Shih Tzu Haircuts: Most Popular Styles

A shih tzu haircut is half an eye-care decision in disguise. This is a flat-faced breed with big, exposed eyes and a coat that grows straight down over them, so the style you pick decides how clearly your dog sees, how badly it tear-stains and how often you’re untangling knots. We’ve groomed plenty of them, and the owners who love the result are the ones who chose for their routine, not the show ring. Here are the styles people actually ask for, and who each one suits.

Most pet shih tzus wear a puppy cut or teddy bear cut – short, even and easy – trimmed every 4 to 6 weeks. The long show coat with a top knot looks stunning but needs daily brushing. Whatever the body style, keep the face hair short and the eyes clear, wipe the face daily and brush a few times a week to stop matts.

What a shih tzu coat is really like

Shih tzus have a double coat – a soft, wool-like undercoat under a long, flowing topcoat that grows continuously rather than shedding to a set length. That’s why they’re low-shedding and why they matt so readily: loose hair stays trapped in the coat instead of falling out, and it knots from the root if it isn’t brushed. The same coat behaviour shows up in the Maltese Shih Tzu, which inherits that long, tangle-prone hair from the shih tzu side.

Then there’s the face. Shih tzus are brachycephalic – flat-faced, with large eyes that sit forward and shallow in the socket. Long facial hair drags across those eyes and traps moisture against the skin, which is the main reason they tear-stain. So the haircut isn’t only about looks. It’s the simplest tool you have for keeping the eyes comfortable and the face clean.

How to choose a style

Start with how much brushing you’ll honestly do, because that decides everything. A long coat is a daily job, full stop. A short clip is a couple of brushes a week. Then factor in the climate – a shorter style is kinder through a humid Brisbane summer – and your dog’s patience for the dryer and clippers. If even a short clip feels like too much, that’s a sign to look at genuinely low-maintenance coats before your next dog, not a reason to let a shih tzu coat go.

The most popular shih tzu styles

Puppy cut

The runaway favourite, and the one we recommend most owners start with. The coat is taken to an even 2 to 4cm all over, with the face tidied and the hair kept clear of the eyes. It’s low-fuss, it’s cool in summer and it brushes out in minutes. You can always grow it longer later once you see how your dog tolerates the upkeep.

Teddy bear cut

Close cousin to the puppy cut, but the face is shaped round and full for that soft, plush look. It’s adorable and hugely popular, especially on smaller companion types like the Moodle. The trade-off is the face hair – that fuller muzzle catches food and tears, so it needs a daily wipe and comb to stay clean.

Top knot (long coat)

The traditional look – a long, flowing body coat with the head hair grown out and tied up in a top knot, often with a bow, so it falls back clear of the eyes. It’s the coat described in the breed show standard, and it’s a real commitment, needing daily brushing and a groomer who knows the breed. Lovely if you’ve got the time, heartbreaking if you don’t, because it matts fast.

Lion cut

The body is clipped short while the head, chest and the tip of the tail are left long, so the dog reads like a tiny lion. It’s a fun, striking style that’s still practical for warm weather, since the bulk of the coat is short. The mane needs brushing, but far less than a full long coat.

Summer (kennel) cut

Short all over, face included, with the muzzle kept neat and close. It’s the lowest-maintenance shih tzu cut and a sensible pick for a hot, humid climate or a dog that hates being brushed. Keep a few millimetres on, though – a near-bald clip on a pale belly invites sunburn, and the double coat doesn’t want to be shaved to the skin.

Short face, longer body trim

A useful middle ground for tear-stain-prone dogs: the body is left a bit longer for the look you want, but the face and around the eyes are kept short and clean. It’s less a named style than a request to make, and a good groomer will know exactly what you mean.

Face, eyes and tear stains

This is where shih tzu grooming earns its keep. Keep the hair around the eyes trimmed short so it can’t drag across the cornea, and wipe the face daily with a damp cloth or a dog-safe eye wipe to lift tears before they set into a stain. Trimming is fiddly work close to those prominent eyes, so it’s worth leaving the eye corners to a groomer rather than going at them with scissors at home. If the staining is heavy, smelly or the eye looks sore, that’s a question for your vet about eye care, since blocked tear ducts and infections can be the real cause.

How often, and the brushing in between

Most pet shih tzus need a full groom every 4 to 6 weeks, and a short clip can sometimes stretch to 8. Long coats are a daily brushing job; short clips want a couple of sessions a week with a slicker and comb, more if your dog plays rough or gets wet. The curlier the coat – and you’ll see this in shih tzu crosses like a Cavoodle – the faster it matts, so match the brushing to the coat you’ve got.

What shih tzu grooming costs in Australia (2026)

Treat these as bands. A full groom with a puppy or teddy bear cut usually runs around $70 to $110 in metro salons, with long-coat maintenance and de-matting costing more for the extra time. Mobile groomers tend to sit a little higher, often $90 to $150, because they come to you and work one dog at a time. A badly matted coat is charged on top and sometimes can’t be saved at all, in which case a short clip-off is the kind option. For a groomer who’ll handle the eye area carefully, look for accredited groomers trained through the Pet Industry Association of Australia.

Common mistakes

The ones that come back to bite owners:

Growing a long show coat with no time to brush it daily – it matts to the skin within a couple of weeks and the only fix is a clip-off.

Leaving long hair hanging over the eyes, which scratches the cornea and makes tear staining worse.

Skipping the daily face wipe, so the stains set in and turn that rusty brown that’s hard to shift.

Bathing before brushing. Water tightens existing knots into solid pads.

Shaving to the skin for summer and forgetting the pale belly burns – a few millimetres still protects.

Stretching the gap between grooms too far, so a tidy-up becomes a shave-down.

When to call a groomer or vet

A haircut sorts the coat. The eyes and skin are a different matter:

Matts that have tightened to the skin – book a groomer, and never scissor them out, because the skin folds up inside the knot.

A red, squinting, cloudy or weepy eye, or a sudden change in one eye – a vet, and promptly, since brachycephalic eyes are vulnerable.

Heavy, smelly tear staining that doesn’t improve with daily cleaning – worth a vet check for blocked ducts or infection.

A dog that panics at the clippers or dryer – a patient groomer and slow desensitisation, never a tight restraint.

And if the daily face care sounds like more than you signed up for, our guide to short-haired little dogs is an honest look at the lower-fuss end of small breeds.

FAQ

Pick the style your week can actually keep up with, and keep the face short whatever you choose – a shih tzu that can see clearly and brushes out in two minutes is a happier dog than one carrying a show coat it never asked for.