# dog grooming question



## enngirl5 (Aug 10, 2004)

Lately my dog (miniature schnauzer) has been acting like a pain when we take him to get groomed so we've basically been forced into the fact that we have to do it ourselves. Either that or have him tranquilized during grooming which I'm not gonna do. I'm not too concerned with him having the perfect schauzer cut I just want to cut his hair so he's not hot and messy looking. Does anyone groom their own dogs here? Where can I get some good clippers? Because we bought some a while back that sucked. It wouldn't even cut his hair. They were dull or something. But I'm scared of getting clippers that might cut him. Does anyone have any suggestions?


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## enigma (Feb 18, 2005)

> Does anyone have any suggestions?


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## ShyTiger (Apr 1, 2005)

Hahaha very funny to see a dog grooming question here! Anyway i have the following recomendations for you. Unfortunatly i am in australia otherwise id tell you to bring him to see me but seeing as i think this would be a little difficult... do you have a groomer that works as part of a vet clinic or a groomer that specialises in difficult dogs? Make sure they use gentle methods. If wanting to do yourself i need more info on what is making it hard for him to be groomed, what does he do? Is it that he is wriggly, is he biting, if so when does he bite?Is he biting unpredictably? Is he just going all teeth or does he give you warnings?(most give warnings) What do you do when he is displaying undesired behaviour? Is it with your groomer or with anyone who trys to groom. Please give me detailed info on what he is doing so i can give appropriate advice(as best i can over net)
Best clippers are WAHL KM-1(older modell good for just home use as they dont heat the blades up) and you will need probably a #7f blade and maybe a #5f blade, they both cut pretty short but thats what we usually use on schnausers. The lower the number the longer it leaves the hair. Make sure you get a F blade as you are less likely to nic the skin. Im not sure where you can get them as i dont know your area but i believe WAHL should be contactable somehow or at least known somewhere. Stay away from osters as they will burn your hands. Laube are ment to be good but i havnt used so i dont know what they are like.
You will have to get blades sharpened when they start to leave track marks or when they are having trouble getting through the coat. Also i would only clip clean, dry coat. Clippers have a thing called a tongue and it needs to be replaced every say 6 months or when clippers not cutting. Be really carefull around under arms and ears as this is most common places to accidently cut. 
You can also get books that show how to do schn clips but if he is difficult i would be just clipping him all one length all over short so then you dont have to do very often until you can get a training schedule up that is decreasing the difficult behaviour. 
So if you let me know what behaviour he is displaying i will then give you some suggestions for you to try.
If any more questions feel free to post or pm.


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## dakotajo (Aug 10, 2004)

Wow...great reply.


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## Martinelv (Aug 10, 2004)

Good lord, I didn't know grooming a mutt could be so involved. I just tend to shear mine like a sheep. Now I know better.


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## enngirl5 (Aug 10, 2004)

Well, my dog is old and kind of set in his ways. But this recent groomer, I never liked the woman. My mom likes everyone and we would constantly argue about taking him there. Anyway, apparently he snapped at the groomer so they said they can't do him anymore. Why can't they just muzzle him? We told them to do that in the first place. He's not a Rottweiler for god sake. He's a 13 year old 20 pound miniature schnauzer. So anyway, he has these bumps called schnauzer bumps, and he has a couple of moles on his face. And that groomer always hits them when she cuts his face and he bleeds which I'm sure is why he snapped at her. Because they did his whole body and then did his face and said he snapped so they couldn't finish his face. But something happened because the next day I noticed a big blood spot on my backseat from where he had been sitting when we brought him home. So I think when they were grooming his face they hit a mole or something and cut him. 
I['ve tried to groom him myself before but like I said we bought new clippers but it wouldn't even cut his hair. So I guess they were cheap or something. And I would take him somewhere else but what if the same thing happens and they try to sue us or something. For a while I was just using scissors to cut him and it took hours lol. Thanks for the advice shytiger. I can always count on this board to have a specialist in every field imaginable. 
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## ShyTiger (Apr 1, 2005)

Hey engirl. 
Sounds to me you just need another groomer that knows how to handle dogs. They should be able to use a muzzle and also just take things really slow. If your dog has been cut he will associate grooming with pain so it may take a couple of times with a good groomer to get him to learn that that is not the case. Ask the groomer how long they have been grooming for and what methods they use for difficult dogs. There response should be along the lines of, they asses temperament, use muzzle if needed to calm and save fingers, use calm voice, praise desired behaviour, ignor or soft low voice "ah no's" for undesired behaviours, take slow and make sure dog is not being made to feel uncomfortable and that they would also possibly use a second person. A good groomer will also know how to avoid warts! There is a organisation in usa if that is where you are, that groomers are registered with, that means they have a certain skill level with grooming and handling. I do know of a good groomer over there and have pmed you her details.


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