patchy or uneven after. Sometimes its only for that first year. Its true that sometimes that's just thyroid problems, or diet. However, sometimes its not. Myself, even if I had a dog of that type, who could not shed his coat fully enough ( like my own Mac ) I would shave anyway, I'd rather see my dog comfortable instead of nearly dying in the heat. 

I am an IPG Master Groomer and even some of my own peers quote that line about heavy coats protecting from the sun and heat. I continue to try to get them to think about what they've just said.... The only thing I say to people is, yes, if you have a light coloured dog, and no shade for that dog, and you pig-shave it in the hottest season, of course that dog can get a sunburn... other than that, the relief dogs get from having heavy coats taken off for the summer, is so gratifying. I've seen it over and over, in a lifetime of working professionally with dogs. There is no reason for me to tell people to shave a dog if it was not going to help. Think about it people.


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