Preserving The Show Dog Shih Tzu's Coat
The Shih Tzus
coat for
the show rings requires extra care. Some show people actually keep
their Shih Tzu confined
and caged to preserve
the coat, or they wrap
the coat or
oil it. Those who
do keep their show Shih Tzu confined and caged pay a price
in loss
of muscle tone
in their dogs. Not all show people practice these methods for preserving their Shih Tzus long show dog coats.
It is also a myth that all show people do not allow their show Shih Tzu
to go for long walks, to play and just in general to lead a normal life. For
those who do allow their show Shih Tzu do lead a normal life
keeping the coat glamorous requires a lot of extra effort, and much
more grooming than for the pet Shih Tzu.
Coconut oil is considered helpful
as a means of preserving the coat of a show dog Shih Tzu.
If you do oil the show dog Shih Tzu coat
you must remove the oil completely before each show. If you do not remove all the oil the coat appear limp and feel wrong.
It can also be uncomfortable to be around a Shih Tzu that has been oiled. There are good oils on the market, however, that do not have this effect on the coat and it
may be worth trying them
if the Shih Tzus coat seems to need it. Wrapping the coat in tissue paper protects the Shih Tzus coat, but you lose some of the pleasure of seeing
your dog in full coat with his
hair flowing as he
moves. I do think this is a beautiful, beautiful sight of the show dog Shih Tzu.
The tissue wrapping sort of reminds me of the days when women ran around the
house for house with their
hair in curlers.
Probably the best thing to do if you are just starting out taking care of your Shih Tzu show dogs coat is to experiment with different methods of preserving the coat until you
find what works best for your dog. Much the same type of procedures a pet owner must go through, although a lot more intense and
time consuming as the Shih Tzu show do requires so much more in the way of grooming.
One thing is for certain if you start out with bad hair it is virtually impossible to make it good enough for the show ring. When purchasing your show potential Shih Tzu it is
wise to study the lines to find out which have good hair in their genes. This way you can just continue to keep it looking good.
The
topknot and
whiskers also need very special attention on the show dog Shih Tzu. The white whiskers on a parti-coloured Shih Tzu must be really, really white to look good. It seems this is especially true for the black and white Shih Tzu.
Some
older methods of keeping the whiskers white was to wash them at least once a day with a
solution of boracic powder, a teaspoon to a pint of water. This mixture is wiped into the whiskers, being careful to get none in the eyes and then rinsed away. One of the keys to keeping whiskers white is
above all to
dry them immediately and keep them dry. An older
method of drying them was to work in some fullers earth or talcum powder, brushing this out and repeating until the hair was absolutely dry. If you allow the Shih Tzu to dry his
own whiskers he will
rub and rub until dry doing nothing but harm to the
length of the coat. Another problem you run into with all this washing is that the hair becomes dry and brittle.
You will need to dress the whiskers with a little coat conditioner from time to time.
A method of preserving the hair of the topknot is to use several bands along the length of the hair to hold it to the back of the head. You can also plait the hair to achieve the same
purpose. Use neither of these methods just before a show as both methods will cause kinks in the coat of which you do not want.
It is always wise to review the rules of the American Kennel Club about the use of oils and conditioners on the coat of a show dog. Any substance used to alter the natural color, texture or body of the coat is usually prohibited.
Connie
Limon. I raise Shih Tzu Puppies for Sale. Visit us at
http://www.stainglassshihtzus.com and
sign up for our newsletters. We have the Shih Tzu in a variety of colors, the
small AKC standards, imperials and teacups at reasonable prices.