I have a shih tzu pup who is just coming up to 11 months. His coat was really soft and easy to groom but has become a bit straggly and feels coarser. When would be the ideal time to get him stripped. I dont know anything about it but know that it involves pulling out the dead undercoat. If its not done by hand what is used instead?

I don't beleive Shih Tzu's have a coat that is stripped, it is combed and scisssored.

Here is one snippet found here: http://www.champdogs.co.uk/guide/shih-tzu.html

Care of the Shih-tzu

As this is such a heavily coated breed a decision must be made at an early age as to keeping the coat or regularly clipping. To keep a Shih-tzu in full show coat takes many hours of grooming and detangling, a full bath and blow dry is necessary every week for the care of the show coat.

Every day care is face washing, to avoid tear staining, and tying up the long hair in a top knot, a short all round grooming to keep the matting down to the minimum.

Every week ears need cleaning, nails should be checked and trimmed as required, paying particular attention to the dew claws which are left on in this breed but become hidden in the wealth of hair, if neglected they grow painfully around into the leg. Attention must be paid to the feet as hair grows between the pads and which mats up giving the dog uncomfortable feet, careful trimming keeps this under control.

I thought they had a double coat that needed stripping. I looked them up on the net and it said they need stripping. If they just need trimming will be easier.

Here is a detailed care guide: http://www.tinyshihtzu.com/grooming.htm

Did you receive no guidance on this from your breeder or was it a rescue pup?  I certainly would not have expected this breed to require stripping.

Thanks for that Brainless. I really thought they needed stripping but glad I dont have to. I wanted to keep his full coat and at the moment he is groomed every day and I use leave in conditioner after his bath which keeps his coat silky for a while but then becomes coarse and although looks nice when he is first brushed only lasts for a few minutes and looks scruffy again. I try to trim the hair between his pads and nails but he does not like this and really struggles. Maybe his coat is dry because I have been using baby shampoo which I thought would be mild enough. I will have to get some doggy shampoo instead.

No didnt receive guidence from breeder. To be honest it was an impulse buy and I know I should'nt have but fell in love and could'nt resist. I thought that because he had a double coat he needed to be stripped and when I went to discover dogs the man on the grooming stall said they should be stripped and sold me a stripping tool which I have since discovered after reading the packet that it is for wirehaired breeds so have,nt used it.

Did you meet the breeder?  If it was a BYB it may not have a typical coat and you may struggle to keep it full.

yes it was a byb. The coat seems ok but I'm no expert and looks the same as pictures of I have seen of other shih tzus. Did you mean the texture of the coat?

My breed in common with most breeds is double coated.

In the case of most double coated breeds the coat moults and the undercoat is combed out first as it loosens when it dies.

No idea if this is what happens with yours, but if it does you simply comb and comb and comb to get it all out.

With wired coats they are stripped as otherwise the undercoat doesn't come out when it dies.

It sounds to me like the coat is maturing into the adult coat (hence the coarser hair coming through) the stripping mentioned is basically a case of brushing to remove all the dead puppy coat, at the coat change it is a common time for coats to get matted over night.

A good quality moisturising shampoo and a separate conditioner will keep the coat nice, along with a grooming spray misted over the coat before you begin brushing.

With a pet, you can have your pup trimmed to whatever length you like. Make sure you are pulling the long hair from inside the ear canal to keep the ears healthy. With the feet trimming, just be firm about getting the job done and save the praise for after.

Thanks for all the tips. I do get a lot of hair out when I comb him so will have to keep going. I will try more with the feet but hes such a wiggler. Can anybody recommend a good grooming spray to use. I have a conditioner spray which is sprayed on when hes wet and you leave in. It is good for just after his bath but does not last too long, also if it gets on the wood floor it ends up like glass and have nearly fell over whwn walking on it.

try groom and detangle from groomers or show seasons grooming spray, they are the 2 i use in my salon and find them really good an a good condtioner to use is mungos multi use conditoner its fab.

http://www.groomers-online.com/groomers-groom-and-detangle-spray-250ml-p-426.html

http://www.watt-a-dog.co.uk/documents/119_lister.php?action=item&iid=130&cat=2&page=1  i love this stuff

http://www.groomerssupplies.com/index.php?topic=detail&pid=534  u water it down a little bit use it like a shampoo if u water it down a lot u can leave it in the coat as well

Thanks I will have a look at those sites