Hand stripping

There is only one correct grooming pattern for a Miniature Schnauzer, but there are two distinctly different ways to achieve it. Whether hand-stripping, which is necessary if you wish to show, or machine-clipping, the overall look will be the same-only coat texture and color will differ.
Basically there are two approaches to stripping. One involves dealing with the entire body in one or two sessions, as would be done in clipping the pet. The other requires stripping in "sections" over a period of weeks. Artful "sectioning" is one of the basic requirements in bringing the Miniature Schnauzer into "show" coat.

The "One Strip" Method

The "one strip" method is clearly shown in Diagram A and B. Essentially, all the areas which appear to be clean are removed within a week to ten days. A longer period will result in obvious strip lines and too much variation in coat length. No amount of skillful blending of the areas is very successful.
In handling the body section, begin at the base of the tail, but not the tail itself. Go up the back to the withers (base of neck), taking out the sides or rib section, but leaving the underbody fringe to be scissored later.



After completing the back and sides, strip the hindlegs to about an inch above the hocks. Never strip into the indentation of the hock joint.

At this point, the dog is half stripped, and if you are unable to complete the forward section at this time, it can be picked up in a few days. In completing the "one strip" method, you would continue to remove the forward section: neck, shoulders and head, as well as the tail.
In order to make these instructions as thorough as possible, time will now be given to some of the more professional methods used in preparing the body section for show purposes.


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Stripping In Sections

Stripping in sections is the exhibitor's way of achieving the most desirable outline, based on variations of coat lengths. This process involves from eight to ten weeks, depending on the individual coat quality of your dog. No two dogs grow their coats at exactly the same rate, and it is not unusual for a dog to grow coat faster on one stripping that the next. Be sure that the period between sections does not exceed ten days, or the blending of the coat later will prove more difficult.

The following steps should be followed over a six-week period.

WEEK ONE

Remove all the body hair from behind the withers on the back and sides and on the hind-legs as described in the "One Strip" Method. Diagram C illustrates the completed process achieved in the first week.



WEEK TWO



Beginning at the base of the skull, strip out an inverted "V," starting out with a width of about one inch. Gradually widen the strip as you work down the back of the neck until you join the section of the back previously stripped. Diagram D shows the desired result.





WEEK THREE

Take out the remaining hair on the sides of the neck and shoulders, down to an inch above the elbows. See Diagram E and F. Be sure you do not strip or trim into the indentation at the elbow. This small area of hair just above the elbows is trimmed later in a process to be described.



WEEK FOUR

Study Diagram G and H before beginning the work on head and ears. Study both the profile and top of the head as it should look when stripping is completed. A medium or fine knife will do the job, although frequent use of thumb and forefinger will give the best result. Remove all the hair in this area, including the undercoat. Start stripping from the back of the skull forward. As you bring your work to where the eyebrows begin, take considerable care in forming this line. With thumb and forefinger, strip out the area between the eyes, but not as deeply as on the skull. Strip out the sides of the skull from the outer corner of the eyes to the outer corner of the ears, leaving the sides of the cheeks and under throat for later.

Strip or clipper the ears at this time, using scissors to finish off the edges. The beginner will find ear stripping difficult as the area is particularly sensitive. Use a fine knife for these more difficult to handle short hairs, and use clippers if you must.

Whether cropped or natural, the inner ear should look neat and clean. Removing the hair with clippers is easiest, but some hand work near the ear canal is required. This is a sensitive area and using only thumb and forefinger can be very time consuming. A pair of tweezers will help, and a fastidious groomer will quickly learn their function.

WEEK FIVE

At this point, the cheeks, throat and chest must be dealt with. The amount that is stripped, and that which is clipped is a matter of personal pride. These areas must be kept neat throughout the weeks of showing, as short, in fact, as the head. These areas will need constant maintenance during the show period, whether stripping or clipping. Be reminded that clipping will produce a softer texture, and a loss of the true salt and pepper color.

