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A Shih Tzu dog’s coat grows quickly so you are going to need to get a Shih Tzu hair cut probably relatively early in your dog’s life. A hair cut is a pretty big deal for a Shih Tzu so you are more than welcome to try it yourself if you feel you can give your dog the proper type of cut. If you would rather have someone else do it then that is fine and probably preferable. But in the end it is important to do what you feel is right for your dog.

A Shih Tzu pup can start getting hair cuts as young as ten weeks but you need to lead in to it by starting off with small snips of things here and there. Get the little dog used to the idea of being trimmed. Something that will help is to incorporate brushing in with the cutting, as Shih Tzu dogs generally love to be brushed. This will help keep the pup calm while learning to get their hair cut. You can probably do full cuts at around sixteen weeks.
The Shih Tzu has human like hair that makes up its coat instead of fur like every other dog so when you are giving a Shih Tzu hair cut you need to keep that in mind. The things that hurt you when you get your hair cut are even worse for your dog so if you have the scissors that are so dull that they pull hair out instead of cutting it, or if you have a habit of sharply yanking up the hair to cut it, you need to rectify these situations as they will cause your Shih Tzu to fear much needed grooming.

Make sure the hair around the eyes is always trimmed as hair in the eyes is not only very annoying to a Shih Tzu but it can cause an infection so make sure this area is maintained. You can try this yourself but since we are talking an animal capable of making sudden movements you may want to leave the eye area to a professional to avoid injury to your Shih Tzu.
Once you get your dog used to a Shih Tzu hair cut then you can start planning out what you want to do. The only basics are short in the summer and longer in the winter. If you leave it long in the summer your Shih Tzu could be affected by excessive heat and that is a bad thing. Don’t leave it too long in the winter either or else they will trip over it when they walk and run and that could cause serious injury. Many people like to leave little length in spots to tie a ribbon for their dog’s appearance, which is common among Shih Tzu owners, but remember that it is just as common for the dog to hate a ribbon in its hair.

Grooming your Shih Tzu is very important not only to its appearance but to its health as well. You can try cutting your dog’s hair yourself but you may want to watch a professional do it a few times first as there are little things you need to learn like how to keep your dog under control so you do not injure it while cutting its hair.

This article has good advice on Shih Tzu grooming tips. You can also find helpful Shih Tzu grooming tips in this article.