Before & After
Shih Tzu
Some of you have seen me talk about this before and after little guy in my seminars and clinics around the county. As remarkable as the before and after is on this pet, the really amazing thing is this was a dog I did early in my career – this image is over 20 years old!
Back Story:
This was a 6 week client. Under normal circumstances the client was religious about brushing her Shih Tzu between professional grooming appointments. On this occasion the owner had been hospitalized for quite some time and was unable to keep her pet in proper condition. Due to the nature of the situation and my long term relationship with the client, I was happy to suggest a “miracle groom” for her pet to keep him looking cute. However; the bulk of the coat needed to be removed. This type of work is always up to my sole discretion based on three things; will the dog allow me to brush it out without a fuss, will the owner appreciate the extra work and finally, is the owner willing to pay for my time and knowledge? I only perform one “miracle groom” per client for the lifetime of the pet – after that they either learn to brush or learn to like it short.
Coat Type: Natural long coated. Soft and very thick thick. Matted tightly in some places, looser in other spots. Water would penetrate all areas.
Personality Type: Kind and very cooperative.
Trim: #1 guard plastic guard comb over a #40 blade for the body, scissored legs, rounded head with a tied up top knot, natural tail and ears.
Elapsed Time to Complete the Job - including Bath & Dry: 2:15 hours
How We Got the Look:
First I needed to get the coat down to a workable length prior to dematting, roughly one to two inches. Once the coat was at this length, warm water could easily penetrate the coat allowing shampoo and a heavy duty conditioning treatment combined with a powerful high velocity dryer to do 80% of the work for me. To cut the length down safely, I slid a wide toothed comb under the mat right next to the skin. I then cut the coat to about 1-2 inched trimming ONLY ON TOP OF THE COMB. This is the pet’s protection so I didn’t accidently cut skin instead of fur. With this type of technique, this is extremely important since I needed to put so much pressure on the shear to cut through mats, I couldn’t be sure what I was cutting – the comb was the safety net. I worked methodically over the entire body working in small sections. Once the dog had most of the fur removed, it was time for the bath. The dog was washed twice. On the second lather I did a little light brushing on the legs which I had left a bit fuller. I protected the skin with my fingers as I used a firm slicker brush in the areas that were matted the most. This action is a bit like working a tight ring off your finger with soap and water. After the second lather and some light brushing, I rinsed thoroughly and applied a heavy duty conditioning treatment. The conditioner was also rinsed out. The pet was towel dried and then high velocity dried from start to finish. The first part of the HV drying process, I worked heavily on full power and with the condenser cone attached to “push” the mats out. Once the mats were pushed as far as they would go, I removed the condenser cone. Working only were the air was striking, I gave the mats still stuck in the coat a little “bump” with a firm slicker brush. I worked methodically over the entire dog, hunting for mats and tangles still in the coat, removing what I could with the combination of the air flow and light brushing until the dog was totally dried and fluffed. I then line brushed and line combed the entire dog to ensure all tangles were 100% removed before I stated the hair cut.
The haircut I executed on this adorable little dog is the trim found on page 482 of ‘Notes From the Grooming Table’ combined with the head style found on page 488. The abridged version of this trim can also be found in the new ‘Notes Pock Pal.’
P.S. The owner never went back to the long and natural look after she saw how cute her Shih Tzu looked and how much easier it was to care for!
