The Tibetan Terrier is a medium-sized breed of dog. However, they are among the most miniature medium-sized dogs. As their name suggests, Tibetan Terriers originated from Tibet, a region in East Asia encompassing the Tibetan plateau and surrounding mountains.
Despite its name, it’s not a member of the Terrier group. The name came from its close resemblance to known terrier breeds. Some of the breed’s hallmarks include a beautiful profuse double coat and flat snowshoe feet.
Their undercoat is wooly underneath and has a peculiar fluffy feel. In contrast, the upper coat is typically softer.
Tibetan Terriers are attention-loving, affectionate, well-mannered, athletic, and make excellent companions. They love being with people and quickly adapt to a variety of homes and lifestyles.
However, these beautiful dogs and their fluffy shaggy coats require efficient grooming. Efficient grooming does not necessarily mean complicated. The Tibetan Terrier has a reputation of being stressful to groom, discouraging many dog lovers from getting these dog wonders.
Here are some tips on how to groom a Tibetan Terrier.
Grooming Basics
Grooming is an essential part of dog keeping. Every dog owner should make out time to groom their dog. Ensure you cultivate a good grooming habit when they are still puppies. This makes grooming easier as they age. Adopt a fun approach to grooming, and try to make it as pleasurable as possible.
To efficiently groom a Tibetan Terrier, you need a basic understanding of their body, its texture, and the general do’s and don’ts.
As earlier mentioned, the Tibetan Terrier has a double coat. Some have a curlier, coarse texture, while others have a straighter look.
Hair naturally falls opposite their dorsal midline or spine, forming a visible part. This clue is vital when grooming. Ensure you follow this part when brushing, combing, or during any grooming. You can spray a conditioner along this part. This helps to set each side apart and ensure hairs fall naturally in place after grooming.
When grooming your hairy friends, some of the tools you’ll need are a greyhound comb, a soft slicker brush, a link brush, high-quality shampoo and conditioner, toenail clippers, moisturizer, or a grooming spray, a spray bottle of diluted conditioner, and a hairdryer.
The Tibetan Terriers coat needs regular brushing to prevent matting. It’s recommended you give a full brush two to three times a week, as matting attracts body odor, making affected dogs look untidy and unappealing. A long hair coat would require more frequent brushing. A full-length haircut would require daily brushing.
Never brush a dry coat. Always moisten with a hydrating spray. Generally, Tibetan Terriers are a low shedding breed, with shedding reducing even more when you brush regularly.
Always schedule regular baths for your pet. At least twice a month and up to four types if your dog is more exposed to dirt. When bathing, use a dog formulated shampoo, conditioner, and other dog-approved cleansing products. Ensure you rinse thoroughly and dry.
When it comes to Tibetan Terriers, drying is usually a big deal. Their longhaired bodies can take a long time to try. Partial drying can leave your pet feeling cold and uncomfortable. Hence, it would help if you tried to dry appropriately. You can consider blow-drying with a dog-friendly dryer.
The nails are not exempted. You should make sure to give your dog regular nail trims. An easy check mechanism is to trim once you can hear their nails on the floor.
Haircuts are equally essential. The hairs of the Tibetan Terrier grow very fast, hence requiring regular trims.
In respect to dental care, ensure you brush your dog’s teeth a minimum of three times weekly to remove plaque and prevent tartar formation. However, ideally brushing should be done at least once daily.
For the ears, once a month is usually suitable. Always use appropriate and approved ear cleaning agents. Generally, always ensure all grooming activities are fun-filled. Your hairy friend shouldn’t see grooming as an unpleasant activity.
Where to Groom
There’s no preferred place to groom your Tibetan Terrier. Just try to select a comfortable, flat, and dry surface to avoid injuries and slipping. You can use a non-slip material such as a bath mat or a mini-care rug.
Brushing
Always ensure you use a moisturizer such as a grooming spray or a conditioner and water solution before brushing.
Start with the feet and legs. You would require a slick brush. Push the coat upwards and brush from the feet to its legs. Use quick, straight, and short strokes.
Avoid brushing large sections at once. Moisturize any mats and separate bit by bit, after which you can continue brushing.
To efficiently brush the underside and stomach area, you would need to train your bearded pal to lie on his side. After which, you should try to part small hair sections and brush with a pin brush. Next, brush gently towards the skin, upwards, and then downwards. Finish with a greyhound comb to even up.
After combing the first half of the underside, praise your dog, offer him a treat, and then repeat the same process with the other side.
The back is pretty straightforward. Apply a reasonable quantity of moisturizer and brush towards the opposite side of the central midline or spine. Stand your dog and brush its face and beard with a greyhound comb when you’re done. Try to be delicate when combing the face. Comb little sections of hair gently.
Many Tibetan pet owners wonder how to groom a Tibetan terrier head. It isn’t as difficult as it seems. The median path runs along the midsection of the head. Apply a little conditioner and brush hair away from the median path. Brush the hairs in a straight downward motion.
The Tibetan Terrier has an eye-fall. Also, consider the eye-fall when grooming the head. Always pull the eye-fall back using barrettes. You can even braid it if you have the time. This helps prevent hairs from sticking into the eyes.
