Novice - Help Please

Grooming is an important part of looking after your Schnauzer. Regular grooming will help keep your Schnauzer healthy and comfortable and you will spot potential problems early. Whether you decide to clip or strip your Schnauzer, help is on hand. Schnauzers are generally a non-shedding breed and will require a fair amount of grooming to get rid of dead hair.
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strata
Posts: 1
Joined: 14 Mar 2020, 08:05
First Name: Alan
Dog #1: Lexi
is a: P/S Mini Bitch
Born: 12 Apr 2020
Location: Greater Manchester

Novice - Help Please

Post by strata »

Hello everyone. I joined the forum back in March before i purchased a puppy and after taking some good advice from Leigh we now have a PS little girl 9 weeks old, she's lovely.
Being a complete novice, may i please ask for advice on the following;
Lexi has a really nice sheen to her coat and i am keen to maintain the colour so i would like to strip Lexis coat rather than clip (Previously had Borders so familiar with the procedure). I've purchased the Red Mikki knife and a Mars 326 stripping knife and I have used both knives on Lexi in a gentle fashion on her coat every day, just pulling through the coat (knives flat) but i am not sure whether i am causing damage to the coat due to the cutting as the knives seem really sharp. Should i be dulling these knives or, are they already dulled at source?
Lexis coat colour is P&S but currently a lovely Jet Black on her back and sides. Is this just the colour as a puppy and will change lighter once stripped, also when will the coat be likely ready for stripping?

Alan
Oscar 12345
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Joined: 02 May 2017, 11:28
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Dog #1: Oscar RIP Sweety
is a: P/S Mini Dog
Born: 21 Dec 2002
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is a: B/S Mini Dog
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Re: Novice - Help Please

Post by Oscar 12345 »

Hi Alan, welcome and congratulations on your new pup Lexi. At 9 weeks Lexi's coat is still puppy coat so the carding which you are doing is encouraging the wire to come through. Most knives are not dulled and I dulled one carding knife by putting it through a bag of sand, that did improve it. If your carding knife is too sharp then it may cut hair and the best way to check is to look through the hair you have "pulled/combed" off and see whether the wire has been cut. I think Sam's Edie is a dark P&S and he strips so will be in a position to tell you exactly how it changed over time. As for when the coat is ready for stripping, it probably differs with dogs but I just gently tried to pull the longer hairs and if they came away easily then it was ready. I also recommend finger cots, they are great for harder to get at areas and also with a younger dog if the coat is a bit mixed then you can just pull a few out with your fingers.
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zeta1454
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Joined: 19 May 2011, 16:58
First Name: Leigh
Dog #1: Magic
is a: P/S Mini Bitch
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Re: Novice - Help Please

Post by zeta1454 »

Hi Alan - congratulations on your new puppy :)

Just to add to Julie's advice above, with young puppies we have always stripped out their puppy coat completely using a stripping stone initially. These are available online from a variety of places or from an equestrian store:

https://www.christiesdirect.com/en/Chri ... m-491.aspx

The puppy coat is generally fluffy and is not necessarily the same colour in the adult dog although may give an indication with P&S dogs of how dark they will be. Once it is removed (and the puppy can look a bit sparse for a while) the adult coat will be encouraged to come through and the ongoing grooming can start with the knives / hand pulling of long hairs. We use a stripping stone for removing the undercoat too in the adult dogs.
Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. ~Roger Caras

Magic - Silversocks Sharade at Darksprite
Trilby - Darksprite Rosa Bud


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Schnauzer Sam
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Joined: 28 Sep 2017, 20:40
First Name: Sam
Dog #1: Rosie
is a: P/S Mini Bitch
Born: 06 Jul 2017
Dog #2: Edie
is a: P/S Mini Bitch
Born: 11 Jun 2018
Location: Guernsey

Re: Novice - Help Please

Post by Schnauzer Sam »

Hi Alan,

As Julie says, Edie is a dark P&S and still has a black patch on her back with no salt at all at the age of 2!

I too started with Mikki and the red Mikki knife should be OK to use without pre dulling but I've moved on to the Mars range as I get more control over the strip (but less hair with each tug).

Edie was very fluffy as a pup (here at 6 weeks and 8 weeks)

Image

Image

I simply carded her twice a week with a blue Mikki knife and was concerned at one stage as I made her a bit threadbare but the wire soon came through. The main thing is to ignore the nibbling and get her used to being handled and groomed.

Get yourself a table to groom her on - mine was £50 on Amazon - they soon get used to the idea that they are there for a purpose and usually comply quite quickly. They can differ in how they tolerate stripping, Edie will let me strip anywhere though I do clip her ears and cheeks, butt and I scissor the chest and lower legs - everywhere else is stripped.

Rosie who is a year older won't let me strip the top of her legs or head so I don't.

Edie has a good harsh wire coat that I strip every Saturday and card every Wednesday but she has little in the way of an undercoat. I do Rosie at the same time and she has loads of undercoat and her wire coat isn't as good though she has really good banding.

I have a thread on Edie's grooming journey here

viewtopic.php?f=26&t=23770&hilit=grooming+edie
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