Grooming

One of the great qualities of Shih Tzus is that they hardly shed! This make them ideal for people with allergies. However, it does mean that they need to be groomed fairly frequently. Their hair will just keep growing longer and longer. A lot of Shih Tzus featured in magazines and books have beautiful long hair. I personally prefer the short puppy cut. It is much easier to maintain; I never have to brush their coat! On average my dogs get groomed once every 4-6 weeks. I have tried to do it myself but without success. I have tried many groomers, but have found Petco to be very good. I used to have a lady that came to the house, but then I moved, and I have found Petco to have consistently good groomers. They do nails, ears, everything. Tooth-brushing is extra. I usually go for the spa package that includes special shampoo and tooth brushing. The price is different depending on where you are in the country. In New York they were more pricey, around $50 without the spa package, and spa runs around $19, and tax is extra! In California the total is $56, and for some reason, there is no tax for grooming! What's more, they give you one free groom for every 8 grooms if you join their membership program. They do ask for vaccination certificate, which is really for your own protection, as you know your dogs will not catch any diseases from being in a public place. Once I took my dogs to a private pet shop, just to try them out, and they did not ask for vaccination certificate, and the place was filthy, with dirty rugs all over the place.