The shih tzu dog breed has grown in popularity slowly over the last decade or two, with each passing year showing steady development and rises in popularity. When with most things, as more people express an interest in specific dog breeds, the number of individuals contacting out and asking various questions about the breed grows. Over the previous several months, we’ve heard a variety of inquiries about the breed, but the most common one is about shih tzu shedding and how to control it.
As a result, we’ve decided to make this the focus of today’s post in order to assist as many of our readers as possible who are thinking of adding a shih tzu to their home. One of the primary reasons we see so many individuals contacting us and inquiring about shih tzu shedding is because so many people claim that shih tzus are hypoallergenic pets. This is primarily owing to shih tzu hair not activating some sensitivities that individuals may have to other dog breeds’ real fur, which leads to possible allergic relationships.
Although the fact that shih tzus have hair rather than food helps lessen the severity of several common dog allergies, bear in mind that the breed is not completely hypoallergenic, that they are a double coat breed, and that the shih tzu’s lengthy coat may trigger some allergies in some people. However, if you have allergies to dogs, the shih tzu coat is one of the finest alternatives because it does not provoke as many allergies as ordinary dog fur.
As a result, many individuals may be able to have a shih tzu in their house and go about their everyday lives without experiencing any of the signs of an allergic reaction that they would have with other breeds. Furthermore, many of these folks claim that the shih tzu shed is so allergy-friendly that they do not need to use antihistamines while the breed is in their house.
However, there are a number of actions you can do to better regulate your shih tzus’ shed and help decrease the chance of the breed causing your allergies to flare-up. We will not go into further detail about the many methods and tricks that you can use to assist our users keep their shih tzus shed under control.
A Quality Brush Is Always Good To Have At Hand
The best approach, in our view, to get your shih tzu’s shedding under control as soon as possible is to use an appropriate de-shedding brush and brush or groom your pet shih tzu on a regular basis. This lets you to gather significant volumes of your shih tzu’s shed at once, preventing it from being deposited throughout your home while your shih tzu goes about its daily activity.
This not only helps to minimize allergy flare-ups, but it also saves time while cleaning your home by collecting all of the deposited shed. There is no need to brush your shih tzu on a regular basis; once or twice a week will do to get the most out of the process and assist reduce your shih tzu shedding problem. This approach is suitable for both a puppy and a fully grown shih tzu shedding with its full mature coat, making it the logical choice for our readers.
Furthermore, the shih tzu dog breed has been known to have issues with its long coat becoming matted depending on what it does on a regular basis. Because it is one of the double coat dog breeds, this can lead to difficulties, therefore regular brushing and grooming of your shih tzu hair can give the added advantage of helping to avoid any matting of its coat and ensure that your dog is not experiencing issues with this frequent condition as well.
Although there are no fully hypoallergenic dogs, frequent brushing of your shih tzu will most likely get you as near as you can get. We understand that some of our readers may believe that having their shih tzu to stay still for five to ten minutes to allow you to brush it will be a nightmare. Fortunately, if you are in this scenario, we have a small technique to share with you that we believe will help keep your shih tzu’s attention and allow you to groom away as needed.
The method is purchasing a Kong dog toy and some reward paste to occupy your dog and keep it calm while you brush it to remove its shed. We understand that this appears to be extremely easy, and in all honesty, it is, but the truth is that it works and may keep your pet shih tzu in place for well over ten minutes. Our suggested treat paste is not only tasty enough to entice your shih tzu, but it is also highly sticky, which means it will have to work hard to get it out of the kong toy.
Deshedding Dog Shampoos may help
As previously said, regular brushing of your shih tzu can often be sufficient to reduce the likelihood of any potential allergies flaring up owing to the coat of the shih tzu dog breed, but you can go this one step further to perhaps get your shih tzu shedding as close to zero as possible. Although there have been a few shampoos that promised to reduce your dog’s shedding for years, they were virtually all a terrible waste of time and money until lately.
Fortunately, there are shampoo solutions on the market that have a proven track record of reducing your dog’s shed. Our suggested shampoo, which is listed above, has the greatest reputation, the highest market share, and a plethora of independent reviews, which you may read if you so choose. It has a proven track record of reducing the quantity of shed that a dog will discharge all year and may be able to assist you with your shih tzu.
The shampoo provides benefits even with a dog breed with a double coat, such as the shih tzu, and may also assist with any potential dry skin concerns that your shih tzu may be experiencing. For best results, employ the brushing technique described above to gather as much shed as possible before washing and shampooing your shih tzu. Just make sure that you just bathe your dog once a week at most, and that you brush him more frequently than that.
We understand that some of our readers may have a shih tzu who dislikes bath time, but we have a small tip that you may be able to utilize for this as well. We’ve lost count of the number of dog owners who say their pets make bath time a nightmare but have excellent success rates when they take their dog outside and wash it with a hose pipe. This frequently allows you to bring your shih tzu’s shed issue under control without having to clean up a messed-up bathroom afterwards.
Natural Oil Supplement May Impact Shedding
Now, we just want to make a short disclaimer about this method: while it has a proven track record of assisting dog owners in reducing the quantity of shed that their dogs produce, it will only work if your dog’s shed is caused by nutritional inadequacies. The previous techniques focused on managing your shih tzu’s natural, year-round shed release, but this method focuses on increasing your shih tzu’s diet to regulate its shed. If your dog’s food already contains sufficient of Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids, this technique may not provide any benefit at all.
In any case, there have been increasing complaints of the shih tzu dog breed shedding more than other breeds if it does not consume enough Omega essential fatty acids. Many dog owners have reported that adding a doggie oil supplement to their pets’ diets has resulted in a significant reduction in the quantity of shed that their dogs produce. Given that this is a quick and easy remedy, it is well worth a shot for your shih tzu shedding problems if you suspect it is related to a nutritional deficit in your dog.
One of the nicest aspects of this technique is that increasing the Omega oils in your shih tzu’s food can also assist with a variety of other frequent problems in the breed. Unfortunately, shih tzus frequently suffer from dry skin, hot areas, skin lumps, a dull coat, and digestive problems. Omega fatty acids can assist with all of these difficulties and are certainly worth experimenting with in your shih tzu to see if it improves the condition.
We simply want to point out that while certain Omega 3 supplements designed for people can be used with dogs, many of those in pill form should be avoided. Although the precise causes are unknown, some dogs might suffer stomach distress from the chemicals in plastics, therefore we always recommend that our readers utilize a dog-specific Omega 3 supplement.
The time your dog spends outside may matter – try to limit it
This next one has only recently had any actual data released to back it up, however the American Animal Hospital Association (AAHA) has published some early studies that do show that restricting your dog’s time outside may help them shed less. Due to the temperament of a shih tzu and the breed’s lack of use as working dogs, it is uncommon for a shih tzu to sleep outside. However, depending on your circumstances, this may be something you may attempt to assist manage your dog’s shed.
The idea is that you continue to take your shih tzu for its daily walks and let it play in the yard or garden as usual, but you make sure that it sleeps indoors rather than outside. However, the study into this is still in its early phases, and many issues remain unanswered. We just wanted to put it in our list in order to provide our readers with the finest information available when it comes to regulating their shih tzu’s shed.