Bathing A Shih Tzu

How To Give Your Shih Tzu A Bath

Bathing a Shih Tzu can be a lot of fun, or a lot of work depending on the temperament of  your dog.  Bathing Shih Tzu should be done as part of a regular grooming routine but you don't want to do it too often otherwise you can severely dry out their skin leading to skin irritation and excessive shedding and even bald patches.

When giving your Shih Tzu a bath it is always best if you can use two people.  Shih Tzus are small but still it can be much easier if you have two people, one person to hold the dog and the other to get things and do the shampooing.

To start with only use shampoo designed for dogs.  Human shampoo and even baby shampoo can hurt a dog's skin.  Go an buy yourself some high quality dog show shampoo for the best results.

Most Shih Tzu can be bathed in a large sink or small tub.  The water temperature should be luke warm and you should test this before using it on your dog t o prevent burns. 

Start by wetting the dog down, you can do the head at this time or leave it for last, which is what I normally do.  So wet the body down and use only a small amount of shampoo.

Most people use way too much shampoo and it is hard to wash all of it out of the coat leafing a soap residue.

When bathing a Shih Tzu, due to their double coat it is important to get a good deep lather going to work all the way down to the skin. 

Be sure to rinse the dog completely off.  Any left over soap and leave a residue which can lead to skin reddens and irritation from the shampoo.

Conditioners are not needed for dogs and usually if you buy a good quality dog show shampoo they usually condition the hair already.  So buying extra hair conditioner for dogs is a waste of time and money.

Also when bathing a Shih Tzu, you have to make sure you dry them off quickly when done bathing.  Shih Tzu are small and don't have very much body mass.  Therefore they are not as able to maintain their body temperatures as other dogs are.

Have several towels out and ready to go to dry them off.  Be careful when using hair dryers or heating lamps to dry off Shih Tzu as well.  They do not tolerate heat, and can quickly suffer from heat stroke.

Be sure to brush the hair out several times while it is drying to keep it straight if that is what you want.  Don't allow them to run off until the hair is dried and straight other wise they'll come back all matted and with tangles.

Bathing a Shih Tzu can be fun, unless you are preparing for a show.  Try to do it with two people and remember to avoid using human shampoo.