When is the right time for puppy's first grooming?

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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UrbanGypsyViv
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When is the right time for puppy's first grooming?

Post by UrbanGypsyViv »

Hello all,

My B/S mini schnauzer boy is 14weeks old and I wonder when will be the best time to get his first grooming. I believed that my breeder did his hair once before I brought him home but his hair grew so long and he looks a bit messy. :o3

Some says it is better to take him when he is still young so he can get used to it but my vet says I should wait until he is 6month old because what he has now is his baby fur and you don't want to get rid off yet.

Also, what kind of grooming place I should look for my pup? Is there anything I need to let the groomer know ahead? I would love to learn myself and do it at home in the future, but since it is his first time I would like him to have a proper professional grooming so it can help me guiding how to clip next time. Please give me any advices. Thanks!! :)
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Re: When is the right time for puppy's first grooming?

Post by Dawnspell »

As with all experiences with puppies, the sooner the better, even if he only goes to groomers for wash, cheek and bum clip it will build his confidence. No idea what the vet is talking about. He would be getting groomed from around 10 weeks if he was being hand stripped.

Cant really help you with what to look for in a groomer mine have never been to a groomer I've always groomed myself. I would go by word of mouth if I was to look for one.
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Re: When is the right time for puppy's first grooming?

Post by schnauzer »

I would certainly say the sooner the better ........with my last girl she had her first groom when she was 6 months old, looking back I now have to confess that we were naive about the amount of grooming that the breed requires. We were very lucky to be recommended to a groomer who had years experience of the breed, as she had been a breeder & a Judge at dog shows. I will never ever forget her first groom as it was then that I realised that I had a Miniature Schnauzer. She then went to Jennifer every 8 weeks.

When I lost my girl Jennifer her groomer told me about a litter that was due & recommended me to the Breeder & I ended up taking a boy who is a super wee boy. Jennifer suggested he had his first puppy groom when he was 12-13 weeks & is now groomed every 6 weeks as his coat grows like the grass.

Certainly the sooner the better as my last girl hated going & I had to pick her up & hand her over where as with my boy he just toddles off with Jennifer.
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Re: When is the right time for puppy's first grooming?

Post by UrbanGypsyViv »

Dawnspell wrote: ↑05 Mar 2021, 11:03 As with all experiences with puppies, the sooner the better, even if he only goes to groomers for wash, cheek and bum clip it will build his confidence. No idea what the vet is talking about. He would be getting groomed from around 10 weeks if he was being hand stripped.

Cant really help you with what to look for in a groomer mine have never been to a groomer I've always groomed myself. I would go by word of mouth if I was to look for one.
Thanks for the advice! Then I should look for a groomer for my pup. I wonder how he acts for this new experience. :-bd
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UrbanGypsyViv
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Re: When is the right time for puppy's first grooming?

Post by UrbanGypsyViv »

schnauzer wrote: ↑05 Mar 2021, 14:09 I would certainly say the sooner the better ........with my last girl she had her first groom when she was 6 months old, looking back I now have to confess that we were naive about the amount of grooming that the breed requires. We were very lucky to be recommended to a groomer who had years experience of the breed, as she had been a breeder & a Judge at dog shows. I will never ever forget her first groom as it was then that I realised that I had a Miniature Schnauzer. She then went to Jennifer every 8 weeks.

When I lost my girl Jennifer her groomer told me about a litter that was due & recommended me to the Breeder & I ended up taking a boy who is a super wee boy. Jennifer suggested he had his first puppy groom when he was 12-13 weeks & is now groomed every 6 weeks as his coat grows like the grass.

Certainly the sooner the better as my last girl hated going & I had to pick her up & hand her over where as with my boy he just toddles off with Jennifer.
Thanks for sharing your experience. I hope my boy is not too late to get used it. I cannot wait to see his new (schnauzer) look! :D
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Re: updating with the photo

Post by UrbanGypsyViv »

Hi all,

Finally my pup had his grooming done yesterday and I wanted to know if this looks alright. Basically, the groomer said he is too young for a full grooming service and he only had a bath, a little trim on his beard, bum area, four paws with nails. Is this what everyone gets from their groomers at this puppy period? My groomer said the puppy needs to be at least 8month to get a full service and you can expect to have a schnauzer look. I was a bit disappointed that there's no dramatic changes before and after except looking a bit neat. Plus, he doesn't look like a schnauzer but a bear. :)) I spent about €40 for the service.

Is this worth to do every couple weeks? I don't mind if this helps my pup in anyways to get used to it for the future. Please feel free to share your pups after grooming photos. Thanks and have a good day!


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Re: When is the right time for puppy's first grooming?

