Short Puppy Coat :/

[evanhedrick1]

My puppy, Scout, seems to have a short coat compared to most other pictures of puppies i see his age. He had been groomed when i got him at around 6 or 7 weeks old but now he's 20 weeks and doesnt have much of a skirt compared to others iv'e seen. Is there something im doing wrong? I havent done anything to it but comb it.

He is a picture showing the cut he had when i got him



and here he is now



Any reply helps. Thanks!

[zeta1454]

Welcome to the Forum, Evan
Scout looks very sweet.
Re his jacket - much will depend on his genetics as to how full a skirt and leg furnishings will be. Have you seen his parents? The miniature schnauzer jacket, beard, leg furnishings have become much fuller nowadays certainly from breeders that show their dogs. The mini schnauzers from the last century and certainly when they were first exhibited had much less in the way of leg hair, long beards or skirts.
It will not be anything to do with how you have groomed him. If he is going to have the long hair he will grow this as he matures (as long as you don't cut it off (!), but he may not develop this if his parents / grandparents did not have full furnishings, skirt and beard.

[evanhedrick1]

If I remember right his parents did have full furnishings. I didn’t realize I uploaded the same picture twice so this is his fur now

[zeta1454]

You are right that Scout is very sparsely covered for 20 weeks of age, if he has only been combed through.
Has he been neutered? I know with our first mini schnauzer over 20 years ago we were advised by the vets to have her spayed before 6 months and it did affect her coat growth. She did not develop much undercoat although her top coat was still very harsh. She did still have furnishings though.
Generally, even if a puppy is groomed before going to a new home, the furnishings would not be removed so Scout did not have very much at 6-7 weeks looking back at your photos.
These are a couple of pictures here of pups at about that age - already with quite thick leg hair:






And one of our puppies groomed to go to her new home at about 12 weeks old, the grooming is done on the ears and jacket but not the furnishings. These will develop and can be brushed out for shows to look even more substantial once the pup reaches about 6 months of age plus but should be evident from an early age.



It may be that Scout will not develop the full furnishings and skirt but, if he is a much loved member of the family his look is not so important.....and grooming will be much easier too!

[Oscar 12345]

Hi Evan, what a lovely puppy. I have seen lots of different schnauzer coats. Scout's reminds me of a standard schnauzer's coat that I recently saw and that was quite thin but hand stripped and very smart. Remember to groom every day with a light brushing of the coat. It stimulates the blood, skin and encourages growth and together with a healthy diet will give you the best coat that is possible for Scout. Keep trimming with thinning scissors any strands that are growing longer than the rest helps also. It will be interesting to see what you have when the adult coat starts coming through. You may have a dog with very little undercoat but a good potential wire. It would be helpful to seek advice on the best method of grooming clipping vs stripping for example to get the coat to its best.

[evanhedrick1]

Thank you for your responses. I recently talked to his breeder and they told me that his parents have full furnishings but they think they remember Scout’s father didn’t get his fur until about a year old. This sound possible?

[evanhedrick1]

Also I am feeding him Solid Gold brand dog food. Would it help to change his dog food?

[Oscar 12345]

It is possible that Scout's adult coat takes a year to properly come through. It sounds like you weren't able to see Scout's parents which would have provided reassurance of a number of things.

As for food, this is a personal choice. You are in the US, I took a quick look at the dry ingredients of the chicken and my observation was that there are a huge number of ingredients and very difficult to know e.g exactly how much chicken and what is chicken meal?? This is where you really need to do your research. Here in the UK we have the allaboutdogfood website which rates different foods. I think you have the dogfoodadvisor website which does a similar thing. If Scout is healthy and his digestion is good with normal healthy poop then you have plenty of time to do the research and transition to a new food should you wish to. My personal choice for my dog is raw. Only been feeding raw since Christmas but I am very impressed and do wish that I had changed to it sooner. I would recommend you at least do some reading on it along with any other types of food you consider and buy the best you can afford. The results will show in the vitality, skin, coat and general health of your boy.

[evanhedrick1]

Thank you again. No matter what Scout is happy and healthy and I love him no matter what. I was just wanting to get him to look the best he possibly can. Thank you

[evanhedrick1]

This is him last night and it already looks like it’s a little longer so I thinks it’s just growing really slow

[Oscar 12345]

Evan, I agree, Scout's coat looks thicker than the previous photos and he does look fit. Beautiful white feet and I think we will all agree with your sentiments to love no matter what.