MINIATURE SCHNAUZER GROOMING OVERVIEW
A correct miniature schnauzer cut makes all the difference to having a great looking schnauzer.
Miniature schnauzers are low-shedding, but high-maintenance in terms of grooming. They need to be brushed daily and groomed every four to six weeks. A miniature schnauzer’s body hair is cut short. They have a low skirt, fluffy legs and chest, and the trimmings emphasize the shape of the body. A miniature schnauzer has a square looking face and a bushy full beard. You should be able to clearly see their eyes when you look at them.
Miniature schnauzers are low-shedding, but high-maintenance in terms of grooming. They need to be brushed daily and groomed every four to six weeks. A miniature schnauzer’s body hair is cut short. They have a low skirt, fluffy legs and chest, and the trimmings emphasize the shape of the body. A miniature schnauzer has a square looking face and a bushy full beard. You should be able to clearly see their eyes when you look at them.
General Grooming
Make sure you get references regarding the parlour/mobile groomer you use. There are many horror stories, so protect your pooches.
We encourage miniature schnauzer parents to groom their miniature schnauzers themselves, at home. It is safer and a much more pleasant experience for your miniature schnauzers.
If you choose not to home groom your miniature schnauzer, please ALWAYS stay with your miniature schnauzer at the parlour/mobile groomer. This way you can make sure they are safe from mistreatment and are not being forced to do anything uncomfortable for them.
Don't send your puppy off to a parlour/or mobile groomer before the age of 4 months, as they are too young for a strange and stressful experience. If you home groom them you can start to groom them at any age, as the stress of a parlour/mobile groomer is removed.
If you want a schnauzer who is comfortable being groomed, the trick is to get your schnauzer used to being touched and handled by humans ideally from young puppies. Touch their ears, paws, under their arms, legs, tails, bodies a lot when they are little puppies. Put your fingers in their mouth, touch their teeth so they get used to touch. Brush them often and get them used to baths and hairdryers. This will make grooming and visiting the vet a lot less stressful for your miniature schnauzer.
In winter the body hair can be left longer for the cold, but it is important to still keep the privates, eyes, inside of the ears and armpits neat and tidy, so that the miniature schnauzer is comfortable. This is called a hygiene cut.
We encourage miniature schnauzer parents to groom their miniature schnauzers themselves, at home. It is safer and a much more pleasant experience for your miniature schnauzers.
If you choose not to home groom your miniature schnauzer, please ALWAYS stay with your miniature schnauzer at the parlour/mobile groomer. This way you can make sure they are safe from mistreatment and are not being forced to do anything uncomfortable for them.
Don't send your puppy off to a parlour/or mobile groomer before the age of 4 months, as they are too young for a strange and stressful experience. If you home groom them you can start to groom them at any age, as the stress of a parlour/mobile groomer is removed.
If you want a schnauzer who is comfortable being groomed, the trick is to get your schnauzer used to being touched and handled by humans ideally from young puppies. Touch their ears, paws, under their arms, legs, tails, bodies a lot when they are little puppies. Put your fingers in their mouth, touch their teeth so they get used to touch. Brush them often and get them used to baths and hairdryers. This will make grooming and visiting the vet a lot less stressful for your miniature schnauzer.
In winter the body hair can be left longer for the cold, but it is important to still keep the privates, eyes, inside of the ears and armpits neat and tidy, so that the miniature schnauzer is comfortable. This is called a hygiene cut.
Bathing
When a miniature schnauzer is correctly groomed and brushed regularly they seldom need to be bathed. They are self cleaning. Too much bathing can strip the natural oils and lead to skin issues. The schroyal family are bathed maybe once every two months - unless they roll in something really horrible.
