The Miniature Schnauzer is a part of the larger Schnauzer family of dog breeds. Miniature Schnauzers are the smallest of the Schnauzers, hence the “miniature” in the dog breed name. They are renowned for their bushy beard. The Miniature Schnauzers are known to sport hard, wiry coating that comes in one of the three colors – salt and pepper, black and silver, and solid black.
So, if you happen to have a Miniature Schnauzer as a pet dog, you may be wondering how you can get your dog to look his/her best. I have got you covered right here in this post. Here is the process of how to groom a Miniature Schnauzer.
Steps For How To Groom A Miniature Schnauzer
1. Brush The Fur
The first thing that you will want to do is to brush the fur of your Miniature Schnauzer. Miniature Schnauzers have a double coat which mean that they have thick fur.
Because of that, they can gather a lot of mats and knots which can be painful for them and disruptive to their overall fur line if these things aren’t swept away from their fur.
Given the thickness of your Miniature Schnauzer’s fur, you will need a certain kind of brush in order to be able to reach all of those mats and knots that are buried deep into the fur.
With that in mind, slicker brushes does a great job of reaching deep into the fur of a Miniature Schnauzer thanks to their fine bristles.
Even though there are countless slicker brushes out there, I would recommend the Ruff ‘N Ruffus one as it is one of the best slicker brushes that you can get for your Miniature Schnauzer.
This slicker brush is designed to help you to collect all that mats and knots without causing any pain to your Miniature Schnauzer.
The Ruff ‘N Ruffus slicker brush also comes with a self-cleaning mechanism that should make it much easier for you to clean out the many mats and knots from the slicker brush. If you purchase this slicker brush, you will also get a comb and a nail clipper as nice bonuses.
With the slicker brush in hand, proceed to brush your Miniature Schnauzer thoroughly. For the most part, I recommend that you brush your Miniature Schnauzer against his/her fur in order to have the best results with removing the mats and knots.
So, in other words, have the brush move upwards and backwards when you’re brushing the fur. The only exceptions to this are the beard and the eyebrows which should be brushed forwards and downwards.
If you come across any mats or knots that you can’t remove with your slicker brush, use the bonus comb to remove the remaining mats and knots.
The best place for you to start the brushing process is to start with the legs and then working your way to the paws, the belly, the sides, the back, and finally, the head – and yes, that includes the bushy beard.
You will likely have to hold one leg up in order to effectively brush the legs, paws, and the belly.
2. Bath Your Miniature Schnauzer
Once you have finished brushing your Miniature Schnauzer, it is time for you to give him/her a bath. Before you start, let’s make sure that you have the right shampoo to bath your Miniature Schnauzer with.
Miniature Schnauzers are especially vulnerable to skin irritants and allergies. They are also known to have just a little bit of odor that is largely caused by excessively oily skin.
So, you will want to have a shampoo that is designed with these two things in mind. The Buddy Wash Shampoo and Conditioner will take care of your Miniature Schnauzer’s skin and odor.
Plus, not only can you use this shampoo with your Miniature Schnauzer, but also, you can use it on your hair too as it is also safe for humans to use. That way, you don’t have to have two separate shampoos for yourself and your dog.
Now that you have the shampoo, you can put your Miniature Schnauzer in the bath tub or the kitchen sink. But, before you give your Miniature Schnauzer a bath, now is a good time for you to brush his/her teeth.
That is because brushing your Miniature Schnauzer’s teeth not only stops the bad breath, but also stops tarter from building up within the teeth.
As far as toothpaste is concerned, you will want to go with the Virbac toothpaste as this is what the veterinarians often recommend. So, it is the best toothpaste out there not just for Miniature Schnauzers, but also for dogs in general.
Once you have brushed your Miniature Schnauzer’s teeth, you are all set to give the dog a bath. You will want to use a water sprayer, like the one that you would normally use as a shower head, to wet your Miniature Schnauzer. Make sure that the water is warm, but not hot.
Wet your Miniature Schnauzer first and then thoroughly apply the shampoo on the dog. After that is done, rinse the dog with your water sprayer.
