grooming

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Katnig
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Joined: 29 Jul 2016, 20:53
First Name: Kath

grooming

Post by Katnig »

I have a 7 month old mini schnauzer. He is already 14 inches in height to shoulders and weighs in at 11kg. I have Kennel Club documents for him and saw his mum and dad when buying him. I got him from a breeder locally who has a pet hotel and had good reviews on line. However everyone says he is too big for a mini and I'm wondering if they are right! There were 8 pups in the litter- 5 salt and pepper like his mum and dad and three black and silver like him. Could he be a throwback? He's fit and muscular and very strong - not fat at all.
Also I don't want to have him cut in the usual mini style but like him rufty tufty. I groom him every day. Do I have to trim him for any particular reason?
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zeta1454
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Re: grooming

Post by zeta1454 »

14" to the shoulders does sound rather tall for a 7 months old mini pup and 11kg is certainly very heavy even for that height. It is difficult to judge though just on statistics and there can be many reasons why a particular puppy grows bigger than expected which may not always mean anything dodgy with the breeding. Black and silver puppies can occur in a litter from a mating between two P&S minis if both have the gene for black and silver in their pedigree.

The reason that double coated breeds who do not shed their coat are (preferably) hand stripped or clipped is to make sure they are comfortable and that their coat does not become matted. Mini schnauzers do not naturally shed hair so they will become very overgrown if no hair is taken out and the likelihood of tangles and matts increases. The eyebrows will grow long and could obscure his vision and the leg furnishings could well become very thick and difficult to comb through.

This is a link to the Mini Schnauzer Club UK grooming tips page:
http://www.theminiatureschnauzerclub.co ... ming-tips/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

However if you just want him to have a shaggy dog look then you will need to groom daily and maybe use a Furminator tool or similar to at least remove some of the weight of hair that will accumulate as he matures.
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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Dawnspell
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Re: grooming

Post by Dawnspell »

Grooming is personal choice, some people don't want the hassle of beards and furnishings so have them clipped short.

If you want the fluffy scruffy look I would suggest that you shave or keep very short the areas that matt easily. The arm/leg pit area on the front legs are notorious for matting. I also find the area in front of the thigh on the angle with the body gets thick undercoat and needs keeping thinned out to prevent matting. I have to say it will probably be higher maintenance to keep him groomed this way than clipping or stripping, although it's not going to look like you spend much time on him :D

As for size he does seem heavy for his height. Barney is a maxi mini he was easily 14" at that age and weighed around 9kg. He's now just short of 16" and slightly over 11kg with well defined waist from above and muscle on legs and you can easily feel his ribs.
Our first family dog
Barney - Pocketpark Biali Eyebright 6/2/13 - 8/3/19 Gone too soon
Motto for owners who groom their own Schnauzers -"Never mind it'll soon grow back"
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