Post by Dawnspell »

For a first groom I'd say that was enough to get him used to the experience. You can get them looking like a schnauzer younger than 8 months but I'm guessing your groomer is building up the experience.

I think most people take their dogs every 6-8 weeks for full grooms

He looks very cute :x
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Re: When is the right time for puppy's first grooming?

Post by UrbanGypsyViv »

Dawnspell wrote: ↑09 Mar 2021, 10:33 For a first groom I'd say that was enough to get him used to the experience. You can get them looking like a schnauzer younger than 8 months but I'm guessing your groomer is building up the experience.

I think most people take their dogs every 6-8 weeks for full grooms

He looks very cute :x
I see. I will probably try different groomers and see what I can get. I am new to the area and there are many grooming places around me. Thanks!
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Re: When is the right time for puppy's first grooming?

Post by Schnauzerluv »

He looks like a schnauzer pup! My 1st mini's name was Bear given by the breeder, he was the largest of the litter and a little fur ball 😍.

His first haircut was a 'puppy cut' which was his coat was left a bit longer all over.

Personally I think he looks adorable and a good 1st haircut to get used to the process, it can be quite stressful for them. But by all means look for another groomer for the next time, I have seen schnauzer pups shaved down.

Have you thought about hand stripping? Just throwing it out there now if you're intersted in learning, now would be the time to start. I only learned here actually to hand strip and Ozzy is the 1st time I've ever done it, but I do find it a lot easier than I was led to believe previously and I love it.
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Re: When is the right time for puppy's first grooming?

Post by UrbanGypsyViv »

Schnauzerluv wrote: ↑10 Mar 2021, 18:10 He looks like a schnauzer pup! My 1st mini's name was Bear given by the breeder, he was the largest of the litter and a little fur ball 😍.

His first haircut was a 'puppy cut' which was his coat was left a bit longer all over.

Personally I think he looks adorable and a good 1st haircut to get used to the process, it can be quite stressful for them. But by all means look for another groomer for the next time, I have seen schnauzer pups shaved down.

Have you thought about hand stripping? Just throwing it out there now if you're intersted in learning, now would be the time to start. I only learned here actually to hand strip and Ozzy is the 1st time I've ever done it, but I do find it a lot easier than I was led to believe previously and I love it.
I've never thought about hand stripping. I already bought the new set of clippers for my dog a while ago because I thought I needed to do it as soon as my puppy arrives home. But yeah, I might see some videos of both methods and see what I can do by myself. :-bd
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Re: When is the right time for puppy's first grooming?

Post by zeta1454 »

If a puppy has not been groomed at all before going to a professional groomer, it may be quite a scary experience. With our puppies we used to start very basic grooming on them before they left for new homes and with the pups we kept we hand stripped them and started taking out all the puppy fluff so as to allow the harsh jacket to come through. I think with schnauzers, so much of the characteristic look is in the head and face and this can be done by a good groomer even if not a great deal is taken out of the coat. If the head and face is just trimmed a bit but not cut like a schnauzer, the puppy will retain that more rounded or bear-like look until they are given an adult groom at about 6 months old.

Here are a couple of photos showing the grooming on the face of some of our pups.
These 2 are brother and sister at about 12 weeks old:

Image

And this is a different pup at about 4 months old:


Image
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Re: When is the right time for puppy's first grooming?

Post by Schnauzerluv »

I agree with Leigh (Zeta). I am behind with hand stripping the coat (it's still pretty cold here), but the coat sits nice and flat and looks proper. If I trim the cheeks and between the eye brows, it makes a huge difference in the look.

He has some puppy fluff on top his head (normal), but I'll just warn you before you trim it, I decided to clip the top of Ozzy's head because I couldn't wait for the harsh hair to grow , but it really doesn't look as great as the stripped coat. The clippered hair is curly and soft, the stripped hair is course and lies flat, making too much of a difference and doesn't transition well. In my case I will gradually work on stripping the top of the head to have a more consistent look since I've only clipped once. So I have a little bear atm, I could have had a nice matching jacket all the way.

Another thing that helped make my decision to hand strip: the fading gene. It's only a genetic thing, some minis won't carry it, but Ozzy does and his furnishings and undercoat are turning reddish brown. His jacket is still black as anthracite.

Oh and the stripped jacket is weatherproof. Clippered jackets soak up all the wet. Not an issue with the home pet if they wear a raincoat, but my pup is much better in the wet than my other two clippered minis were.
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Re: When is the right time for puppy's first grooming?

