A beautiful double coat is a Shih Tzu’s pride and glory. It’s one of the things that set them apart from other breeds, and also one of the determining factors during dog shows. The challenge is basically how to maintain it.

Shantee is blessed to be born from Best in Show parents

But the thing is, no matter how beautiful her coat, it’s still prone to getting all frizzy (I’ve already seen Shih Tzus that look more like poodles than their actual breed because their coat weren’t well-maintained). It’s a real challenge keeping it as it is. But a Shih Tzu’s double coat is quite similar to a human being that it might not be as hard as you think… It just requires patience.

Like humans, a Shih Tzu’s coat can be maintained sleek and shiny with regular brushing and the use of a shampoo and conditioner combination. We haven’t tried any other brand yet (this is the first shampoo we bought for young little Shantee), but so far, Shantee’s coat seems to be reacting well to Alpo’s 2-in-1 Shampoo and Conditioner for dogs with Long Hair.

We usually give her a mild medicated flea bath every other bathing session (we have a lot of dogs here, and that makes tick control a bit difficult), then follow it up with the shampoo and conditioner combo. Hair-drying Shantee used to be such a pain, but lately, she used to it and even seems to like getting blow-dried

Aside from blow-drying and the use of shampoo and conditioner, Shantee also gets frequent brushing from Marc and me every day. Just like for us humans, regular brushing really can keep the hair straight and beautiful

Marc bought Shantee’s Alpo 2-in-1 Shampoo and Conditioner (Long Hair) from a grocery store. I forget where exactly. But we regularly do our shopping at Shopwise Libis, so I guess that’s where he probably bought it. I totally forgot how much it was—more or less Php200 I guess.