SchnauzerGirl-schnauzer advice

Schnauzergirl- I was wondering what grooming you do with Shultz to keep him looking so beautiful? How often do you brush him, what brush do you use, and how often does he get his cut?

Ebony hasn't had her schnauzer cut yet, as we got her in the fall, and don't want her to get cold, so we will do her in spring. The thing is, her fur is getting matted under her front knees. I try to brush Ebony every 3rd day, but she is not the easiest dog to brush! She painfully mouths my hand and the brush all the time, and it is impossible to get her to sit still.
I give her a rinse every 2 weeks, and a shampoo bath once a month. She tends to look like a scruff-ball! :D
Thanks

She is growing in her adult coat and when this happens the coat will mat very quickly because the adult coat entwines around the puppy coat. Brushing every 3rd day is not enough. Also do you blow her dry after a bath or just let her air dry. If you don't blow dry this will also add to the matting. You should have a soft slicker, a comb with pins close together and a flea comb for doing those tight friction areas. What kind of brushes are you using? If you are also using a pin brush this will add to the matting because you miss half the coat when brushing.

StacyB, thanks for the reply. I am using a double sided brush, one side is like a slicker, the other side is....gees how do you describe a brush?! I'll take a pic!

Any tips on geting her to sit still when I brush her? She is all over the place, nipping and mouthing, in a playfull manner though. Very difficult to get to all the areas, but I don't give up until I get there.

Here is my scruff-ball! lol
I am toying with the idea of sending her to a groomer now? Is this not a good idea being winter? Should I still wait for spring?

My Charley hated being brushed and wasn't allowed up on the couch so we came to a compromise... He gets to come up on the couch when its brushing time (almost every night).
It took about 2 months of daily brushing before he completely stopped mouthing and fighting it.(though he still will mouth if you hit a knot, not hard though).
I also keep the fur in certain areas shorter to avoid knots (behind elbows, under his belly, around his rear) as I prefer to prevent problems rather than fix them.
How come you bath the pup so often? Charley hasn't had a bath since September and you'd never know from looking or smelling him but his coat is nice and shiny.
I have the types of tools Stacey is talking about, let me know if you want pictures and I'll see about posting some.

For starters do a handling exercise with her daily. I also suggest to people who have dogs that they are going to be professionally groomed, go to the groomers each month for their first year and have something done. It doesn't have to be a groom, visit the groomer, have the nails done, get a 15 minute brush, trim the face, go for a bath and when necessary get the full groom.

The brush you have posted a picture of is a pin brush.

Could you send a pic of the brush I'm supposed to be using?

I am hoping if I start to brush her every day that she will calm down and sit still eventually. The matting is not serious yet. It is only starting in two places, 2 little clumps behind her legs. Her fur is getting quite long.

She's such a cutie and would be even prettier with a schnauzer cut but before you subject either her or the groomer start by doing some combing out yourself. Put her on a tight leash and on a table hooked to something higher than she is, give her a 1 min. comb out the first time (when she fusses say NO), continue combing then let her loose, give a really yummy treat. Continue with this twice a day until she's behaving for atleast 10 minutes and do not give anymore baths until she is completely mat free as water will just tighten up the mats. If you let her matted condition go too long it wiill be necessary for the groomer to clip her short all over (no schnauzer cut) as de-matting (combing out every single tangle) will be painful for her and very time consuming for the groomer.

ok, last night I managed to cut off the matted areas off her legs. There wasn't much and they were still small. I had to occupy her with many chewy treats during the procedure, to keep her mouth occupied and off me!

The water making the matts worse makes sense, as I think that is why she is getting tangled lately. With the snow melting here Ontario, it is very muddy outside, and Ebony goes outside a lot during the day to play.
When she comes in, I have been rinsing her legs and her tummy daily, otherwise I would have muddy paws all over my carpet and floors.

I tried the other brush I have, I think it works better? It didn't give her a brushed fluffed up look, but it did remove more hair than the other brush. It pulls her hair more, so I am guessing it is untangling?

I will be brushing her daily now, especially now the matts are gone, I don't want them to come back again.

ahh poor ebony....

what a trooper... we use the comb style on cooper was suggested by all, the vet, dog supply and the breeder. it it easier to get at the end tagles and slowly less painfully get them out... you might also want to consider those conditioner sprays l'oreal and sauve make them (others to i'm sure) ues them on both austin and cooper.

:pawprint:

Please don't use human products on dogs especially shampoo. It is meant to remove the oils and dog shampoo doesn't. Also don't cut out the mats, you will have a very high chance of cutting the skin because the skin gets pulled up into the mat.
The pink brush that you showed a pic of is a slicker but it is a cat slicker. When you go out looking for one make sure it is a soft slicker.

Lacey didn't like to have her back end clipped or even touched.

So I :evil: took a spoonful of peanut butter and smeared it on the fridge just a little above her nose and let her lick away while I deal with her rear.
Just touching or brushing at first then after many times I was able to clip under her tail:D . She will never like it but at least she lets me touch her there now.

