need help from shih tzu owners

14 years ago

My shih tzu just turned 4 months old.Her name is Cricket and I love her very much.She is such a sweet lady.I have read about shih tzus on the internet and I do not find the answer I want.

Crickets hair is growing fast and when she goes outside to releive herself she comes back in the house with poop on her backside.My question is can I shave her butt to keep this from happening.I am comparing her grooming to my lhasa apso I had.When my lhasa apso was alive I would shave her butt and pluck the hairs out of her ears(the vet told my to do that)

When I first got cricket and took her to the vet to start her shots I asked my vet about shaving her butt and trimming the hairs out of her ears.He told me that is not neccessary unless she has trouble with pushing to move her bowels.Well she doesn't have trouble doing that but her backside is a mess.So can I shave her?

FWIW___It has been so long since I've had a puppy and the vet spayed her at the age of 3 months.I was suprised that he did that at such a young age but he told me the little dogs recover fast.Just thought I would mention that.I never knew vets would do that I always thought they would have to be at least 6 mths old.

Could someone tell me please how to take care of this problem? How do you groom your shih tzu? TIA

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Comments (6)

Jeannine
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I don't have your breed, but you can ask your groomer to do a "sanitary cut" which should include going a bit short around the rear end.

Don't shih tzus require regular grooming anyway?

And 3 months old seems very young for a spay to me. You can read many different opinions about the optimal time online. Just do some googling.
Gina_W
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
Sure you can do this. Have a groomer do it for you - shi tzus require regular grooming anyway. Keep baby wipes handy. They are great for wiping doggy butts and dirty paws and they're very cheap if you buy store brands.
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Meghane
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
We call it a Potty Patch. That long hair just sometimes gets in the way.

I'm not a big proponent of plucking the ear hair usually. If they get ear infections a lot, sure. I have Huskies and they have a LOT of ear hair, which I never pluck. It's painful and unnecessary IMHO.

Dogs should be spayed before their first heat cycle if they are not going to be bred. This prevents breast cancer later in life. Risk of breast cancer in a dog that is spayed prior to first heat cycle (5-6 months in small-medium sized breeds) is less than 0.1%. Once they go through one heat cycle, risk is 12%. If spayed after 2 heat cycles risk is 25%. The smaller the dog, the easier the spay IMHO. Less time under anesthesia= less risk of anesthetic complication.
dabunch
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I have a Shih Tzu, and had Shih Tzus all my life.

Yes, yes, yes, You can cut, trim, pluck, sanitize anything you need to on your baby.

I find that majority of Vets are big dog people-lol
I remember when I got my first Shih Tzu when I was a kid. The Vet told me not to trim the hair around the eyes. He said that they're supposed to have hair over their eyes like sheepdogs-NOT!

The Truth? You need to be vigilant with trimming, plucking, and washing Shih Tzus if you want them healthy.

Most Shih Tzus have hair growing out of their ears, and everywhere else like crazy. You need to trim aroud the eyes so they don't get infections from the long hair and the debris (dust and goobers) getting into their eyes. Ear infections are not all that uncommon in Shih Tzus. My Vet sees Shih Tzus primarily for Ears, Eyes and Kidneys. Some have anal gland problems, but that's pretty common with any little dogs.

Shih Tzus are high maintenance dogs. You need to keep their ears plucked and cleaned. You need to keep their genital area (pee & poo)trimmed and shaved so they are clean. I wipe my dog's paws when she comes in from the outside. I wash her paws after walks. I bathe her every 2-3 weeks, and that's additionally to wiping, sometimes washing her face after she eats or drinks. They can get food stuff on their whiskers, and their face will smell. You may need to trim her hair between her paws...The problem with small hairy dogs is that that can become a smelly ball of fur in no time.

There is this powder for the ears R-7. You puff it into each ear 5 minutes before plucking. It seems to lessen the pain and the hair plucks easily. I do this every 2 months.
I also use Nolvasan once a week to wash out the ears. It brings up the debris and dries it so bacteria don't breed. Shih Tzus have floppy ears with hair inside. That( heat and moisture trapped) promotes bacteria to breed. I also use the Nolvasan in the ears after her bath to dry them so no infection occurs.
You may be lucky and not have these issues, but that would be a rarity with this breed. Cleaniliness keeps Shih Tzus healthier.

I have learned many things over the years based on the illnesses they had. The one before this one lived to be 18.
1- It's NOT a good idea to spay a female too early. Acc. to my Vet, they can have complications with their vulva (peepee area)later in life. Something about how the folds develop. Anyway, I learned this when she had a perivulvar dermatitis. Her's was immune mediated (Thyroid). Dogs can get it for reasons such as: spayed too early, fat, or rarely-immune mediated.

Sorry, I went of on a tangent because the dermatitis was a royal pain. She had it in her last year of her life, when she had no immune system left. Usually there is no cure but surgery. Just letting you know the lowdown. My Vet has done a few of those. Hopefully yours will be ok.

I just wanted to let you know what I do. I believe in prevention. They are the best dogs, ever, and worth all the work ;)
trancegemini_wa
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
yep clip the hair off or get a groomer to do it for you or you'll be constantly cleaning up her back end. Mine also gets heaps of hair growing in her ear canals so I pluck that out as well. dont listen to the vet because he's not the one who will have to clean her up after she goes to the toilet, or the one who will have to pay to treat her ear infections from all the hair in there.
beegood_gw
14 years ago
last modified: 9 years ago
I have 2 Shih Tzus and the only time they have a problem if their stool is soft for some reason. If they are on a good diet with no medical problems their stool should be firm and no sticky mess.

need help from shih tzu owners

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Jeannine

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