When bathing your schnauzers please use shampoo that is specific for dogs. Do not use human shampoo as the PH is very different. I use a gentle doggy shampoo for the body and Johnson's Baby shampoo for the face and beard. Be careful not to get water in the ears. I use a non-slip mat in the bath to make them more comfortable. Make sure the water is warm. (Not hot or cold). I wash them and am very careful to ensure that I rinse them thoroughly to get the soap off. I rinse the face with clean non soapy water. I towel dry them and use the hairdryer if it is in winter or if I am in a hurry. If it is summer I often let them dry in the sun outside. If I come back from the park and they have some mud/dirt on them, I often give them a quick rinse in clean warm water.
I strongly recommend that you get them used to being brushed and the hairdryer as young puppies.
When bathing your schnauzers please use shampoo that is specific for dogs. Do not use human shampoo as the PH is very different. I use a gentle doggy shampoo for the body and Johnson's Baby shampoo for the face and beard. Be careful not to get water in the ears. I use a non-slip mat in the bath to make them more comfortable. Make sure the water is warm. (Not hot or cold). I wash them and am very careful to ensure that I rinse them thoroughly to get the soap off. I rinse the face with clean non soapy water. I towel dry them and use the hairdryer if it is in winter or if I am in a hurry. If it is summer I often let them dry in the sun outside. If I come back from the park and they have some mud/dirt on them, I often give them a quick rinse in clean warm water.
I strongly recommend that you get them used to being brushed and the hairdryer as young puppies.
Brushing
It is important to brush your miniature schnauzers hair as often as possible to prevent matting. Daily brushing is recommended. Brush the beard after each meal as this helps to keep the beard clean and neat. Watch the video below for some tips on how to brush.
The Lawrence Tender Care Soft Slicker Brush is 100% the best brush for miniature schnauzers. It is perfect for schnauzerholics! It is the brush used by the Schnauzer Friends Schroyal Family. Once you have used a Lawrence Tender Care Soft Slicker brush on your schnauzers, you will NEVER use another brush. They make brushing your schnauzer easy.
They can be purchased for R320 from Schnauzer Friends South Africa. We import them from the UK especially as they are not available locally. Price: Medium brush R320 each. Click here for more info and prices for the Lawrence Brushes. To order, please email [email protected].
The Lawrence Tender Care Soft Slicker Brush is 100% the best brush for miniature schnauzers. It is perfect for schnauzerholics! It is the brush used by the Schnauzer Friends Schroyal Family. Once you have used a Lawrence Tender Care Soft Slicker brush on your schnauzers, you will NEVER use another brush. They make brushing your schnauzer easy.
They can be purchased for R320 from Schnauzer Friends South Africa. We import them from the UK especially as they are not available locally. Price: Medium brush R320 each. Click here for more info and prices for the Lawrence Brushes. To order, please email [email protected].
We have created a short instruction video to help explain how to brush your schnauzer. A good technique always helps. It is called "How to use a Lawrence Brush on your Miniature Schnauzer". It is starring the youngest member of the schroyal family Her Royal Cuteness Annabella Florence Amy Blane the 4th! HAPPY BRUSHING!
Nails
Keep your schnauzers nails trimmed. They should not touch the ground when they are standing. Check if the groomer cuts the nails when you take them to the parlour, or take them to your vet. I have brought a good quality nails clipper from a pet store and have learnt to cut my schnauzers nails myself, so can do it when I see they need it. Please start handling the paws and nails from an early age or else your schnauzer will be very stressed if you suddenly try cutting them when they are older. We cover nail trimming and have a nail trimming guide and video as part of our Online Grooming Course.
Ears
Keep your schnauzers ears neat and clean. For normal grooming, never pluck or dig inside the miniature schnauzers ears. Use your fingers to gently loosen the hair from the outside of the ear canal. You can then neaten and trim the outside of the ear canal with small blunt tipped scissors. The goal is to remove just a small amount of hair, as the hair is there for a reason. So remove just enough ear hair to let the air circulate and to prevent it from knotting or matting which could cause debris to accumulate inside the ear canal. Clean the outer ear canal with diluted apple cider vinegar with some cotton wool or a cloth.