Post by UrbanGypsyViv »

zeta1454 wrote: ↑11 Mar 2021, 12:22 If a puppy has not been groomed at all before going to a professional groomer, it may be quite a scary experience. With our puppies we used to start very basic grooming on them before they left for new homes and with the pups we kept we hand stripped them and started taking out all the puppy fluff so as to allow the harsh jacket to come through. I think with schnauzers, so much of the characteristic look is in the head and face and this can be done by a good groomer even if not a great deal is taken out of the coat. If the head and face is just trimmed a bit but not cut like a schnauzer, the puppy will retain that more rounded or bear-like look until they are given an adult groom at about 6 months old.

Here are a couple of photos showing the grooming on the face of some of our pups.
These 2 are brother and sister at about 12 weeks old:

Image

And this is a different pup at about 4 months old:


Image
Are those 2 pups are siblings? One looks like B/S and the other looks like P/S. They are all beautiful, and I think their lots of grey and white facial hair helps them getting "Schnauzer look" no matter how their cuts are. Mine don't really have much white hairs on his face and his eyebrows are not even noticeable because he has lots of black colours. Sadly, many people thinks and asks me what kind of terrier he is. b-(
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Re: When is the right time for puppy's first grooming?

Post by zeta1454 »

UrbanGypsyViv wrote: ↑15 Mar 2021, 16:08
zeta1454 wrote: ↑11 Mar 2021, 12:22 If a puppy has not been groomed at all before going to a professional groomer, it may be quite a scary experience. With our puppies we used to start very basic grooming on them before they left for new homes and with the pups we kept we hand stripped them and started taking out all the puppy fluff so as to allow the harsh jacket to come through. I think with schnauzers, so much of the characteristic look is in the head and face and this can be done by a good groomer even if not a great deal is taken out of the coat. If the head and face is just trimmed a bit but not cut like a schnauzer, the puppy will retain that more rounded or bear-like look until they are given an adult groom at about 6 months old.

Here are a couple of photos showing the grooming on the face of some of our pups.
These 2 are brother and sister at about 12 weeks old:

Image

And this is a different pup at about 4 months old:


Image
Are those 2 pups are siblings? One looks like B/S and the other looks like P/S. They are all beautiful, and I think their lots of grey and white facial hair helps them getting "Schnauzer look" no matter how their cuts are. Mine don't really have much white hairs on his face and his eyebrows are not even noticeable because he has lots of black colours. Sadly, many people thinks and asks me what kind of terrier he is. b-(
Yes, the pups are brother and sister. They were from our very first miniature schnauzer litter nearly a decade ago now. Magic had four pups and two of the boys were black and silver even though both she and the sire are pepper and salt. Both Magic and the sire had black and silver ancestry and so carried the genes for this colour. The other two pups (girl and boy) were pepper and salt and when Magic had a second litter with the same sire all four pups in that litter were pepper and salt so it shows how the genes can be different in different litters from the same parent dogs :)
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Re: When is the right time for puppy's first grooming?

Post by UrbanGypsyViv »

zeta1454 wrote: ↑15 Mar 2021, 17:50
UrbanGypsyViv wrote: ↑15 Mar 2021, 16:08
zeta1454 wrote: ↑11 Mar 2021, 12:22 If a puppy has not been groomed at all before going to a professional groomer, it may be quite a scary experience. With our puppies we used to start very basic grooming on them before they left for new homes and with the pups we kept we hand stripped them and started taking out all the puppy fluff so as to allow the harsh jacket to come through. I think with schnauzers, so much of the characteristic look is in the head and face and this can be done by a good groomer even if not a great deal is taken out of the coat. If the head and face is just trimmed a bit but not cut like a schnauzer, the puppy will retain that more rounded or bear-like look until they are given an adult groom at about 6 months old.

Here are a couple of photos showing the grooming on the face of some of our pups.
These 2 are brother and sister at about 12 weeks old:

Image

And this is a different pup at about 4 months old:


Image
Are those 2 pups are siblings? One looks like B/S and the other looks like P/S. They are all beautiful, and I think their lots of grey and white facial hair helps them getting "Schnauzer look" no matter how their cuts are. Mine don't really have much white hairs on his face and his eyebrows are not even noticeable because he has lots of black colours. Sadly, many people thinks and asks me what kind of terrier he is. b-(
Yes, the pups are brother and sister. They were from our very first miniature schnauzer litter nearly a decade ago now. Magic had four pups and two of the boys were black and silver even though both she and the sire are pepper and salt. Both Magic and the sire had black and silver ancestry and so carried the genes for this colour. The other two pups (girl and boy) were pepper and salt and when Magic had a second litter with the same sire all four pups in that litter were pepper and salt so it shows how the genes can be different in different litters from the same parent dogs :)
Wow, very interesting and I love it how nice surprise you get from them! My dream is to get all different colours of miniature schnauzer when I get old. :))
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