Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 3: Clipping the coat
• Part 2 of 3: Maintaining the ears
• Part 3 of 3: Taking care of the legs and nails
• Tips

Miniature Schnauzers are a German breed of dog whose compact size and fearless disposition, combined with playfulness and devoted friendship, have made them popular family pets. They belong to the terrier group and display the playful, spirited and fearless nature of their fellow terriers. The Miniature Schnauzer's double coat needs maintenance to keep it looking neat. Grooming a Miniature Schnauzer for dog shows is best left to professional groomers, as there are specific guidelines to follow. However, you can follow a few simple steps to learn how to groom your Miniature Schnauzer yourself.

To step

Part 1 of 3: Clipping the coat

1. Brush his hair. To begin with, you will need to brush your dog's coat. You do this to make sure there are no tangles when you start cutting the hair, which can cause pain to his skin or irregularities in the coat line. Also brush the hair on the legs and beard. You need to use a pin brush first and then a comb.
   • You should use a small, soft and smooth brush and a comb with brush needles about 1.5 cm long on your dog.
   • Make sure to brush on the underarms, on the stomach and between his toes to make sure any tangles or felting are combed out.
   • If your dog has ever been cut or trimmed before, he probably won't have many tangles. If not, then this step is extremely necessary to keep his cut looking its best.
2. Wash your dog. Once you are sure that the tangles are out of your dog's coat, then you should wash it. This will help keep his coat as clean as possible when you cut his hair. Use a gentle shampoo to wash it and lukewarm water to rinse out any soap.
   • This also gives you time to brush his teeth.
3. Dry the coat. When you have finished bathing your dog, you will need to dry his coat. For this you use both a towel and a hair dryer. Dry it as much as possible with a towel. Then, on a medium heat setting, take a hair dryer and dry the rest of your dog's coat while combing it.
   • Brush the hair on its legs, starting at the top of the leg and working your way down. Also dry the fur on its back and upside down. To avoid discomfort, do not blow the dryer on his face.
   • You can use a grooming table for these and the following processes if you don't want to strain your back. If you don't have a grooming table, you can use a high, flat surface.
4. Shave the fur on the back. Schnauzers are trimmed in a very specific way. To get the right look, you need dog clippers. Grab a shaving head of the number 8 or 10 and put it on the clippers. Starting at the base of your dog's skull, gently press the clippers onto the coat and run the clippers down the length of the back to his tail. Start at the top and do the same on the areas directly around the spine. Keep trimming his sides with the coat until you reach his underbelly. To get around his tail, follow the fur around his rear and about an inch or so above the joint in his back legs in the back, just above his elbow on the side and just above his shoulder bone in the front.
   • If it's winter and you want your dog to have a little more coat, you can use a number 7F clipper to keep it with a little more coat.
   • You should occasionally check the heat on the shaver head with your wrist. You need to make sure it doesn't get too hot and burn your dog's skin. You should also remove any fur that gets stuck in the blades.
   • To get a better idea of ​​what the haircut model should be, download a guide from a reputable groomer.
   EXPERT TIP

   Use scissors on sensitive areas. Some spots on your schnauzer need to be groomed with scissors rather than clippers because they are very sensitive. The fur on and around the tip of the tail should be clipped with scissors. Cut the same length as the rest of the fur on his back so they match. You should also cut the hair on his abdomen to about the same length, but be careful not to cut his genitals.

   • You can use clippers on the lower abdomen, but you need to be extra careful not to injure his sensitive abdomen or genitals.
5. Trim the fur on the paws. The fur around the legs should be longer than the rest. They should be trimmed and brushed evenly so that they stick out to the side. Make sure to brush them out to make sure they are the same length all over.
   • The fur on the paws is all the fur from the place on his body where you stopped the clippers before, to the bottom of his feet. It is also usually a different color.
6. Trim around the face. The face is the hardest. You have to be extremely careful so that you don't hurt or aggravate his eyes or ears. Using clippers, trim the fur from the base of his skull, where you left off on his back, to just above his eyebrows. The fur around the neck should also be clipped up to his chin line.
   • Brush the hair straight down in front of his eyes to cut it. Using scissors, point him towards his nose and cut the fur in a diagonal line across his eye. Do the same with the other eye.
   • To trim the beard, you need to brush it out and trim some off the bottom. His whole face should look long and rectangular.

Part 2 of 3: Maintaining the ears

1. Trim the outer fur on the ears. The coat on the outside of your schnauzer's ears grows long like his other body coat. Brush the fur on the ears. Use scissors to trim the excess coat that hangs free from the ear. Do not trim the fur that grows on his ears, as it will keep his ears warm and look nice.
   • Be very careful. The ears are sensitive and you can easily hurt them.
2. Pluck the inner fur in the ears. One of the main differences between schnauzers and other dogs is that a long coat grows on the inside of their ears. That's why you have to pluck the hair from his ears regularly. Use tweezers and grab the fur. Gently pull on the coat taking care not to hurt it. You can leave a little bit of each piece of fur so there is a little bit to protect his ears, but not enough to keep air from entering, which can dry them out. Simply pluck the top part of the coat where it has grown too long.
   • You can also use scissors for this, but be very careful with them. The ear may bleed profusely when cut.
3. Clean the ear. Since the coat grows so easily in his ear, your schnauzer's ears are perfect for the growth of yeast and bacteria. To avoid this, you should also regularly clean your dog's ears and trim the hair. Use a cotton ball and pour some dog ear rinse on it. Rub the cotton ball gently on the visible parts of the ear. Then use a soft cloth to gently dry the ears so that moisture does not accumulate in the ear canal.
   • You can purchase a dog ear cleaner from a pet store.
   • Never use a cotton swab to clean your dog's ears. It can damage his ear canal and lead to injury.

Part 3 of 3: Taking care of the legs and nails

1. Trim the hair. Inspect your dog's paws. Shake any long coat down your dog's paws. With scissors you need to cut all this hair along the nails. You should also cut the hair that is coming out from between the pads of his paw.
   • Make sure you don't cut too close to the skin. Be careful not to accidentally cut his paw.
   • Repeat on each leg.
2. Trim the nails. After cutting the hair, make sure the nails are trimmed to a comfortable length. You should use a nail clipper or a dog nail sharpener. Gently cut or grind the nail a little at a time. As soon as you see a dark spot in the center of the nails, stop. If you go below that, then you quickly cut the life of the nail.
   • The life of your dog's nail is the living part of the nail that contains blood vessels and nerves. If you cut the nails too far, they will bleed and hurt a lot. It can also cause infection if not taken care of properly.
   • Once you've trimmed all the nails, use a file to smooth out any jagged edges.
   • Make sure to use special dog nail scissors. Ordinary human nail clippers are nowhere near strong enough to cut dog nails.
3. Rub the legs. Once the nails are trimmed and filed, rub some petroleum jelly or paw moisturizer to moisturize his paws. This also gives his paws a break after the stressful process of clipping his nails. Repeat this on each leg.
   • This is also a great way to make a good impression on your dog of the whole experience. This way, he will look forward to the activity and not stress too much about the clipper or sharpener while you work on his nails.

Tips

• Grooming Miniature Schnauzers can be complicated compared to other breeds. Before grooming your Miniature Schnauzer yourself, it may be better to hire a groomer for a professional grooming that you can then follow up.
• You can lubricate your clippers before using them. Clippers that are not lubricated can sometimes get hot and cause burns.
• Hold the dog firmly, especially while trimming the face, to avoid injury.