10 Shih Tzu Haircuts & Grooming Styles in 2025 (With Pictures)
By Ashley Bates
Updated on
Shih Tzus are adorable, long-haired small dogs. Their hair can touch the floor if it isn’t trimmed, and most Shih Tzu owners keep their pets’ hair short for easy maintenance.
As you can imagine, you can choose from several hairstyles. We rounded up the most common to check out and a couple of other ways to accessorize and accentuate your Shih Tzu’s coat.
The 10 Shih Tzu Haircuts
1. Puppy Cut
The puppy cut is one of the most common and simple haircuts. The goal of the puppy cut is to leave the entire coat short, including the beard and ears. The overall length is between 1 and 2 inches, depending on the groomer and preferences. It’s ideal for warmer months and is an easy way to trim your Shih Tzu without getting too fancy.
If you’ve recently purchased your first pair of clippers and are excited to try a new hairdo, the puppy cut is an excellent place to start. You can also ask a groomer to leave the hair a little longer, creating a medium-length look.
2. Summer Cut
When the temperature rises, the summer cut is ideal. The summer cut keeps hair out of your Shih Tzu’s face and is short around the body. Essentially, this haircut is similar to the puppy cut. The puppy cut is one solid length, and the summer cut leaves the hair around the ears long.
3. Teddy Bear Cut
The teddy bear cut was designed to give your dog a stuffed animal-like appearance. It accentuates all of the features on their face, allowing a rounded appearance around the head.
The teddy bear cut is around 1 to 2 inches long all over the body, except for the face. The face is often teased and shaped to create a seamless curvature. This is a trendy cut among Shih Tzus and many other small, long-haired breeds.
It was designed to make your pup look even cuter.
4. Lion Cut
The lion cut is exactly what it sounds like. The hair on the body is short, but the hairstyle leaves a long mane around the neck to mimic the wild lion.
Like the other cuts we’ve discussed, the lion cut requires a 1 to 2-inch cut all over the body, but the hair around the neck and head is long.
5. Show Cut
The show cut is certainly the hardest to maintain. The show cut offers a full-length, well-trimmed appearance where your Shih Tzu‘s natural hair can grow at its leisure.
However, this cut is prone to mats and tangles, so it requires a lot of work after the grooming session. While this might be a fun coat to try out, it is more suitable for show dogs.
You must brush dogs with show cuts daily, removing any knots and keeping the fur fresh and debris-free.
6. Top Knot
The top knot is not a full-body haircut but rather a hairstyle you can do when the hair on your Shih Tzu’s head is long. You can add bows and accessories to make your pup stand out.
7. Chewbacca
The Chewbacca haircut looks better if you have a brown Shih Tzu. It isn’t as short as other Shih Tzu cuts but gives your dog a fluffy appearance, with extra fluffy facial hair.
It’s the perfect haircut for your loyal sidekick, just like Chewbacca was to Han Solo!
8. Medium Length
The medium-length Shih Tzu haircut is exactly what it sounds like. If you want to keep your Shih Tzu warmer during the cooler months but don’t want the high maintenance requirements of the long coat, the medium length is perfect.
This coat will still need routine brushing and grooming, but it’s much easier to care for and less prone to matting and tangles than the floor-length Shih Tzu coat.
9. Fluffy Tail
The fluffy tail keeps the rest of your Shih Tzu’s hair short, including around the face, but leaves the tail long and fluffy. It’s great for summertime and accentuates one of your Shih Tzu’s best features.
10. Bangs
Let’s return to the 90s by giving your Shih Tzu cute bangs. This style keeps the rest of the fur a couple of inches long, leaving the hair on the top of the head and around the eyes longer. However, you can cut the rest of the hair as short as you want to make the bangs stand out.
How Often Does Shih Tzu Need a Haircut?
The length of time between grooming visits is entirely up to you. Some dog owners like to groom their pups at home, while others love to pamper their pups by taking them out for a full-body treatment.
You’ll find that your Shih Tzu’s hair grows pretty quickly with any cut. A good recommendation is to wait 4 to 6 weeks in between cuts. However, you can go longer if you keep up with trims and maintenance.
Many people believe that if their Shih Tzu’s hair is short, they will be a lot cooler in the summertime. Cutting it to a shorter length can make the breeze flow through it easier, but it doesn’t necessarily mean your Shih Tzu will be cooler.
Their coats are designed to help them maintain their body temperature. So, long hair works just as well in most cases. You can tell by touching your Shih Tzu that they have a fine, downy coat.
Cuts are much more of a way to provide convenience during grooming than to help them cool down.
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In Conclusion
Owning a beautifully long-haired barker like the Shih Tzu allows you to experiment with several hairstyles. Not only do breeders offer many of the classics, like the puppy cut and teddy bear cut, but they can also give your Shih Tzu a show-dog cut.
You can also ask your groomer to spruce up a standard cut with bangs, a bow, a braid, or other accessories. Your Shih Tzu will look so adorable you won’t be able to stop taking pictures!
Featured Image Credit: hedgehog94, Shutterstock