3. Dry Your Miniature Schnauzer
When you are done bathing your Miniature Schnauzer, the next thing to do is to dry the dog. Get started by drying your Miniature Schnauzer with a bathing towel first. Then switch over to a blow dryer set to medium heat and dry the dog with it.
As you are blow drying your Miniature Schnauzer, brush the dog’s beard and eyebrows forward and downward and then brush up the legs.
4. Trim Your Miniature Schnauzer
As I mentioned early on in this post, Miniature Schnauzers have a double coating. And so even though that makes the Miniature Schnauzers especially prone to a lot of mats and knots, it also has the benefit of keeping them from becoming cold in cooler weather.
So, you will want to keep these two things in mind and try to strike the right balance between trimming the fur and keep enough of them to keep your Miniature Schnauzer warm during cooler weather.
Now, you may be wondering “Which clipper should I use with my Miniature Schnauzer?” That’s a very good question you have right there.
I would recommend the Andis UltraEdge Super Detachable Blade Clipper AGC2 because it is powerful enough to be able to hand the kind of coating found on Miniature Schnauzers.
Even though this clipper is powerful, it stays remarkably cool for a good while while you’re using it. That is important because you don’t want the clipper to get hot during using it.
The Andis UltraEdge clipper is also quiet which is helpful if your Miniature Schnauzer is spooked by the noise of a clipper.
In order to accomplish the goal of trimming your Miniature Schnauzer while also keeping enough fur to keep the dog warm in cooler weather, you may want to use the #7FC blade.
This blade can be used on your Miniature Schnauzer’s body except for the paws and ears. In order to trim those parts of the dog’s body, you will either need a #30 or #40 blade because those body parts are more sensitive.
Also be careful around the genital area of the dog as it is extremely sensitive. The genital area of a dog is below the tail and between the back two legs.
The clipper that I mentioned only comes with the #10 blade. So, you can head here to order more blades for your clipper. Oh and you can trim your Miniature Schnauzer’s bushy beard if you would like, but if it were up to me, I would just leave it alone since it gives your dog a unique look.
5. Clean Out Your Miniature Schnauzer’s Ears
You will want to make sure that your Miniature Schnauzer’s ears are kept clean as you don’t want wax to be building up inside the dog’s ears. That is because letting wax to build up and overwhelm the ears can cause ear infection.
Use an ear cleaner with cotton balls to clean out your Miniature Schnauzer’s ears. Veterinarians often recommend the Virbac ear cleaner for use with a dog’s ears. So, that is what you will want.
6. Clip Your Miniature Schnauzer’s Nails
You will want to make sure to check your Miniature Schnauzer’s nails to ensure that they are kept short. Allowing the nails to grow too long can cause pain for your Miniature Schnauzer when he/she is walking.
So, use a nail clipper like Millers Forge Dog Nail Clip to clip your dog’s nails. Be careful not to cut the quick part of the dog’s nails as bleeding can easily occur as a result of doing so.
How To Groom A Miniature Schnauzer – Conclusion
There it is for how to groom a Miniature Schnauzer. In order to have the smoothest experience possible with grooming your dog, you will want to make sure that he/she is prepared to be groomed. So, here are some things that you can do to prepare your Miniature Schnauzer for the grooming.
What are your thoughts? Are you an owner of a Miniature Schnauzer who would benefit from being groomed? Feel free to leave a comment down below.
Thanks for this helpful grooming post. I found it really interesting that you brush your miniature schnauzer to get the knots out before washing them and also to brush against the fur. This was counter-intuitive to me, I would have done the brushing during the wash, once the conditioner was on like I do with my own hair. Great tips, thanks a mill.
You are very welcome! It’s a good thing that you came across these tips so that you can get better at grooming your Miniature Schnauzer. Yes, I would brush your Miniature Schnauzer before the bath so that you can get rid of all that knots and mats from the fur. As I understand it, it can be more difficult to do that when the fur is wet.
Thank you for sharing this very detailed article – How To Groom A Miniature Schnauzer. Proper hygiene is essential for a miniature schnauzer, they are like part of the family and should be cared for and maintained for our health. Sometimes we take our little fury friends for granted however they are in our homes and must ensure that we practice good hygiene.
You are welcome. You make a good point in that a Miniature Schnauzer should be cared for as if the dog is a part of the family.