Hi Guys and Gals.  Been to the library today but have to wait for them getting a shih tzu book in and wondered if anyone could help me answer a few questions?

My little rescue 16 week old pup is desperatley in need of a bath.  Is it safe to do this my self in the home.  If so is there any special type of shampoo etc I need to use?  Should the water just be luke warm?

On a daily basis what is the best way to keep her eyes and mouth clean.

What type of brush is best to use on her and how oftern is it safe to bath her.  She has a lot of white and is getting dirty very quickly.

Sorry to bother you all again but I live iin the middle of know where and the local library only has a few books and none on shih tzus... in fact the women who served me thought I was swearing at her lol

Tanxs again

Hi Eddie,  absolutely fine to bath her, I would do it in a washing up dish or the sink.  Use warm water - comfortable for your hands, I always use Johnsons baby on pups.  As she has had a bit of a questionable upbringing so far she may not have had this experience so far, and will need a lot of reassurance.  Make sure you rinse very thoroughly, and dont let water run down her ears or up her nose!  Cuddle and pat to start drying in a nice warm towel, and then finish her off with a warm blow dry.  It is important to get her used to dryers etc early on to save groomers problems later.  It is also important to brush her out frequently to prevent knots forming.  As she gets older you will have to conditioner her too, after shampooing, as Shih Tzus can get awfully knotty.  Make sure her top knot does not get in her eyes - depending on the look you are going for you can either trim it out or do it up in a band.
bye
Gwen

Hi Gwen

Thanks for the info jsut want to make sure this babe has everything she needs.  In fact Im a hairdresser so I will be able to give her a good blow dry.... and even put the curlers in if she wants a change lol

Hi Eddie

Gwen has explained brilliantly :) Just wanted to add that I bathe Molly in the kitchen sink and, as she doesnt like it, I always bathe her head last. Once she is soaked I take her out and stand her on a towel on the work surface and shampoo her there (she doesnt like standing in the water) and then put her back in to rinse her thoroughly. I buy Johnson baby bath and dilute it to wash her face every day (a must). I gently clean under her eyes with a cotton pad just dipped in warm water. By this time I am usually soaked through too :p

When she goes to the groomers I always say she is off for her shampoo and set but havent seen the rollers yet LOL :) :)

Gina

Hey there Eddie then you will be able to turn your hand into having her nice then, rather than the sad scalped jobs most pet Shitzu and Lhasa'a are.  I much prefer to see long ocated breeds left with a puppy length coat, so that they still look like their breed, but it is more practical than a full coat.

I once sorted out a relatives castrated very notty matted Samoyed.  I did what Gwen suggested, made the coat shoirt in the areas that couldn't be seen, Middle of tummy, armpits, inner thighs etc.  I then thined his feathering to a more manageable length, and also thinned out his body coat a bit, as due to Castration it was the texture of Candyfloss, and heavier in undercoat than would be normal even for a Sam.

You could make her look a real picture I am sure with say 2 to 4 inches of coat all over and her face trimmed nicely.

Thanks brainless I do agree there is nothing worse than seeing a shih tzu with no fur seen one out today which looked a total mess it was that short you could almost see his skin through his coat. 

When you say thining... in hairdressing we use thining sciccsors all the time... will that be the same sort of thing but a doggy version (not that I will be attempting to have ago ones self for a long time.. will leave this to a professional groomer!

Eddie you are correct they are the scissors with the teeth in one or both blades.

I would imagine you could do a better job than many a dog groomer.  Unfortunately many who offer this service are not trained proffesionals at all.

My friend has a locley golden retriever bitch with the most lovely golden flat coaqt, especially for a sspayed bitch.

She lives with sone and DIL and wnated her heavy feather9ing on neck and legs thinned out.  She called a mobile grommer and saud she wanted her 'Stripped' which is (as I understand it???) what is done with cockers and terriers etc, when taking the dead undercoat out etc/

Well her bitch was taken out to the van, and returned totally shaved of her coat except her feat and head!!!!

She looked ghastly, and my friend paid the man £20.

It took nearlky 18 months for the hair to grow on her back.  she looked as if she had mange.  The worst thing is her coat grew back longest and fluffiest in exactly the places she didn't want.

Well I am definately no groomer, but rather than see her have such a thing happen again, as she can't take her tpo a good groomer I have been thinning out her feathers, trimming her feet etc.  I am the only one she will allow to cut her nails anyway.

Hi Brainles,, think the problem here may have been in the terminology used - to the show world "stripping" would normally refer to hand stripping, and we might use it to mean stripping with a knife or coat king too, especially with a pet.  However, to a whole lot of commercial groomers a full strip out means a complete clip off.
bye
Gwen

I thought that probably had been the case, but the job doen was awful.  He skin had been damaged, and no attempt had been made to trim her feet, or blend the clip into the parts that were left.  She looked a sorry sight.

I did tell the lady that she should have askend for the coat to be thinned, not stripped.  I get the job now, and do it rather amateurishly, but at least the bitch doesn't slip around on the Laminate, make clicking noises with her nails that drive her hearing aid wearing owner to distraction, and her coat and feathering are easier to groom for her owner.

Thanks brainless I have just purchased some new hairdressing scissors so think I will keep my otherones for the dog after I learn more about the cut I want and the breed itself thanks for your advice :-)

Here eddie see if this helps  http://stfsc.bizland.com/grooming1.htm or if you put shih tzu on www.goggle.com loads of info comes up.
Diane