Pet Grooming
by Sharon Thompson
Reprinted from What You Should Know About The
Giant Schnauzer, 5th Edition ©1988
My Giant Schnauzer is a pet, not a show dog. Do I
have to hand‑strip him? No, you don't. In fact most Giant Schnauzer
breeders and exhibitors do clipper their retired show dogs and pets.
Everyone does not have the time or patience required to hand‑strip a
Giant Schnauzer on a regular basis. A well clippered Giant is
certainly preferable to a shaggy Giant whose owner has not gotten
around to stripping him yet. Giants do enjoy being groomed and they
know when they look their best. Watch how your Giant prances when he
gets down off the grooming table.
We do warn you that clippering your Giant may soften
the texture of his coat and if your Giant is a pepper/salt then
clippering may also change the color to uniform silver or black
because the color of undercoat will predominate.
EQUIPMENT NEEDED FOR GROOMING
- Stiff bristle
or slicker brush
- Metal combs
- Ear powder
(medicated)
- Nail clipper
(heavy duty) & nail file
- Oster Electric
Clipper (A5) or (A2) with blades:
- #10, and a #7
or #8½
- Stripping
knives
- Scissors with
at least a 6" blade
- Thinning
Shears
- Tweezers –
optional
- Coat or skin
conditioner –optional
- Brush the
coat thoroughly to remove any loose dirt, mats or dead hair. I
prefer to wait until all grooming is finished before bathing.
- Clipper all
shaded areas with #10 blade. This includes the cheeks; entire ear;
from about ¼." behind eye socket over top of head and down to base
of skull; throat from under the chin where you want beard to begin
down the neck to breastbone; stomach from the groin to the navel,
including the penis on males; the horseshoe area just under the
tail.
- Using the
#7 (or # 8½ ) blade, start at the base of the skull and clip down
the back to the base of the tail and clip the entire tail. Also
with the same blade, clip down the sides of the shoulder and then
to the elbow in the front; then clip down the sides of the body to
the flank using the elbow as the guideline. Follow the contour of
the body with a line gradually inclining from the elbow to the
flank; clip down the back half of the rear leg to a point just
above the hock.
- Comb the
eyebrows forward and scissor away (using thinning shears if you
have them) the excess hair between the eyebrows at the stop,
making a V Shape. Scissor the eyebrows (regular scissors)
diagonally from the outside corner to the center, leaving them
long and vizor shaped. Scissor the center of the eyebrows at the
stop forming an inverted V.
- Comb the
beard forward and, preferably with thinning shears, thin out a
line from the corner of the mouth to the corner of the eye, so the
line you leave appears straight and angular.
- Trim the
leg furnishings slightly with the thinning shears or regular
scissors.
- Even out
the hair on the under chest with scissors, following the line of
the body.
- Scissor
around the outside edges of the feet to give them a neat
appearance. Here I also choose to scissor carefully between the
pads on the underneath side of the foot. I feel this helps to keep
the feet tight and neat.
- Using the
ear powder in each ear to help you get a grip on the hair, pull
out the dead hair with your fingers, or tweezers.
- Using the
heavy‑duty nail clipper, cut the nails, being careful not to cut
the quick. Should you accidentally cut too deep, Kwik‑Stop is an
excellent preparation to apply to stop the bleeding immediately.
If none is available, press the bleeding nail into a soft beret
soap to stop the flow of blood.
- Thoroughly
bathe and dry the dog, combing the furnishings as you dry them
with a hair dryer. This will make them dry straight and full.
- When dog's
grooming is completed, you may apply a coat conditioner to help
preserve natural oil to skin and hair.
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