Using clippers, take out the hair under the throat. Before proceeding, comb the whiskers (beard) carefully forward and then grasp the beard and muzzle before bringing the clipping to within 1-1/2 inches of the corners of the mouth. When in doubt, remove less rather than more-chin whiskers take a long time to grow.

With stripping knife or clippers, remove the hair on the chest to the point of the shoulders, leaving a small inverted "V" shape as shown in Diagram H. Thinning scissors may be used to blend the joining-line between shoulders and chest and between neck and throat.

WEEK SIX

At this point the undercoat will begin to show prominently. This should all be completely removed over the next two or three weeks, using a fin stripping knife or comb, and following the same pattern used for the outer coat. This process can do some damage the the new growth of hard hair if not done correctly. You may wish to use a fine (flea) comb first in order to learn the skills involved. The knife or comb should be held at a 45 degree angle, and with slight pressure, working in the direction of the natural lay of the coat.

This weeding out process must be continued as the new coat grows, otherwise the in-growing coat will lift and separate quicker than it otherwise would.

The Stripping Process

The process of stripping, or pulling the hair out from the roots,may seem abhorrent to the uninformed. It is, however, quite natural to strip out the coat of a Miniature Schnauzer. If left to its normal cycle, the hair would eventually reach a length of two to four inches and die. Rather than shedding, the dead hair tends to linger halfheartedly. It does not break off, but eventually falls from the roots. The stripping process is only assisting the natural cycle, and can be relatively painless.

The finger method of stripping is best for beginners, as you learn the process. If the coat is blown (dead, and ready to be plucked), it will come out easily.

Grasp the strands of hair between thumb and index finger. Pull in the direction of the lay of the coat. Repeat the process until one or two square inches have been removed. Then take a coarse or medium stripping knife and attempt to repeat the procedure. Instead of gripping the hairs between thumb and bent forefinger, grasp them between your thumb and the knife. Hold the knife perpendicular to the dog and grasp the hair as close to the roots as possible, pulling in the direction of the lay of the coat. Use an arm and shoulder pulling movement, not a wrist action. If you flex your wrist, you will cut rather than pull the hairs with the knife. Compare the hairs being removed from the finger stripping and knife stripping. If you are plucking, the hair is of uneven length. If you are cutting, the hair will be even in length. Remember to work a small area at a time until all the outer coat has been removed.

Stripping is a tedious chore-partly manual labor and partly an art. The cliché "practice makes perfect" definitely applies. The length of time consumed in hand stripping depends on three factors: proper tools and equipment, the cooperation received from the dog, and your own skills.

CLIPPING PADS OF FEET


(use No. 15 blade)

Facing your dog head on and holding the paw back use the corner of your blade and scoop out the hair near the large pad of each foot. DO NOT DIG YOUR BLADE IN - this is only to clean the feet.

CLIPPING THE BELLY (USE NO. 10 BLADE)

Holding the dog’s 2 front paws in one hand lift the dog and clean the hair from the belly area. Do not clip above the navel.

CLIPPING THE TAIL (rectum area)

Clip around the rectum about a half inch on either side. Try to avoid direct contact of the blade and rectum. The top underside of the tail will be clipped with the same blade as used on the back of the dog.

CLIPPING THE BODY

Starting at the base of the skull with your clipper-clip down the back to the base of the tail. Then clip down the neck to the shoulder and over the shoulder to the elbow. From the shoulder clip along the sides to the hind leg and dog’s hip. Be sure to leave the furnishing on the underside. Blend the hip line into the rest of the body line, leaving the hip and the hind leg fuller than the rest of the body. Run down the tail on both sides with the clipper, giving it a clean look.

CLIPPING NECK & CHEST (use same blade as on body)

You should have already clipped down the back and sides of the neck. Now holding the dog’s head in an upward position, clip down the neck to the chest bone.

CLIPPING THE HEAD (USE NO. 10 blade)

Comb the hair on the face forward. Clip the head back from a line above the eyebrows over the skull. With the corner of your blade create a “v” shape between the eyebrows. Then clip from the outside corner of the eye to the base of the ear; then from the outside corner of the eye down the neck.