P.S. I chose the fridge because it cleans easily.

A CAT slicker? ah, well that makes sense, haha, we used to have a cat, and that is her brush! lol
ok, more shopping to do I guess!

I am considering getting some kind of detangle product to put on her to ease the brushing, and prevent more matting. Any suggestions?

And lastly, I NEED a pic of what brush I must get. There are sooo many to choose from.

I must try the peanut covered fridge next time!!! Just to get her to stand still while brushing her!

Some more advice from a Schnauzer owner... :)

Hi Rivers,

I was reading through your posts and thought I'd give you a few hints:

- Do NOT tolerate any biting at the brush or your hands while you groom your girl. Although it is somewhat funny when she is a pup, you'll see this will become a major problem later on. Schnauzers are high maintenance dogs and you must work so that the grooming becomes part of their daily routine and they accept it completely. My girl actually enjoys that time I spend with her. I think the advice given is good: treats to keep her busy should help. However, you also want to try and groom her when you are watching tv and she is lying with you, for example. This is especially useful when you want to pluck the hair in her ears. Mine doesn't actually notice I do it... ;) Get your girl accustomed to your touching her often, play with her furnishings, untie little knots, pull her beard, inspect her ears, etc.

- The Schnauzer coat is supposed to be rather harsh to the touch, not soft. Bathing softens the texture and removes oils and you want to keep it to a minimum. If your pup's coat has picked up dirt outside, towel dry her, and when she has fully dried up, brush her and the dirt will come off. The best brush to use is the slicker, so that rectangular brush with many small metal pins. For a pup (and especially for the legs), chose a soft one.

- Even though you don't want to have your pup groomed too short because of Winter, I suggest you still take her to the groomer so she gets accustomed to it. You can ask that she is done with a number 7 blade instead of a 10. It's important that you have her face and paws done - if you don't keep her beard and furnishings extra clean, you won't be able to do anything with them later and you'll see a fully shaved Schnauzer definitely looks much less stylish ! Also, have you thought of hand striping her ? This way, you can control the amount of hair your remove and you can keep more in the Winter.

- About the detangling products: in my experience, the don't work that well on any coat and again, they will make your pup's coat soft and silky which is not what you want with this breed. Try and keep up with the regular brushing instead and if you do end up with small knots, cut them off right away before they become to big of a mess.

- Pics please !!! :D

This one is a picture of all the brushes I use.
The first is the flea comb, used for areas where he has fine hair (behind ears, elbows, hips, etc).
The second is a puppy soft slicker (close up shot to follow.) and it makes his fur nice and shiney. I find that for it to work really well I have to kind of brush in layers to make sure I'm not just brushing the top coat, but actually getting down to the under coat too.
The last one is a rake type brush that gets lots of his under coat out. I also use the layer approach witht his one.
He actually also has a second comb with more space between the teeth than the flea comb, but otherwise looks like the flea comb. I use the wider comb daily along with one of the others. I alternate the 'others' every day and target what ever area they work best on.

I should mention that most of these were bought at either Wal-Mart or the dollar stores, all except the rake thing, which I couldn't find anywhere but PetSmart.

Hi Rivers,

Yep, the first picture of your brush is the same one that I use on Schultz. I generally try to brush him every day and so far have had Schultz groomed about four times since I got him as a puppy. I just took him into the groomer over Christmas since I couldn't see his eyes anymore (and I do have some blunt scissors I use to clip around his eyes too). I don't know what blade she used on him, but I asked for her to leave his hair longer than a summer cut and also gave him a "poodle" clip on his paws (but left the hair long about 3/4 down). Does that make sense? I'll try to borrow a digital camera tonight and take a picture of his paws and post it. I find it really helps having a clip like that since he does't track in so much dirt and muck, although he still brings in "snow balls" around his legs because the hair on his legs is still long.

I find that he has been getting A LOT of mats lately, mostly around his armpit area and also around his dew claws (I put muttlucks on him when we go out walking when it is dirty and snowy, so I don't have to rinse his paws and I suspect that this is what is causing the paw mats).

When he was really young, he would hardly tolerate being brushed and tried biting me on a regular basis, but by my diligently giving him treats when he stood still, telling him he was a good boy and also through a lot of handling, he now accepts being groomed, until I hit a mat.. he then tries to run away but no more biting!

I went to the pet store and bought a razor comb to use on his mats and hopefully that will work better. Schultz will NOT tolerate my clipping his nails since he had a really bad experience with a groomer (who I don't use anymore). He sits there and shakes when he is on the grooming table cos he is so scared.

I'll also take a few pictures of the various grooming tools I use and post them for you as well.

Here are the various tools that I use

This is the "poodle" leg cut that my groomer does

And here is one of Schultz after eating his dinner! His hair has grown out quite a bit since his cut

Schnauzergirl-ok, I don't know what to say! Our storys sound alike! The matting, the biting, the snowballs, even the same brushes!

So what now? I think I'll look for a soft slicker brush, as I now understand the one I have isn't going deeper enough to the undercoat.

