A cute dog breed, that is the Shih Tzu, even with its long hair, it is still a very cute dog that loves its family. Their fur is very smooth to the touch, and they look like they have hair instead of fur.
However, like humans, that ‘hair’ will fall out from time to time. When it does, it can leave your room or home with a nice little mess to clean up. But how much do Shih Tzus shed? Keep reading to find out.
Do Beagles Shed A Lot? Click here to find out.
Shih Tzus May Not Shed
Besides love, friendship, and loyalty, Shih Tzu has another positive characteristic. They do not shed very much. While they have long hair, it does not shed like other dog breeds.
Yes, they will fall out from time to time, but they are not daily shedders. They are classified as low shedders who go through a cycle before they start losing any hair. Most of their fur does not reach the shedding stage.
It is about 10 to 15% of their fur ever reaches that phase at one time. That is unless they have an illness that causes more hair to fall out. You won’t see a lot of fur on your floors at one time.
You May Not Know They Are Shedding
One secret the Shih Tzu has is that sometimes you won’t even know if they have loose hair or not. Most of those loose hairs fall back into the coat and remain there.
If you trim your dog’s fur, then you may see more short hairs falling from their body. The only reason that is so is that there are no longer hairs for those short hairs to get caught in.
Cutting your dog’s hair shorter will not cut the supply of loose or shedding hair. You just might see it easier. Even if your dog has long hair, you should brush them regularly.
Those long hairs can block airflow to your dog’s skin when they are not removed by a brush. Plus, those loose or dead hairs may contribute to your dog’s overall smell.
Do Corgis Shed a Lot? Click here to learn more.
When Is the Shih Tzu Shedding Season?
This dog breed sheds twice a year. They will follow other dog breeds and shed in the Fall and then again in the Spring. But you may not see those falling hairs as usually the longer ones do not reach the ground, the carpets, or the furniture.
The short hairs are the ones that fall off during those two times of the year and those should be the ones you will see. These short hairs are also thinner making it even more difficult to see them.
Some Final Words
Shih Tzus may shed twice a year, but they seem to be polite about it. The long hairs remain on their bodies while the short hairs may be too thin to see right away.
This dog breed does shed twice a year though, they are just neater about doing it. They do not make as big a mess of your home as other dog breeds can and do.
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