Grooming the Shih Tzu Face – with Added Style
Does your Shih Tzu get groomed by a professional? Perhaps you would like to groom your dog at home but lack confidence to groom the specifically styled and admittedly perfectly rounded Shih Tzu face. If this is you stick around because I’m going to show you that common Shih Tzu grooming style for the face and how you can easily recreate it, right there at home.
For this styling session you will need a good pair of sharp hair cutting scissors, some thinning scissors and a comb. A bristle brush is also a good idea if you are going to leave the hair long because bristle brushing will make the dog’s hair gleam.
The Shih Tzu Head
The Shih Tzu has a round head. The technical name for the head shape of this breed is Brachycephalic. The shape has been accentuated by generations of breeding in order to make this little dog breed look cute with big eyes.
There are health concerns with Shih Tzu eyes because the sockets are shallow therefore it is important, that when you groom your dog’s head you don’t pull or grab the skin on the back of his neck as this can cause severe health problems.
Shih Tzu Head Styling Options
There are a few different styling options for the Shih Tzu head but most of them are 
created in much the same way.
Long hair on the head is usually only long if the Shih Tzu is in full coat otherwise the dog can look wizard like and a bit odd. Take a look at the Shih Tzu dog in full coat here.
When the breed has long hair on his face it must be tied back otherwise the vulnerable eyes will suffer. A comfortable hair clip or soft hair band should be used and never an elastic band as this will break the hair. This style is high maintenance and involves leaving the hair completely natural but combing it until it shines.
The Shih Tzu Style – A Spherical Head
The spherical head shape is the basis for all Shih Tzu facial hairstyles. Whether cut quite 
short or left longer this is a surprisingly easy style to shape. The idea is that the entire head, from whichever angle you look at it, is round.
Take a look at your dog’s head from the side. The aim is to take the hair from the tip of the nose in an arc, round and back up to the ear.
If you are not completely comfortable doing this then use thinning scissors as they won’t cut in such an obvious line.
The length of cut is up to you. Some people like their Shih Tzu to wear quite a long low beard area whilst others prefer everything to be short and tidy. It might be a good idea to start long because then you have some hair to work with.
When you have created the arc tidy the hair from right in front of the eyes carefully with scissors then comb the fringe forward over the eyes and cut that away with scissors too in order to create and arc style eyebrow. This will prevent long and stray hair getting into those sensitive Shih Tzu eyes.
Next you can trim the hair under the chin to match ad finally tidy the ears with scissors or leave them long and natural, whichever you prefer for your dog.
It may take practice and time to get your Shih Tzu head hair styled as you would like but it is great fun and your dog won’t mind if you snip a little extra hair away than you meant to. Shih Tzu grooming at home is actually pretty addictive so why not give it a go?
