Any tips on grooming a shih tzu kept in a long coat?

shihtzugirl75

I have an 8 month old shih tzu, who I am trying to keep in a full, long coat.  She has a very thick double coat and is matting like crazy!  Does anyone have any hints for grooming? I am brushing almost daily ( I do her top knot and face every day), and bathing twice a month.  I am using Pearl lyte shampoo and silk coat conditioner.  I ordered something called THE STUFF for spraying on tangles.  I really want to keep her in a long coat, but she gets so matted!

I'm not sure with Shihs, but my Standard Poodle went through a coat change at that age.  That may be contributing to her matting.  Are you following up the brushing with a coarse/fine tooth comb?  Are you brushing/combing after the bath?  Moisture helps break-up mats, but it can also cause them appear.

 EDIT:  The user "Sallya" keeps her little pet shih-tzu in full coat.  She does most of the grooming herself, you might PM her for some tips.

I do try and comb her after brushing, however, it probably  does not get done as often as it should-she gets fed up with the whole process pretty quickly.  After her bath, I use a forced air dryer on her and brush her the whole time.  This weekend, I groomed her with the help of a friend for 3 hours!  I am suspecting that her coat may be changing and thats why she is getting so matted.  She does play with a doggy friend and I'm sure that adds to it too.  My previous shih tzu had only a single coat, and was much easier to groom!

It definitely sounds like she's coming into her adult coat. I think, if you stick with it, it'll get better in a couple of months.

The Stuff is super slippery. Be careful, when you use it. Your table and floor will be dangerously slippery, if you miss, at all. I've busted by behind more than once, from that product. Once, LOL, I dropped a bottle of concentrated The Stuff on the grooming salon floor. That was fun to clean.... I stripped the finish off of the floor, and it was STILL slippery! 

I just use a good shampoo and condtioner (Solid Gold), no after bath spray. They are not helpful to me.

I brush and then comb each day. I check for mats every couple of days. I wash Trudy's feet after each walk outside.

Weekly baths have been the very best way to keep her clean, mat free and it helps allergies to keep the coat clean.