I read somewhere that the dewclaws should be removed surgically? I can hardly find Ebony's as they are hidden in the fur, and are so thin and soft, I am concerned about brushing in that area in case I tug them.

Inverness- I don't know what hand striping is, but I am not one to hand pluck hairs out of ears and who knows where else, I can hardly manage to pluck my own eyebrows! I don't see a problem with her ears as yet, what should I be looking for?

Thanks everyone for the pics! I think I am getting an idea of what I need.

Schnauzergirl, your Shultz is adorable as always! A beautiful boy.

Inverness- I don't know what hand striping is, but I am not one to hand pluck hairs out of ears and who knows where else, I can hardly manage to pluck my own eyebrows! I don't see a problem with her ears as yet, what should I be looking for?

LOL If you don't feel confident enough to pluck the hair in her ears yourself, then you really must take her to the groomer. Schnauzers, like terriers and other hairy breeds grow a lot of hair in the ear canal and this has to be removed regularly to prevent ear infections. If you don't have the hair removed, your pup's ears cannot breathe at all. It's like having two puff balls stuck in the ears - quite annoying I'd say ! Hand stripping is done with a stripping knife and this has to be learned with the help of someone knowledgeable. If your pup's breeder did not offer to show you how to do it, then rely on a groomer who will do a clipper job. Just out of curiosity: did your breeder not offer any grooming services or grooming tips when you purchased your girl ?

Ok, I have another question. I called a couple of groomers in my area, and they all charge mostly the same price.
5 of the ones I called, suggested I take her soon to do a puppy cut and get her used to going to the groomer. They'll do her nails, feet, eyebrows and bath her. They all suggest taking her in march for a full groom which will include the ears being trimmed.

1 of the groomers I called, suggested the opposite, that I take her now for a full do, and then later take her regularly for maintainance and to get used to the groomer.

Which do I choose, besides the friendliest service one?

Do I do the full do now, or only the feet and nails now. My concern is the ears, as the hair is long there, and I think she needs that trimmed before spring. But the other 5 groomers said, it will look odd to do just the ears and not the full face trim.

So do I go full now in winter, and hopefully don't scare the living daylights out of her in one go? Or do I take her for a 'meet the groomer' bath and trim, but not do the ears until spring, and hope she doesn't get an ear infection?

Inverness, nope the breeder didn't tell me much. His family are Mennonites, got her on a farm, very little communication going on. But very nice people.

Schultz has had his dewclaws removed when he had his tail done, but he still has the pads back there. I also worry when I am brushing him that I might catch it so when I am brushing his front paws, I generally put one finger on the dewclaw pad so that I know exactly where it is when I am brushing him. This will probably be pretty difficult to do with Ebony if she is jumping around like a jelly bean though!

I couldn't find a soft slicker brush when Schultz was a puppy which is why I bought the brush that I have. I have yet to see a soft slicker brush but the brush that I have seems to do the trick.

As for grooming, I would personally get a full groom but get the groomer to leave the hair a tad longer on the back than they normally would. I have a couple of jackets for Schultz and a few toddler t-shirts that he wears in the house because he does get cold when the temperature goes down (and I live in a basement suite). I found the kids shirts at the local thrift store for 50 cents and the fleece jacket at Zellers for about $14.00.

I also asked around as to who does a good Schnauzer cut locally (after he was traumatized after his second puppy cut, I was driving for two hours to get him done) and found out that the local pet store groomer has five of them! So I was off to her to get him done after asking a zillion questions on how she clips her dogs. If you know of anyone in your area that has a Schnauzer and you like how they are clipped, I would ask where they get their dog groomed and then you have a good idea if the groomer is good or not. I cannot tell you how many Schnauzers I have seen with shaved legs and it just looks horrible.

Ebony is such a cutie pie cos she looks like a puppy fuzz ball although once you get her groomed, you'll be amazed at how different and grown up she looks!

Good luck!

Fuzzball pic 1! :D I have to hold her still, otherwise she licks the camera!

Fuzzball pic 2. take into account it is raining outside, and she has just come indoors, but you can see how long her fur is, especially the ear area.

Wow, she is SOOOOO cute! How old is she now?

I think it is time to go to a groomer! But at least she can see out of her fur. I know when Schultz needs to go cos he can't see through his long eyebrow hair.

She is 5 months today! (17th Aug). I didn't realise it until you asked, lol

So off to the groomer it seems for the FULL do! She's going to hate me!

don't tell anyone, but I had to trim her 'fringe' last week as I couldn't see her eyes any more! I am sure she couldn't see where she was either. I held the row of hair up between my fingers, just like a hairdresser, and snipped it off, ssshhh. :o But from now on, I'll let the groomers see to her, otherwise they won't be very pleased with my efforts.:D

I had Schultz's first grooming at five months too. And as for trimming, my groomer said to not be afraid to trim around his eyes, after all, hair does grow, right?

Right! :D
Thanks so much for all the help schnauzergirl. It helps knowing someone who has the same breed! lol.

For sure :D