Kissed by Buddha

This week’s Klip Joint dog is Bella, a six-month-old Shih Tzu. Bella’s owners have realized that it takes a lot of work to keep the Shih Tzu coat looking good, so they have decided to bring her in for a regular bath, brush and trim.

Shih Tzus have a double coat (an outer coat plus a wooly insultating undercoat). When a Shih Tzu’s coat is left long, the shedding hairs get caught in the long coat and instead of falling out on your floor, get pulled out when you brush your Shih Tzu. If you don’t brush them often, the hair gets matted and can be painful to the dog to brush it.

If you clip your Shih Tzu into a shorthaired dog, there is no longer coat to catch the shedding hair, so the dog will shed more. A long coat has the advantage of making your Shih Tzu appear to shed less, while a short coat has the advantage of being easier to brush and staying cleaner. It’s a trade-off.

Bella before clipping – she was getting pretty shaggy in the face.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Shih Tzu is sometimes called the Chrysanthemum Dog, a nickname that describes the way the hair on his face grows out in all directions — he looks like a flower with a nose for the center. You can see that Bella was sporting the Chrysanthemum look when she arrived at our door.

There is an old story that the Buddha traveled with a little dog fitting the description of a Shih Tzu. As the story goes, one day, several robbers came upon the Buddha with the intent of robbing and murdering him. The little dog changed into a ferocious lion and ran off the robbers, saving Buddha’s life. The lion then turned back into a fun-loving little dog, which the Buddha picked up and kissed. The white spot on the heads of many Shih Tzus supposedly marks the place where Buddha kissed his loyal friend!

Your loyal doggy friends will get lots of tender loving care at the Klip Joint Dog Grooming!

 

 

Bella after a bath and clip.