How To Get Your Shih Tzu De-Matted

Many dog lovers are attracted to shih tzus because of their beautiful, flowing long hair. But as we all know—with long hair comes great responsibility. Maintaining that glorious crown of glory can be quite difficult and you will have to deal with matting from time to time. Lucky for you, we have all the information you need to de-mat your beloved pet.

The Tools You Will Need

Of course! You cannot de-matt your dog using your bare hands. You will need some hair tools (a lot!) for that. To survive your de-matting adventure, here are some of the tools that you will need:

• Stainless Steel Comb
• Scissors
• Pin brush
• Detangling or conditioning spray
• Water
• Blow dryer

If you already have all these tools ready, then let us gets started on untangling your matted shih tzu!

Steps on How To Remove Mats From Your Dog

Step 1. Make him comfortable.

Place your shih tzu on your lap and try to do your very best to make him feel comfortable. If he starts to squirm and fight his way out of your lap, reprimand him (but don’t spank). If he knows how to stay, give him the command and reward him a treat if he stays.

Step 2. Spray before brushing.

You should never ever brush your dog’s coat when it is dry. This is most especially true if it is all tangled up.  If you have no time to give him a bath, the next best thing that you can do is to spray it with either a conditioning or detangling spray. The spray can help to soften the hair and prevent it from breaking during brushing.

Step 3. Use your hands.

With the use of your fingers, try to loosen up the small tangles from your furry friend’s fur. This will help to make brushing a lot easier.

Step 4. Use the pin brush.

With the use of the pin brush, try to part the hair and start on brushing small sections of hair at a time. Start with the lowest part of the body then work your way up.

Step 5. Use your steel comb.

After brushing the entire body using the pin brush, put the steel comb into action. This type of comb will help to untangle the nastiest and most stubborn mats that the pin brush might have missed. These mats can certainly take some time to be untangled. It is recommended that you avoid brushing the same spot for more than 10 strokes at a time. If the fur is still all tangled up after ten strokes, move onto another section. Give the fur (and the skin of your dog) some time to rest before you get back at it.

Repeat all the steps mentioned above until your shih tzu is already free of mat! You have to be warned though: this activity will require plenty of time and a whole lot of patience. There will be tangles that are very hard to deal with but you have to summon all your patience if you want to keep your shih tzu tangle-free.