NEW Way to GROOM your SHIH TZU STEP by STEP INSTRUCTIONS

We're going to start with Roscoe. He's a Shih Tzu. And if you haven't seen him, he's in one of my most famous videos on the channel, Roscoe's First Shih Tzu Puppy Groom. And he is now a big boy. So we're going to start with a 10 blade. I put that on my clipper. This is a detachable blade clipper. I'm going to use a guard comb. I like to use... We're going to try this zero, which leaves about a 5 eighth inch clip on Roscoe. So let's see what it looks like. I use a clipper vac system, so you get that guy revved up. It has adjustable airflow, so with his coat... Good job, bud. I think we're going to try this. It is springtime, but Roscoe is not ready for a summer trim yet. So I am going to still leave a nice little length of coat on Roscoe. Oh, are you getting tired, big guy? We're going to leave some coat on him until maybe the next groom will go a little bit shorter, because he does like to go camping. He's a busy guy. Right, buddy? I know. It's not your favorite. I am clipping in reverse with Roscoe because he has a little bit of a drop coat. He's a Shih Tzu. And with clipping in reverse, I get a little bit more even length of coat. All right, and our snap-on combs are just setting the length. I'll have to do scissor finish work. But it is setting the length for me, which really cuts a lot of time out of our grooming. And when we're pet grooming, we are trying to save time, especially for the pet as well. Get them done nicely and quickly and safely. Good job, Rossie. Roscoe is a really good guy to work with, but the key to successful grooming is to have these grooming sessions with the dogs. And they get used to it, because you actually bond with them when you're grooming. And with that said, you're teaching them to trust the grooming process. Right, Roscoe? So I'm just going to turn Roscoe around. And we're going to start over here. And I'm just trying to take as much as I can with my zero-wall stainless steel snap-on comb to set my length. I'll be using thinning shears and blending shears and straight shears here in a minute to finish up his haircut. So definitely stay put for that. Some real secrets coming your way. Good job, honey. Yes, if you want to sit, you can sit wherever you can. About his belly button. This is sanitary trimming, which keeps him clean when he's on your lap, in your bed, and in your car. So now I'm going to just pick up this side leg a little bit and tidy up in there somewhat. And yes, the Kookabag system is so handy, because I barely even have to touch Roscoe. It pulls the hair right in. And when we trim around their anus, we want to go away from the anus in all four directions. Good job, buddy. Let's turn, turn, turn. So now we're just going to hike up this little leg. Stand up, Ross. Good boy. Come on, buddy. There you go. That's a good boy. I know you're a big boy. Now we've cleaned up that really nice. Now what I'm going to do, the last thing I'm going to do with my 10 blade. Roscoe, come here. I'm going to flip this ear back, and I'm just going to trim right on his earlobe. I like to vent these ears. You want to be careful. Dogs have this little flap right here. You don't want to get anywhere near that. You could seriously cut it. So protect that with your thumb. Come on over here, Ross. Oh, you're not cooperating today. So protect that little flap with your thumb so you're sure not to get it. It could be pretty bad. And we're all done with the 10 blade, and we're all done with our clipper back system. Now we're going to move on to our 4-in-1 clipper, which I like to use the Kenchi Flash. And we're going to do pads of feet. We're going to do corners of the eyes, and then it's all scissor work. So for the corners of the eyes, let's just gently comb this up. It's okay, buddy. I'm going to set it to a 10, which is right there. The Kenchi Flash has different speeds. I like to go about a number 3. Pretty quiet around the face, and they like that. I'm just scooping weight in a V shape in the corner of his eye. The rest I'm going to scissor. Good. Just in a little V shape. Some dogs are really picky about being trimmed around their face. So you have to work with them and take what you can get sometimes. Hold it, bud. Stop. Good. That's my big boy. All right, so now we're going to switch on over to a 30 on the Flash, which is all the way up. And we're going to trim the paw pads for Roscoe's feet. I like to trim as much as I can with this clipper because it's all the less scissor work I'm going to have to do. It's kind of a little cheat. So just making everything flush so that when he puts his foot down, he's not standing on any hair. That's kind of our goal. He was gently trimming a V shape in this large pad. Just like that. I'm going to start with three shears. I'm going to use my Shinobi, which is a Kenchi. This is an 8-inch. I'm going to use my Jonathan David Lightning Shear, which is a blender. This is one of my favorite shears, actually. And my Jodi Murphy Outliner Shear. Yeah, this is called the Outliner. First thing I'm going to do. All right, Roscoe, come over here. Let's tighten up this lead just a little bit so that he doesn't have a lot of room to play and put his head down when I'm trimming his feet. So taking a look here. Combing everything up. We're going to go straight across between his eyes and set that. Good job. All right, and now I'm going to take that Jodi Murphy shear. Okay. And I'm just going to, in a V shape. See, in a V shape, I'm tidying up everything that maybe the clipper left behind. Just to really tidy that up. Because this area tends to grow out pretty fast on our pets. Okay, so that looks pretty nice. Next thing I'm going to do is pull everything forward, and I'm going to try to change the expression on Roscoe. Put