Advice on grooming naughty Shih Tzu

Liverbird

I have three of these dogs. But Lulu (18 months old) just hates to get groomed/cut. I do manage to brush her and by talking her round gently can sometimes trim around her eyes. But she point blank refuses to let me brush her stomach, and she growls and will show her teeth. Shes had a small hernia from birth, which the vet assures me needs no intervention. The knots on her tummy are building up and I really do need to get them off.
On a good note...she does love having a bath and will often jump in my bath waiting for one!
I'm wondering if getting her neutered and getting the hernia done at the same time will help? At least the vet could shave her knots while shes under!

Any advice please?

BTW The other two love going and getting cut at the Poodle Parlour.

System

I have problems grooming my two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels and they have both been neutered.

Millie hates having her rear end groomed and Lucy hates having her long floppy ears groomed.

Neither of them are bothered about having their teeth brushed though.:D

5AM

Neutering her will not make any difference when it comes to grooming. Tis a good idea to neuter though if you are not going to breed from her as it can prevent alot of health problems.

It can be a very tricky thing to do when they don't like an area being groomed.

It really takes a lot of patience and the best way I have found to deal with these issues is to take time just getting down on the floor with the dog and stroking her. This should then progress to the odd stroke in the direction of her tummy.

Can you see where this is headed! This occasional stroke on her tummy should be able to end up as a full on tummy stroke. Then you can introduce scissors and brushes SLOWLY. Just show her them and let her sniff them and even stroke her with them (probably best not to stroke with the scissors if she is likely to jump up!).

It may sound silly but it really is the way to a happy grooming session.

Do all of this in short but frequent sessions.

Once she is totally happy with being stroked with the brush, turn it over and stroke her with the bristle side and also calmly snip off the odd knot with the scissors. Slowly and gently. Be careful though if she has a lot on knots as brushing could pull.

The key really is to take things slowly and stay calm and turn grooming into a bonding session rather than a fight :rotfl: .

Oh and as an afterthought, I personally would get a second opinion on the hernia.

Liverbird

Thanks for the advice. Lulu was at the vet a couple of weeks ago when he checked her hernia and said it was ok.... I will probably have her spayed and her hernia done at the same time I think. Her belly will then be shaved and I will then have a sporting chance of keeping it knot free!

Raksha

In some breeds of dogs speying can adversley affect the coat actually making it harder to groom - Springer Spaniels being one of them (I have a Springer and a half Springer, both developed very fluffy coats which need a lot more work now they are speyed )

It sounds as if grooming needs to be shown to be a pleasant excercise, rather than something she has to put up with. I would start with something like a paint brush and just gently stroke her once with it and reward her with a small treat, then work your way up to a proper grooming brush, use just the back of it to start, then slowly build up the number of strokes you give before the treat comes. Remember her skin may be very sensitive, so be careful of pulling and don't bath her if there are any matts at all, as the water will just tighten the matts even further.

5AM

As a general rule, speying, if it has any affect on the coat, tends to make it softer so yes it can tangle easier but this is a very small issue and greatly outweighed by the benefits of neutering.

Springers coats are hard work anyway, regardless of speying or not so I sympathise! How often do you give them a brush through. Springers coats, even when gone fluffy as a result of speying can be made alot easier to handle if they have a once over with a pin brush every day. Oh and not forgetting the hair cuts!!

Good tip regarding the treats, the one thing I forgot to mention! :rotfl: