If you have recently purchased a Shih Tzu you probably have a lot of questions, not the least of which is what kind of haircut you should get it. It sounds almost silly to say but the Shih Tzu is prone to overheating and heatstroke, so trimming the hair is going to be a vital part of keeping the temperature down so your pet can stay healthy.
We’ve rounded up every hairstyle we could find to help you get an idea about what you want your dog to look like and what is best for their health. Join us while we go over each haircut, how you can achieve it, and what time of the year it’s better suited for.
Click below to jump ahead to the different style groups:
The Puppy Cut is one of the most popular Shih Tzu haircuts. The cut is easy to perform, easy to maintain, and perfect for summer weather. To create the Puppy Cut, you trim all hair to a length of 1 to 2 inches, usually closer to the 1-inch mark. With the coat trimmed in this way, it requires very little maintenance, and it reduces the amount of hair you’ll find around your home.
2. The Long Ear Puppy Cut
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The Long Ear Puppy Cut is very similar to the Puppy Cut, but the hair on the ears is left long. This cut is still suitable for summer, but it has a slightly softer and more feminine appearance.
The Lion Cut is another popular haircut that requires you to trim the hair over the body to a length of 1 inch but leave the head intact. The result resembles a lion. It’s perfect for summer weather, and it’s easy to maintain.
4. The Short in the Middle, Long on the Ends
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Another relative of the Puppy Cut is the Short in the Middle, Long on the Ends cut. As you may have guessed, this haircut requires removing the hair from the middle of the body, leaving the hair on the face and tail uncut. This haircut can help cool the dog while still allowing it to retain some of its long-haired features. This haircut tends to need more grooming because the hair on the face can start to get tangled, especially if they prefer wet food.
5. Cone Paws
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With the Cone Paws haircut, the hair is removed from the body but left on the head, tail, and legs. You then style the legs to look like cones. It’s an attractive haircut that gives the dog miniature horse-like qualities
6. The Teddy Bear Cut
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The Teddy Bear Cut is only referencing the head’s shaping and has nothing to do with the rest of the body hair. A Teddy Bear Cut can be present on a short-haired dog as well as a long-haired. With this cut, you trim the Shih Tzu, so the telltale beard is missing, giving them a round face and a teddy-bear-like appearance.
7. The Practical Top Knot
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The Practical Top Knot is another haircut that only refers to the dog’s head and not the whole coat and is popular in summer and winter cuts. With this haircut, the hair on the head is left long and tied up with a bow so the hair can cascade back down. This cut is functional as well as attractive because it helps to keep the hair out of the Shih Tzu’s eyes and mouth.
The 3 Best Shih Tzu Haircuts for Winter
These are the hairstyles better suited to winter.
8. Medium-Length Puppy Cut
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The Medium-Length Puppy Cut is the same as the standard one, except the hair is allowed to be a little longer. These coats can be 2 to 4 inches and are better suited to the northern states where they have strong winters. This haircut is only slightly more difficult to maintain, but your dog may leave more hair around your home.
Many people like to pair the Teddy Bear Cut with 2 to 3-inch hair on the body and the long cone style hair on the legs. This longer hair does contribute to the teddy bear appearance, but it also adds to how much work is required to maintain the coat each day. It will also increase the dog’s temperature, so it’s only well suited to cooler climates.
10. The Top Knot Show Cut
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The Top Knot Show Cut is one of the most recognizable coats of all dog breeds. The long hair reaches from its back to the floor, and it will completely cover the eyes and face, so you must keep it in a top knot. To maintain this coat, you will need to brush your Shih Tzu several times a day to keep it shiny and free of tangles and knots. The long heavy coat can also overheat the dog, so it needs to always stay in a temperature-controlled environment. Because it’s such high maintenance, you are only likely to see the Top Knot Show Cut on show quality dogs.
Accessories
Haircuts are great, but you’re limited to how often you can change your pet’s look. Accessories can help you modify your pet’s appearance much more often. There’s no shortage of things you can buy, from the subtle to the extravagant.
A necklace is always nice and is a perfect accessory for all dogs and doubles as an ID tag.
How to Trim Your Dog
Here is a short guide to trimming your pet. You will need an electric razor with several trimmer attachments.
Use a number one trimmer to move with the grain from the crown of your pet’s head to the back of the neck.
Gently move the ears and trim down each side of your pet’s face.
Comb the hair over your pet’s eyes and trim it with scissors so they can see.
Comb the beard so it’s even, and cut it straight across.
Shape the beard by following the curve of the cheeks to round the face.
Gently shave the bridge of the nose.
Remove any stray hairs with the scissors
Conclusion
The shorter your dog’s coat is, the more they will like it because the Shih Tzu breed quickly overheats. We recommend the Puppy Cut for most people, at least to start with, and then you can allow more hair to grow as you see how the dog tolerates it and how well you like to keep up with the maintenance required. You’ll find it knots and mats very quickly, and if you’re like us, you’ll be trimming it back down so you can do something other than brush your dog all day.
We hope you have enjoyed reading over our guide to the different haircuts you can find on a Shih Tzu, and we have helped you decide on one for yours. If you think others can benefit from reading, please share these 10 Shih Tzu haircuts your dog will love on Facebook and Twitter.
Oliver (Ollie) Jones - A zoologist and freelance writer living in South Australia with his partner Alex, their dog Pepper, and their cat Steve (who declined to be pictured). Ollie, originally from the USA, holds his master's degree in wildlife biology and moved to Australia to pursue his career and passion but has found a new love for working online and writing about animals of all types.