my thumb on top of his nose so he holds still. I want to shape this up so that it looks like he's smiling instead of frowning. When his hair comes and hangs down, it can actually mimic a frown. So you can turn that frown upside down with scissor work, believe it or not. Okay. And use your comb constantly to pull that hair. Pinch his nose shut so he can't open his mouth. And there we go. Okay. Good job, mister. Just continue to shape that Roscoe. Stop. Continue to shape that. Good job, bud. All right. So now we're starting with that round shape that we're after. Bless you. And just tidy up that. Okay, so combing everything forward from the corner of his eye to the corner of the eye. I want to see a straight visor. Roscoe is a little bit uncooperative with this face trimming. It's okay, bud. And I'm just using my Jodie Murphy Outliner Sheer to just bulk some of this off. Good job. Another thing I want to do is I would like to trim gently this hair that's laying over his nose so we don't see that. I would be very careful with that. So now we're creating the round head. We're going to continue this shape up to the base of the ear. So anything sticking out over the shape that I'm thinking I want, I'm going to scissor off. So we're always looking at the shape we're after. And using your comb is very important because the hair will pop out and then you'll see what you need to scissor off. All right. And we're just setting the outline with a straight sheer. I'm going to come over the whole thing with a blending sheer in a minute. Same thing here on this side. You see, this side is always my bad side, opposite side of my dominant. I'm right-handed. So this side is never quite as good as the other side, in my opinion, when I'm trimming. When you look at the dog sideways, we want to see a U-shape from the base of the ear coming around to the nose. So anything that's obstructing that shape, scissor off. Good job, buddy. All right. So now we're pretty set. Now it's time to do the fun stuff. I'm also going to pinch his nose shut and his mouth so I can just tidy that up. One more thing. Comb everything down underneath the jaw. You'll be able to see what you need to tidy up there. There you go. So I'm going to pull this lip back. Dogs always have a lot of hair in their flue right here. So I'm going to take some of that out and even it up as well. Because when they pant, if you don't even it up, you'll see it, and it won't look even. It'll look kind of messy. Okay, now we're ready to tidy up. We're going to start with scissor-over-comb work, tying together our body work with the length we set on the top skull. So I'm lifting and moving forward slowly with my comb and using a scissor-over-comb technique to blend that scissor work straight into the top skull. The body blading to the top skull. And by using blenders, this is the Jonathan David Lightning Blender. It doesn't have to be perfect, but boy, you can really get a nice look. So I just blended that. Now I'm going to blend the cheeks, so I'm going to hold the ear up out of the way gently. Comb everything up. This is a good time to use scissor spray if you need to. His hair is standing up really nice for me, and I'm actually scissoring and shaping with my blending shear. I'm not blending, I'm actually scissoring, shaping it. Just like I would if I was using a straight shear, but it looks so natural when you use a blender. Good job, buddy. Okay. Holding that up. Coming up under the chin. It's okay. Good. This way, Roscoe. No, look this way. Roscoe, stop. You've got to behave. That's a good boy. You've got to hold still, buddy. Good job. I know. You're doing great. Okay. Let's see how we're looking. We've got a nice little round head. It's looking pretty good. Good job, buddy. It's looking pretty good. Chin up, Roscoe. Now we can see some tidy up work that needs done under his chin. Good boy, Roscoe. Yes, I know. You're so nosy. You'll have to see everything. You're a supervisor, aren't you? Okay. So his head's looking pretty good. There's one more thing we're going to do is tidy up above the ear. Just fix this little cheek area over here, and we're moving on. Good, Rossie. Your blenders can just tie everything together. There's always a little notch right here where their breastbone makes the hair stick out. You can just scissor it off as if it wasn't there. Good, Roscoe. Kind of thin in here. It's looking a little bulky and uneven. And pulling that back allows you to get that even in there, which will show if you don't. When they pant, it'll show. Good job, bud. Okay. Now we're going to... All we have to do is tidy up over his ears by combing everything up. And just using your blender and scissoring it off. And you'll see that I'm putting my ring finger and pushing up so the hair will pop up. Underneath, I'm pushing up. And anything that's going to pop up is what I'm going to scissor off. So now you can see the difference between this ear and this ear. This needs to go. That's a good boy. See? You just put your finger underneath and let that hair pop up. And it lets you gently blend it off. Pull the ear forward so you can tidy up behind the ear. Same here. And... Roscoe, your head is done. No, it's not, because I don't like that side. I have so much trouble with this side. See that? All right, Roscoe, we'll fix it. We're trying. Yeah, that's a good boy. It's a little uneven there. That's better. That looks better. Not perfect, but better. All right, so now we're going to move on. Get all the hair out of our way. A drink of water for the groomer. We've got to do his legs, feet, and his behind. So I'm going to start right now back here. This is very uneven. So I'm using a straight shear. I combed everything up so I can just scissor it more flush with the length that we set from the snap-on