One of the biggest and most annoying problems any Shih Tzu owner faces is tangles in their dog's hair. It looks ugly and can cause irritation and even ulcers on your dog's skin if left untreated.
One of the best ways to forestall matting is to comb your dog's hair frequently. This is especially true when your Shih Tzu is blowing his coat. When this happens, normally when your Shih Tzu is colse to nine months of age, the hair of the lowest coat loosens and gets stuck in the top coat. While this duration you should comb out the dead hair as many as three times a day.
Shitzu Dogs
How to take off tangles
If mats do form take off them as follows:
o Split the hair lengthwise into smaller piece. Use a sharp thin object for the job and be careful not to hurt the dog. There are special tools on the market to help take off mats, but make sure you buy one with change blades as the blades need to be sharp. You will find that it is much easier to work on smaller chunks of hair and this is one of the secrets to take off a mat.
o Your next task is to loosen the hair. Get a V shaped comb and use a picking activity to cut off the hair. Think in out, in out.
o After picking, loosen the hair additional with your fingers. This will make combing much easier.
o Next use a coarse comb and comb straight through the hair, but make sure you do not pull the dog's hair. I suggest that you grab the dog's hair as close as potential to the skin (at the root of the hair) with one hand and use the other hand to do the combing. That will eliminate pulling of the hair and will be more comfortable for your dog. Comb from the side of the hair rather than from the front or center.
Products that help with tangles
There are a few products on the market that make it easier to take off mats.
The first range of products is called detanglers. The job of a detangler is to make the hair slick and to take off static electricity so that matting does not occur so easily. Cowboy Magic is one such a goods that works well.
Another range of products have a silicon base and they work on the same basis as the detanglers - just remember to let it dry fully before you work on the coat.
You can also use conditioner. For bigger areas use undiluted conditioner while diluted conditioner should works just fine for smaller areas.
If you have neglected your dog for too long (shame on you) and the mats are too big to remove, your best choice may be to take your dog to the groomer for a good haircut and to start over.
How to take off the Tangles in Your Shih Tzu's Hair