Shih Tzus are a breed of Asian toy dogs. They’re especially fun and easy to style in a number of ways because of their long hair and a wide range of expressions that help pull off diverse hairstyles. There’s so much room for what can be achieved in terms of aesthetics with a Shih Tzu.
Here are some of the best Shih Tzu hairstyles to try out on both your good boys and good girls that they’ll love.
Shih Tzu Hairstyles
1. The Puppy Cut
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If you want to give your Shih Tzu a simple, natural look, puppy cuts are the way to go. It’s also among the most popular Shi Tzu hairstyles because this cut is easy to do at home with a pair of clippers and doesn’t require much maintenance.
All you need to do is trim to 2 inches all over their body and maybe around half an inch around on the face. Shih Tzu’s, after all, have an adorable beard.
2. Puppy Cut with Longer Ears and Tail
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The puppy cut, as mentioned earlier, involved trimming evenly all over the body and just a little around the face. But if you have an especially silly, expressive Shih Tzu, their expressions would look a lot funnier with thicker ears and bushy tails.
Leave the ears and tail alone when you’re trimming. If you don’t like it or the dog isn’t feeling warm, you can always trim it and make it a regular puppy cut.
3. Moderate Puppy Cut
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As the name suggests, it’s a puppy cut but with longer hair. Maybe cut around 1-2 inches only. For a moderate puppy cut, use scissors instead of clippers so you don’t accidentally end up taking too much off.
4. Lion Cut
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Shih Tzu’s can really pull off a mane. To turn your Shih Tzu into an adorable little lion, all you need to do is cut around the head and more on the body so that the hair around their face is emphasized. It’ll be like a lion but with a beard.
Those fluffy locks are what make Shih Tzu’s so attractive in the first place. This cut will require monthly maintenance because the body hair needs to be short in order to accentuate the face.
5. Teddy Bear Cut
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There’s a reason they’re known as toy dogs. With a teddy bear cut, you can turn your Shih Tzu into an actual toy.
To achieve this look, the hair around the body needs to be of medium size, and the hair around the face and ears should be longer. Nothing says teddy bear like big fluffy ears. The ideal hair length for the body is around 2 inches and around 4 inches for the face.
6. Practical Top Knot
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This cut would look great on female Shih Tzus. The top knot with a ponytail or ribbon will give the dog a touch of femininity. It’ll also get some of the hair out of their eyes; that’s annoying even for dogs.
Trim the face as much as you can, and as for the body, you can keep it long or short. What you do need to keep long though is the hair on its head so that it can be tied into a knot with a ribbon or barrette.
It’s both a comfortable and beautiful look for a female Shih Tzu dog, but don’t let gender stop you if you want to try it out on your male Shih Tzu too.
7. Top Knot Show Cut
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This will be the most difficult cut for you to maintain but the easiest one to do because it doesn’t require much cutting. All you have to do is let the hair grow out and keep brushing it to give it a smooth downward flow. This cut is characterized by long hair so it will take some patience to achieve.
The ideal length to maintain is where the hair meets the feet. Any more and the dog may have trouble walking or may trip over. The end result — a hilarious barking pom that you can take to dog shows.
8. Puppy Cut Short
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Short hair is more comfortable for a dog as it makes them feel lighter. Besides, it allows you to look into their eyes. A short puppy cut would be trimmed down to 1 inch around the entire body and maybe 1.5-2 inches around the face.
9. Shaved Ears & Tail Left Long
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This look will make every expression on your Shih Tzu’s face ten times funnier. It will make your Shih Tzu look like a middle-aged auntie. As the name suggests, you shave the ears completely and leave the tail hair long. It will go well with short or medium body hair.
10. Full Shave
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Full-shaved Shih Tzu puppies are adorable and it gives them a much more identifiable face. It’s also a really easy DIY cut because all you have to do is use a pair of clippers and take everything off. Another big advantage is that your dog won’t need regular brushing.
Your dog will feel lighter and gain more mobility, so it’s likely you’ll also get some extra playfulness out of your dog. Not to mention, it can get annoying for dogs when their hair starts covering or poking into their eyes.
However, since you’re shaving the dog entirely, including its face, you need to be extra careful. Make sure you use a sanitary pair of clippers, preferably ones custom-designed for dog fur. It’s a really small dog and you’re going for a deep shave so there’s a high possibility of hurting it. Go about this with caution.
11. Short Coat, Full Top
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This will give your Shih Tzu a more masculine look. Shorten the body hair to about an inch or less but keep the face and ears full. It’s another look that doesn’t require much maintenance except for around the face area.
Since you’re keeping the hair long, you should brush it regularly to make it straighter. You could also add a middle partition to keep hair out of your dog’s eyes.
A Few Parting Words
Hope you found this blog on Shih Tzu hairstyles informative. If you’re having a hard time picking, why not let your bundle of joy weigh in on it? Show them the pictures and see which hairstyle they respond to best.
Despite their goofy appearance, Shih Tzus are rather intelligent and perceptive. For all you know, they might actually have a preference.