EARS (use No. 10 blade)

Holding the ear flat in one hand, and blade flat against the ea, clip from the center of the ear to the outer edges.

SCISSORING THE EYEBROWS

Comb eyebrow straight forward and holding the dog muzzle in one hand, shape eyebrows into 2 triangles. The eyebrows should be small and divided. Keeping the scissors parallel with the top of the muzzle, cut away the excess hair to separate the eyebrows. Be sure the outer edges of the eyebrows are even with the sided of the head.

SCISSORING THE BEARD

Comb the beard forward and scissor lightly down the front of the muzzle. Then holding the dog’s head to the side, round the beard on the sides into a barrel shape.

EARS

Hold the ear flat in 1 hand and trim outer edges of the ear to give a clean look.

SCISSORING CHEST

Comb hair down and holding scissors straight up scissor hair evenly across to blend it into the chest line. This area should also be left full, and the scissoring here is to even off any uneven hairs.

Legs

The hind legs should be scissor at the hip downward, leaving a full effect from the hip down. The front legs are the same except there is now fullness at the elbow. Scissor down to create a full look.

SCISSORING FEET

With the dog standing straight, scissor around the outside of the feet to even off the edges.

the pitter-patter of your pet's feet louder than usual? The problem could be his nails. The winter months keep many dogs indoors, reducing the opportunity to wear down nails on pavement and hard ground.
Even when a pet has adequate exercise on hard surfaces, nails may grow uncomfortably long. Dog nails are iron hard, explains Val Penstone, Best Friends Director of Grooming, and many small breeds are just not heavy enough to wear them away. Age, body type and structure, and the shape and position of the foot all play a part in the pattern of nail wear.

No matter what the cause, long nails make walking uncomfortable. The toes are forced upwards, or the foot joint is twisted to the side, causing pain and problems further up the leg and back. Overgrown nails curl around, catch in carpets and upholstery, and -- left unchecked -- can grow long enough to penetrate back into the pad of the foot.

How long?
If you hear a clicking or scratching noise as your pet walks across hard flooring, it's time to get out the nail clippers or see the groomer!

The ideal length for a dog's nail, says Penstone, is barely touching the ground when the dog is standing still. For many pets, it requires monthly attention, or more, to keep nails close to this ideal length.

Trimming nails can be a challenge. Dog's nails have a 'quick', containing a nerve and blood vessel that runs down the middle of the nail. Cutting the quick will cause bleeding. In dogs with white or light nails, the quick is easier to identify, but it is almost impossible to see in dogs with dark nails. A professional groomer, used to handling the clipper and controlling the dog, will be less likely to cause bleeding even on dark nails.

If your pet's nails haven't been trimmed in a long time, the quick may have grown further down the nail, so getting them to the correct length without bleeding is impossible. In some cases, the nails may need to be filed or ground, removing only a fraction at a time. The good news is, the quick tends to recede, as nails are kept shorter.

The proper steps
If your pet is comfortable having his feet touched and you want to take on the task of nail clipping at home, Penstone advises:

Teach the pet to stand still while his nails are clipped.
Use only specially made dog nail clippers. Ask your pet professional for a recommendation.
Nails are softer after soaking, easier to cut and less likely to splinter. After a shampoo is the best time to tackle nail trimming.
Have a styptic powder to seal the flow of blood just in case you nick the quick
Examine the nail closely to see where the quick is likely to reach.
Cut from front to back and not side to side.
Cut only a little bit of the nail, and examine the nail to see where the quick is before cutting again. Repeat, taking off only a small amount of the nail with each cut.
If your pet refuses to cooperate, it may be better to put nail trimming in the hands of a professional. When a pet is sensitive about its feet being touched, nail clipping is a difficult chore. In rare cases, a pet is so foot-phobic, that he must be sedated at the animal hospital before his nails can be trimmed. The good news, however, is that the more frequently the nails are done, the more likely the pet can be taught to behave.

Frequent nail trimming should be part of your pet's regular grooming routine, because keeping nails short is important to your pet's health and well being.