Rochelle came to us at 10 mo old and in a full coat. I love the long look and she doesn't mind having it. She sleeps during our nightly brushing session. Miccah was way too hot in a full coat so we cut her when the weather turned warm last spring.

I'd like to keep Rochelle's coat fairly long, but having a large yard with lots of brush and weeds to contend with is going to be very difficult. I'd like to trim up her legs, belly, chest and keep the back long or at least down to just below the belly.

I was wondering if any groomers can give me any tips (or links to pictures) on a good style that might look good.

I keep Payslee's hair long, but I don't let it go to the ground. My Groomer shaves Pays's Belly, and then I have her leave it long, but trim it before it gets all the way to ground level..I don't mind Keeping Pays's hair long, because its thin and easy to maintain, but Sawyer's is thick and massive, and there is NO WAY I could keep him in a full coat, so he gets a puppy cut.. Here's a pic of What Payslee's looks like..You can see it still long, but not long enough for her to be a dust mop..lol. Hope that helps!

I've had all of mine in a long coat at some point and it is soo much work I just don't have the time for the upkeep the Most important thing is to make sure no matts develop anywhere if left unattended they can go right down to the skin and aside from being very painful they can cause infection.

The best tool besides conditioner and regular baths is a metal comb. In order to comb properly you need to actually seperate the hair and comb in sections right down to the skin I used to comb faithfully everyday and sometimes twice a day and I didn't like putting clothes on them while in a long coat because it matts the hair.

I use a #10 on the belly and butt areas and you can scissor the legs. I and some other members have put our kids in a "cocker cut" befofe and it's very Adorable!

I had mine in long coat but it is a lot of work, I do a puppy clip with the legs longer as well as the head longer. It is easy maintenance especially since my babies often wear clothes and also more comfy for them during our walks at the beach.
here they are clipped




here you can see Tiffany better, this is shorter since it was during the summer



here they were in full coat

Jenny, such CUTE photos and I love the puppy clips on all your babies. I think you get the best of both worlds! They all look soo darling!!

I love all the pictures!! Long or short Shih Tzu are the cutest!!

I had a customer ask for what you are asking for about two weeks ago. I didn't do it because in all honesty it would look incredibly silly and I didn't want my name attached to a trim where everything except the top part of the the body coat was cut short. She hauled off in a huff and 3 days later brought the dog back sobbing (because the dog looked awful and was STILL getting stuff stuck in her coat).

With a coated breed (such as a Tzu, Yorkie, Pom, Poodle, etc.) you have to make a choice. Unless you have unlimited time and patience (or can afford to have someone else do the coat care daily) you can either have the full coat OR let the dog be a dog. With the Tzu, I have taken the middle-of-the-road position: I love a full coat but do NOT have unlimited time to groom them several times daily, and I WANT my dogs to be dogs (as in, "a dirty dog is a happy dog"). My compromise is a Cocker Clip, which still gives the appearance of a full coat with 1/4 the fuss. They are still line-brushed/finish-combed most every day and bathed every 7-10 days. Gus' out-growing topknot is also taken down and put back up daily. Since I'm an old hand at all this, it probably goes faster for me than for someone just starting out.

Frankly, most of my customers with Shih Tzu keep them in short trims and bring them in every 6 weeks or so. They don't want to be bothered with a lot of upkeep (even for house dogs in the city, brushing a long coat is a daily thing) and are happy to have their little darlings fluffy, clean and comfy for the duration.

This is the cut I currently have Wicket in and I really like it. I asked the groomer for a cocker clip like Pam mentionned, but she asked if she could do a schnauzer clip insetead, the main diff between the two is the top of the legs are rounded, but it's the same type of cut and I find both look great. Here's Wicket, I think I'm gonna grow out his underbelly just a little more though

I am loving this thread!
All the 'Italian' pups always look wonderful (no matter the style of trim) and I still absolutely adore Andy's powder-puff topknot - it makes me giggle every time I see it.

My Kizzie Moo Moo is a bit of a problem. Her hair tends towards wavy and parts of it, particularly the top of her head/ears are positively curly in damp weather. Plus she has the shorter legs of the "English type".

So it have tried the 'short(ish) all over' look:


The scruffy 'nobody ever grooms me' look:


and the 'short body' look (as now):


But (I think) they are all an improvement on the 'trimmed with a knife and fork' look she had when I rehomed her:


I adore Wicket's latest look - maybe I'll let the hair on her sides grow longer and try it next time if you don't mind (sincerest form of flattery after all ).
If it all goes belly-up I'll have nobody to blame but myself, though.

Thanks Lorraine, your baby looks so cute in every clip!

Thanks Suzi, that is so true it is really the best of both worlds:)