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The decision to trim your fully coated Shih Tzu can be hard
for some individuals.
When Woody finished his show career we
felt it was only fair to him to - and would allow him to be
a spoiled pet with run of the house and yard. Another
advantage is that it ends any foolish notions of entering
him at yet another competitive dog show.
Even with a short
coat he would still be allowed to enter stud dog and the
parade of champions.
Woody had an exceptional coat and not having to spend a
minimum of 10 hours per week brushing and bathing him made
the decision easy.
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BIS/BISS
World, Int, Can,
Am, Med, It, Pol & Lux
Ch Wenrick's
Hollywood Hit |
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Besides...I could spend more time on my
other show coats.
In
this article I will describe what equipment and blades we
used to accomplish this task as we went along. Also,
the various stages demonstrate the options that are
available to you, so that you can cut your pet/show dog
down to your own personal preferences.
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The first step is to clip
the top part of the body with an electric clipper using
a # 7 Blade. A # 4 would leave the hair longer
(approx. 3/4"). Some models of clippers come
with detachable combs and do allow you to leave the hair
whatever length you desire.
With
the scissors, I then trim the top knot off and cut some
length from the ears, mustache and cheeks to give what I
call a "Bengi Head". |
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Next - I scissored the legs, skirt and tail into what
most would call a "cocker style". I then used
a # 10 blade and clipped the cheeks of the face from the
corner of the eye to the base of the ear, down into the
neck and under the eyes, leaving just a mustache and bun
on the head.
The
final step was to clip the skirts off leaving the hair
on the legs only. The
head, leg and tail hair can be trimmed to whatever
length you would like. |
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Some like to leave about 1
inch of hair on the complete body in what is commonly
called a puppy cut. This can be accomplished with scissors
or with a clipper that has an attachable comb.
As
you can see, the sky is the limit as to what you can do
and how much hair you can leave. Some basic items not
mentioned were that I used a # 10 blade to clip the pads
of the feet, private parts and under the arms. |
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The nails are cut, inside of the ears are plucked clean
and teeth are scaled on all my dogs, including the show
dogs on a regular basis. I also bath my show dogs at least
every 4 days and find I very seldom have to brush
them. I bath my pets about every two weeks.
Woody
definitely enjoyed his hair cut and new found
adventures!!!!!!!
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Copyright © The Canadian
Shih Tzu Club. All Rights Reserved.
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