Search for any matted areas. Moisturize and recomb. Areas prone to matting include hair on the chest, at the elbows, under the ears, under the chin, under the belly, and at the tail. Brushing your dog’s hair coat is the best way to prevent matting.
In situations where there’s hair tangling, you can use a de-shedding tool to remove any loose or dead hair.
Bathing
A Tibetan Terrier requires frequent baths to keep it clean and healthy. Bathing can be as regular as once every week and down just once a month, depending on the dog’s activity level and exposure. Show dogs are known to bathe less often, with the focus being placed instead on other grooming activities.
Bathing a Tibetan Terrier requires a bit of finesse to avoid tangling and aid straightening. Ensure you use high-quality shampoo. Generally, always try to use quality products and accessories on your Tibetan Terrier. Consider visiting Bitch New York for some of the best quality products in the market.
Firstly, wet the coat and apply a high-quality shampoo. Apply the shampoo by squeezing through the skin and following up with downward strokes.
To improve efficiency, you can use a rubber curry with cylinder teeth. This would help the shampoo reach the lower hair grains.
This same technique is used during hair conditioning. After washing all parts of the hair coat, ensure you rinse through, preferably with slightly cooler water. This would aid in rinsing out any product remnants. Once the bath is over, dry thoroughly with a towel.
Try to squeeze excess water from the ears, tail, and legs. Make sure you dry one area thoroughly before moving to another. If the dog has a long hair coat, lay it on its side and dry properly. You can use an approved dog dryer to hasten to dry.
Hair-cuts and Coat Styling
Haircuts are a necessity when dealing with Tibetan Terriers. There are a variety of haircuts. However, we would discuss two popular Tibetan Terrier hair-cuts.
Casual Cut
The casual cut in terms of length falls in between the puppy cut and the show cut. Most Tibetan Terrier owners see it as the best haircut. It’s much easier to maintain and still retain some of the exotic looks of the show cut.
The standard size of the casual cut is 4-5 inches. Usually, it retains the same length all over. Although it still requires regular brushing and maintenance, it’s not as complicated as the show-cut. Best of all, your canine friend still gets to display its unique hair.
Show Cut
The show cut is arguably the most remarkable Tibetan Terrier haircut. Tibetan is a top-rated performer at dog shows, primarily because of their beautiful flowing flocks.
The Tibetan Terriers are prolific hair growers and can grow hair to the ground. This hairstyle is known as the Tibetan Terriers show-cut.
This lovely hairstyle requires lots of maintenance and is characterized by a coat that hangs off the body down to the floor. These long hair locks are often called a Tibetan Terrier’s “show cut.”
Maintenance would involve lots of brushing, usually around three times a day. You would equally have to trim hairs to make them even along all sides.
Although haircuts and maintenance routines are similar in Tibetan Terriers, slight alterations might exist in different age groups. There are three care classifications, covering puppies, adolescents, and adults.
Grooming Puppies
One popular question among Tibetan Terrier owners is how to groom a Tibetan Terrier pup. A Tibetan Terrier pup is relatively easy to manage. Their coats do not require frequent grooming. However, you should still frequently groom them irrespective.
This makes them get accustomed to the grooming routines, making it easier to handle them when they become adults. Start with short grooming sessions, and try to make it as fun-filled and stress-free as possible.
Grooming a puppy’s hair coat is relatively easy. Nevertheless, it’s still recommended that you groom your puppy regularly. This will get your puppy used to the process so that it becomes a routine when the puppy is older.
When bathing puppies, ensure the bathwater is not too cold or hot. Use a pin brush and brush the hairs as earlier described after touching even up the hairs with a comb. Dry properly, and try exposing your pet to a blow dryer as early as you can.
Try cutting the toenails as early as possible, and use treats as rewards and distractions.
Grooming the Adolescent Tibetan Terrier
Grooming an adolescent Tibetan Terrier involves the same routine. However, you would have to groom more frequently to accommodate the increased hair-coats length. Generally, adolescent Tibetan Terriers should be bathed at least once every ten days.
Grooming the Adult Tibetan Terrier
Grooming an adult Tibetan Terrier follows the same routines and processes. On average, an adult should be bathed at least 3-4 times a month. However, adult dogs with show cuts are bathed less frequently to avoid hair breakage.
Should a Tibetan Terrier’s Hair Be Clipped?
The answer is yes. If maintaining a long coat is stressful, you can clip your dog’s hair short. However, you will still need to groom once a twice a week to prevent matting.
Conclusion
How to groom a Tibetan Terrier is one of the most discussed topics among owners. This may be due to their complex-looking hair. However, understanding how and when to go about it makes the grooming process more enjoyable.
Tibetan Terriers are lovely dogs. They are generally well-behaved, friendly, loyal, and make good companions. Aside from their excellent traits, Tibetan Terriers are beautiful dogs. Their hair coat, when cared for and well-groomed, gives a unique exotic appearance.
Tibetan Terriers will no doubt continue to thrill dog lovers and animal enthusiasts. Our four-legged friends are here to stay.