It’s essential not to push anything into the ear canal beyond the visible outer folds of the ear, because doing so can cause extreme and very painful damage to the delicate internal workings of the ear.
Never poke cotton buds or anything else right inside the ear canal and don’t squirt or pour large volumes of ear cleaning solutions or diluted apple cider vinegar into the ears; a small amount on a cotton ball is usually sufficient. Don’t get water in the ears.
We sell Schnauzer 4 inch blunt tipped small grooming scissors for R120, which are ideal for the miniature schnauzer paws and around eyes and inside the ears. The small size and the blunt tips ensure extra safety. Click here for more info.
Never poke cotton buds or anything else right inside the ear canal and don’t squirt or pour large volumes of ear cleaning solutions or diluted apple cider vinegar into the ears; a small amount on a cotton ball is usually sufficient. Don’t get water in the ears.
We sell Schnauzer 4 inch blunt tipped small grooming scissors for R120, which are ideal for the miniature schnauzer paws and around eyes and inside the ears. The small size and the blunt tips ensure extra safety. Click here for more info.
Teeth
Keep your schnauzers teeth clean. You need to start cleaning the teeth when they are puppies so they get used to it. I started just using my finger so they got used to me touching their mouths. You can use petdent, a special doggy toothpaste (you can buy from most vets). Please DON'T use human toothpaste on your dogs! Another option is to feed them healthy raw bones as this is a natural teeth cleaner and my schnauzers prefer it.
Grooming charts
A correctly groomed miniature schnauzer should look like Her Royal Cuteness Annabella Florence Amy Blane the 4th below.
Her Royal Cuteness Annabella Florence Amy Blane the 4th.
The Schnauzer Friends Miniature Schnauzer Grooming Charts provide the map/guideline for grooming a miniature schnauzer.
Click here for more information regarding the miniature schnauzer grooming charts.
Your groomer should NOT be charging you if they do not know what they are doing!
Learn to groom your miniature schnauzer's at home!
We encourage miniature schnauzer parents to home groom their dogs.
Enrollment is OPEN! You can start straight away! When you home groom your miniature schnauzers, they will look fabulous with a proper schnauzer cut and you can groom when and where it suits you. You will have more special one on one bonding time with them, and keep them safe from potential harm at mobile groomers and parlours. There are so many grooming parlour and mobile groomer horror stories. Miniature schnauzers are very sensitive dogs, so keep them safe! Most importantly, you will be proud that you are a schnauzer mommy or daddy who grooms their own miniature schnauzer/s!
Enrollment is OPEN! You can start straight away! When you home groom your miniature schnauzers, they will look fabulous with a proper schnauzer cut and you can groom when and where it suits you. You will have more special one on one bonding time with them, and keep them safe from potential harm at mobile groomers and parlours. There are so many grooming parlour and mobile groomer horror stories. Miniature schnauzers are very sensitive dogs, so keep them safe! Most importantly, you will be proud that you are a schnauzer mommy or daddy who grooms their own miniature schnauzer/s!
Our ONLINE Schnauzer Friends - Miniature Schnauzer Home Grooming Course is perfect for schnauzerholics who want to learn how to home groom their miniature schnauzers. Our two hours of professionally edited step by step grooming videos and detailed guides for download, will give you the confidence and skills you need to start home grooming your miniature schnauzer. You can access the online course when it suits you and from anywhere. During the courses we provide advice for which clippers, blades, scissors and other grooming equipment to purchase for your schnauzers. Don't waste your money on the wrong equipment.
You will be proud that you are a schnauzer mommy or daddy who grooms their own miniature schnauzer/s!
You will be proud that you are a schnauzer mommy or daddy who grooms their own miniature schnauzer/s!
Our mission is to spread joy and happiness to schnauzers and schnauzerholics!
