Not too long ago, I acquired a rescue shih tzu. She was relatively ungroomed (matted, medium length hair), so initially, I cut her mats out with scissors, which looked terrible, but it made me (and probably her) feel better. She receives a weekly bath, and brushing several times a week, but she still mats very easily. I've been considering getting her professionally groomed, but I don't want to have to pay. (Yes, it's a lame excuse) She also gets very tense around people she doesn't know, and I wouldn't want her to misbehave at the groomer's.
Sorry, this is getting so long. Basically, I have electric clippers that I bought a long time ago, and I wanted to groom her myself. So, I did. I feel like a did a pretty good job. It's a pretty close shave, and I left her tail fluffy, and her head fluffy, although I did hand trim her ears a bit. I also hand trimmed her legs, chest, and paws. So, I have a few questions about grooming. First of all, what are the extra attachments for? (The ones that looks sort of like different sized combs and clip onto the blades.) Secondly, I really wasn't sure how to go about clipping her rear end. I hate the look of a short hair dog with a flipped up tail, who really shows off their anus, so I didn't want to clip her back end hair very short. What do you normally do about this area? And my last question is, is there some way you can clip something so it goes longer to short or shorter to longer? (Tell me if that doesn't make any sense.)
I thought about uploading some before and after pictures, but I'm just too gosh darn lazy.
About the part that didn't make sense. I'd like to clip the hair on her head long, and have it go from longer to shorter where it meets her neck and back. Like a gradient, sort of.
Thanks, Natalie! That was a very informative answer. I've read a few books about grooming, and looked at tons of pictures to see what clip I like. I'm always very careful with the mats, I'm so afraid of cutting her! I have heard about the hair in the ears, although I didn't know there was a powder for that. I'll have to look that up.
Long haired dogs require lots of grooming! There are plenty of books and dvds you can buy on how to home groom you pet.
The different attachments are for the length. The comb attachments will keep the hair longer, while blades like a #10 are used for sanitary trimming (hair around the anus) or severely matted areas.
I would suggest you do the sanitary trimming, even though it looks weird, because poop gets stuck so easily in their hair and it's yucky to get out!
Whatever you do do not clip her fur when she is wet! That's a mistake some people make then ends badly. Also, you will need a blade coolant for your clippers so they don't give her clipper burn, incase you haven't already gotten it.
Another thing people tend to forget is that small dogs grow hair inside their ears that can trap bacteria and lead to bad infections. You'll need an ear cleaner and something like tweezers(you can buy tweezers like this at an animal store), or powder the hair with a powder used for ears and pull it out with your fingers. The dogs do not like this, but it's relatively loose hair and comes out easily.
Other then that don't forget to check for dew claws because you do not want to cut them off by accident and also be careful using scissors on mats, sometimes people mistake growths for mats or nick the skin in the process… It's best to use your clippers and feel it thoroughly before shaving it off.
Another thing I like to tell people about is this product called Angel Eye's. It's a powder you put into your dogs food and clears the tear stains, it works like magic! My vet said it was perfectly safe but for whatever reason I've only been able to find it online.
Hope this helps! =)
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