Hand Stripping for the show ring

Grooming is an important part of looking after your Schnauzer. Regular grooming will help keep your Schnauzer healthy and comfortable and you will spot potential problems early. Whether you decide to clip or strip your Schnauzer, help is on hand. Schnauzers are generally a non-shedding breed and will require a fair amount of grooming to get rid of dead hair.
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John_123
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Hand Stripping for the show ring

Post by John_123 »

I've been researching grooming for showing and have watched a few videos and read a few articles. I read one the other day on handstripping which has caused a little confusion.
What I've previously seen/read suggests that the chest/under chin/cheeks and ears be done with a trimmer, but the article I read the other day is saying that all areas should be handstripped. Surely doing this on and around the face/ears etc would be uncomfortable for the dog. Advice would be most welcome to hopefully end my confusion. Thanks John
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zeta1454
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Re: Hand Stripping for the show ring

Post by zeta1454 »

Hi John, hand stripping is done to remove the soft undercoat on the jacket of the dog. The undercoat is usually a paler and monochrome colour and with a P&S miniature schnauzer you want to keep the harsh jacket and banded hairs of the top coat. The areas you mention as being trimmed around the face and neck and also under the tail should be fine not to be hand stripped. The leg furnishings, eyebrows and beard are scissored to shape. With black and black and silver minis the ears are hand stripped if being shown as they will lose their strong colour if they are clipped - this is not as significant for a pepper and salt mini.

If you want to show your miniature schnauzer you should really find a breeder who shows their miniature schnauzers and can guide you in how to groom. Although it is possible to learn a lot from online resources, there is no doubt that learning in person from a professional is superior. If your puppy’s breeder cannot help in this regard, it will be worth your while to look for someone who knows how to groom a mini for the show ring either as a professional groomer or preferably another show breeder. The Miniature Schnauzer Club have a list of members who groom dogs and may be worth checking out even to get a recommendation if anyone who can help you with this:

http://www.theminiatureschnauzerclub.co ... /groomers/
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John_123
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Re: Hand Stripping for the show ring

Post by John_123 »

Thank you for your reply. It is a lot clearer now. You actually answered my next question re ears on a black, black / sliver. I need to find someone who can help with practical hands on grooming tips, but being 16 miles North of Aberdeen with few "show" types local it may be difficult. I am determined to hand strip as I'm not a fan of the clipper look. I remember when I started looking at minis I spoke to an owner who was complaining about colour. Apparently she had purchased a black and was disappointed that it was grey. She couldn't understand why and I asked if her dog was clipped to which she replied "why does that matter ". To explain I used to show Rough Collies many years ago and did a lot of research into genetics around coat colour and breeding lines. Again thanks for your reply and advice. John
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Re: Hand Stripping for the show ring

Post by Dawnspell »

There are some wire coated breeds that have to be stripped all over for the show ring eg wire haired fox terriers. I have heard of people stripping everywhere except the legs on a schnauzer, personally I think they're making a lot of extra work for themselves
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John_123
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Re: Hand Stripping for the show ring

Post by John_123 »

Thanks for your reply. I know that some breeds are stripped all over, but have always felt that it must be uncomfortable for the dog especially around the face although experience helps. I'll probably go with clipping around the rear, cheeks and chest and work on hand stripping the jacket. John
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Re: Hand Stripping for the show ring

Post by Schnauzerluv »

My pup is Black and Silver, although I am not showing him, I still prefer to hand strip. I basically hand strip as much of the black hair as possible or else it takes on a brownish hue because of the undercoat. Carding does help too with that. I hand strip the top ear flap and he hardly feels it, probably one of the easiest places to hand strip for me.
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