comb. You can always use thinning shears here, too. Just be careful. If you're a beginner, you may not want to use your blending shears here. You have to be pretty precise. So you can do it all with a straight shear. I'm going to go in with that Jodi Murphy blender and just make it look a little nicer because they have a calic here where the hair grows in two different directions and then it comes around together right here on their rump bone, and it creates a calic. So with our blending shears, we can just kind of blend it off. His mom did ask me to tidy up his tail and shorten it up a little, so I'm going to comb, brush out the tail. I'm going to find where the tailbone is, which is right here, and I'm going to come way down and just snip that off. Just shorten up the tail a little bit to keep him cleaner. So when we take a look at it, I'll comb everything up. Always comb up. You'll see where our snap-on comb work left a little to be desired. So I'm using a chunker shear with the lay of the coat, and I'm just erasing off a lot of those clipper lines. And this chunker shear takes a lot of hair, so that's nice. It's also somewhat forgiving as compared to a straight shear. It would easily leave some scissor marks, unless you're perfect at scissoring, which I'm not. That's why I use blending shears. Okay. And then I'm just using these chunkers to set the shape of his leg, and that's where he had his blood work done, so we're still filling that in. Now, combing everything up, again, you can see what needs to be fixed. Good boy, Roscoe. You're a good boy. And hold his little pee-pee so you're sure not to get anywhere near it. Just tidy up the underline on your dog so that side looks pretty cleaned up. Now we're going to set this foot, comb everything down. He always wants to sit. It would be better if he stood. Come around that back pad like this. You never go at it this way. You could cut it. So we come around the back pad. That's the safest thing to do. Right at the tippy toes. And we used our Kenchi Flash to cheat a little bit and set some of that roundness of the foot. Stand him up. Hold the foot up. Comb everything up. It allows you to now dome the top of the foot and see what you need to trim off. It's very important to use your comb over and over and over again to pull that hair up because every time you do, more hair is going to pop up, just like that. And you'll find out what you need to trim off. So combing everything up, now we're just going to try to fix the shape of his leg so it all blends together. This is the Shinobi 8-inch Straight Shear. Good boy. Give it another comb up. Come on, bud. You're being very lazy. Yes, you are. It is a rainy day, so I guess he's just not feeling it. Good boy. Coming around here, taking a look on the inside of the leg. Looks pretty good. Now what I like to do is take my chuck from all different angles. You'll see things from a different perspective. So moving around your dog is really important. I just cannot get that face even, can I, huh? What the heck? What's going on, bud? I know you didn't just grow a whisker. I must have forgot it. Okay, finishing up this leg and foot, and Roscoe is going to be ready to go. So you can see that that looks pretty bad. See that? So one thing I'm going to do is hold this foot out. Stop. And come straight up this side. That's why I personally like 8-inch shears because look at all the ground it's covering. A lot of people aren't comfortable with 8-inch shears. Stop. I think if you try to learn on an 8-inch shear, you'll get really used to it. Because often I'm just using the tips of my shear. Stop. I'm just using the tips of my shear. So knowing when to do that is safer for the dog so that you don't accidentally nip something you shouldn't be. Look, you've got to stop. Stop. This is your last leg. I don't care. You're being bossy. Stop. And again, he's putting his head down, so I need his head out of the way. I don't want him putting his tongue and his nose in the middle of the blades of my shear. And he was thinking about it because you're crazy like that, aren't you? You're crazy like that? So now this is coming together back here a little better. Use those scissors. See what happens here? This stuff pops out under the armpit. All that's because we keep pulling the hair up with our scissor and stuff just starts appearing. Good job, buddy. Good boy. I know, it's okay. Good job, buddy. Gus, you want to get out? Knock it off. Stay here, buddy. This leg is still just not quite right. Stay, bud. Gus, don't do it. There you go. Coming down this leg. What are you looking at, Roscoe? You are so nosy, aren't you? You are so nosy. I know, but you're a good boy. That's okay. I'm nosy, too. I really am. Just a minute, Roscoe. Stop. See, he can smell his owner. That's how smart they are. Everything changes. Right, buddy? Say, we can't be fooled. We can't be fooled. Good job, buddy. I think that might be Louie. You know Louie, don't you? That's why Louie is here. He's your cousin. Is he your cousin? Gus, stop it. That's a good boy. There we go. That's a good boy. Okay, buddy? What do you think? Now I can see some stuff up here. I'm going to fix that. I'm going to take him off his leash. I'm going to keep a hold of him. Stop. And I'm going to comb everything up. Stay, buddy. Stop. And we're going to just scissor that into the neck like it wasn't even there. All right, buddy. Good job. See that little hair sticking out right there? It's just bugging me. All right. Okay, go over your dog one more time with the comb. Make sure you get all the little clippings out. There you go, buddy. There you go. Stop. Okay, good job. That's right, you shake it off. That's a good boy. Okay, we're going to do a little spritz of cologne on top of his ears. You ready to go, Rascal?