Grooming the Schnauzers. Hand Stripping VS Clipper Grooming

Table of Contents

WHY QUICK HAIRCUT AND CLIPPER GROOMING CAN’T REPLACE HAND STRIPPING

GENERAL INFORMATION

This article concerns all Schnauzers: Mini, Standard and Giant.

Nowadays you can find plenty of articles and video courses how to simplify grooming of a Schnauzer and make your life easy. Most of them just wish to sell some clippers or their services….🙁

We kindly ask you to read our article before you bring your dog to a grooming saloon!!!

All owners of the Schnauzers know that these dogs need to be trimmed. However, very often, without finding a proper groomer or mistakenly believing that hand stripping is a “mockery for the dog!”, the new owner decides to do with “small blood” and just beautifully cuts the pet with a clipper.

And indeed, why torture the dog, if after the haircut it is so handsome!

Yes, the first month of cutting the Schnauzer is not much different from hand stripping. It even looks more accurate. But very soon you will feel the difference. And it will be especially noticeable for Schnauzers of peppers with salt color. It will turn from beautiful, silver-grey with white dog…into dull grey dog, with soft, devoid of natural shine hair.

As for the other colours, the consequences of the haircut are less noticeable and more reflected in the change in the structure of the coat. Dogs can hardly be called rigid-haired anymore, and the hair itself begins to get confused more often, to form tangles and even to moult. But you’ve taken a dog without moulting or smelling!
And even your black pet can turn into a brown or grey after a few haircuts, and a black one with silver can lose its brightness and its black back can turn into a dim gray one.

SCHNAUZERS’ SHEDDING PROCESS

The thing is that the process of hair renewal is slowed down for Schnauzers. The hair does not fall out on its own even after it has become dead. That’s why the dog needs help and pluck out the hair by hand. During the trimming process, you remove all the old hair, making room for new hair to grow – tougher and shinier.

Clipper grooming a Schnauzer does not remove hair, but only cuts its upper layer. In other words, there is simply nothing for new hair to grow out of. As a result, the dog is covered with a large amount of undercoat, which is much softer and duller. Of course, a single haircut of the Schnauzer will not immediately turn your friend into a poodle. But three or four one after another – easily!

Without hand stripping dog’s coat loses a lot of quality and half of its functions. It won’t be able to fully protect the dog from the cold anymore, it won’t comb his hair well and even falls off. Haircuts don’t allow the coat to fully update. And even regular combing will not fully compensate.

Unfortunately many groomers do not fully understand the peculiarities of the breed and only for aesthetic reasons use the simplified technology of trimming Schnauzers. They completely pluck out the dog’s dead hairs, and then cut the undercoat with a clipper. This is, of course, better than just cutting the Schnauzer wity try machine, but still not the best option. Especially if you have a pepper with salt or black and silver Schnauzer.

HOW TO CUT?

The classic version of the Schnauzer can be cut in separate, very limited areas. Only ears, head, cheekbones, throat (but not the whole neck!), anus, genitals and stomach are treated with the machine.

Why can I cut my hair here and not on the body? – In a good way, it would be nice to pluck off the hair in these areas too0, but it will be very unpleasant for the dog. Although, some breeders periodically remove hair on the throat and ears by hand. But you have to do it very carefully.

In addition, cutting the Schnauzer assumes that the hair will be removed by hand:
– Forming the hair on the muzzle (eyebrows cut in the form of a triangle, beard – combed and flattened from below diagonally with the maximum length under the nose8)
– Beautifully shaped front and back legs;
– Alignment on the chest, along the line of “skirt” and the design of a smooth transition from it to the eyelids on the hind legs;
– Cutting hair between the pads of the legs and giving them a “cat’s foot” shape

All this is done with the help of regular hairdresser’s scissors for cutting animals and can be handled by each owner of the Schnauzer.

We hope that after reading our article you will reconsider your attitude to the grooming of the Schnauzer and your pet will become a real beauty.

And you won’t even remember about your pet’s hair problems.