puppy health

At some point in life, you will probably be faced with the task of cutting your Shih Tzu’s toenails. Your Shih Tzu’s toenails should ideally be clipped at least once a month. Unclipped nails may get caught on items and cause unnecessary pain to your Shih Tzu. 

Before you begin clipping nails be sure to gather the following supplies:

• Toy-breed nail clippers

• Styptic powder or cornstarch

• A couple of Q-tips

• A bath towel

• A bully stick

• A treat

• A human helper

As a responsible Shih Tzu breeder, I work hard to expose all the puppies raised in my breeding program to nail trimming and other common grooming procedures. Most of the Shih Tzu Puppies don’t love nail trims but learn to tolerate the process over time. Hopefully, the early nail-trimming practice will make the nail-clipping process go faster once puppies go to their forever homes!

Start by placing your Shih Tzu on a clean countertop. Establish rapport by petting your puppy. Offer the puppy a bully stick to distract him or her. Once your Shih Tzu puppy is comfortably chewing on the bully stick gently spend a minute massaging the paw area to get him or her comfortable. 

Grab your clippers and locate a toenail. If the nail is white you will see the blood supply under the nail. This is known as the quick. If you clip the nail too short into the quick area you will cause bleeding. Then you will have to dab a Q-tip into the Stypic powder and blot the bleeding nail until bleeding ceases. The goal is to cut above the quick. This is accomplished by cutting above the pink area.  

Black nails are a little more challenging because you cannot see the quick. In this case, clip a small amount of nail at a time. Look at the center of the nail. It should be solid white in the center. Once you see a black hole in the center of the nail you will know you’re coming close to the quick. Stop clipping before you reach the black center to avoid bleeding. The goal is to simply keep the nails maintained. Let your groomer fine-tune the nail area.

If your Shih Tzu puppy is squirmy and the bully stick isn’t enough, grab the towel and wrap your puppy up like a burrito. Have your human assistant cradle your puppy while you remove one paw at a time from the towel and trim.

Don’t forget to clip the dewclaws both front and back. Declaws are the toenails on the inside of the front and back legs. All dogs are born with front dewclaws. The front dewclaw is equivalent to the human thumb. Not all dogs have back declaws but some do. Some breeders remove dewclaws at birth. I don’t remove front or back dewclaws from any of the puppies raised in my breeding program. I find it unnecessary. Finally, remember to give your puppy plenty of praise and a great treat for an awesome job when finished!

Your Shih Tzu puppy’s ears must stay clean. As a Shih Tzu breeder, I recommend cleaning your dog’s ears once a month unless your veterinarian suggests a different ear-cleaning schedule. Ear infections are avoidable if the ears are kept clean.

Some of the more common ear issues your Shih Tzu may face if the ears aren’t kept clean include the following:

• Bacterial infection
• Yeast Infection
• Excessive wax build-up
• Ear mites

Cleaning your Shih Tzu’s ears for the first time doesn’t need to be intimidating. If you’re properly prepared ahead of time things should go fairly smoothly. Just be patient and go slow!

Gather the supplies listed below before you start the ear-cleaning procedure.

• Cotton balls for wiping out the dirt after applying the ear cleaner.
• Ear cleaning solution (I like Zymox cortisone-free ear cleaner.)
• A towel (for wrapping up your puppy like a burrito if he or she gets too squirmy.)
• Treats and praise for a job well done!
• You may need a human assistant to help out if your puppy is nervous.

Below I will go over instructions for how I use Zymox ear cleaner. If you use a different type of ear cleaner please follow the specific instructions on the bottle. Always consult with your veterinarian as well. Your Veterinarian may want you to use a certain product with specific instructions. Also, if your Shih Tzu puppy’s ears become infected you may need a different ear cleaner that is efficient at removing the specific bacterial or yeast strain. Also, I don’t go over ear hair removal in this post. That is a whole other topic. Talk with your groomer and Veterinarian if you want to find out more about whether or not to remove ear hair.

First, start by lifting your puppy’s ear flap so you can see the ear canal. Pour several drops of the ear cleaner into the ear canal. Massage the base of the ear to distribute the ear cleaner and break down any dirt trapped inside the ear canal. (If your puppy isn’t cooperating you can wrap the puppy up like a burrito in the towel. Have your assistant hold the puppy while you administer the ear drops.)

Next, saturate a cotton ball with a little more ear cleaner. Use the saturated cotton ball to gently clean the outer ear canal. You may need more than one cotton ball if the ears are really dirty. I typically keep gently wiping down the outer canal until the cotton ball isn’t visibly dirty. This may take several cotton balls depending on how dirty your puppy’s ears are.

Finally, I take a dry cotton ball and dry as much of the outer ear canal as possible. Your puppy will probably shake which will help remove any excess solution from the inner ear. Make sure to repeat the process on the other ear when done. Don’t forget to give your Shih Tzu Puppy plenty of praise and a treat when the task is complete.