CLIP OR STRIP?

Giant Schnauzers have a double coat, a waterproof course top coat and a downy undercoat. Depending on coat type, when left the coat will become 'blown' once or twice a year. The longer dead top coat becomes loose and puffed out with new coat and undercoat coming in underneath. Stripping of the coat can be time consuming but is required for the show ring to maintain texture. Dead hair is removed by plucking it out by hand or with the aid of a stripping knife. Once stripped the faster growing undercoat can be maintained by regular scrapping with the stripping knife. The frequency of scrapping will depend on the abundance and growth rate of the undercoat, but may be required once a week to maintain a show coat between stripping. Regular scrapping may also help to improve a softer coat.
If you are not able to strip the body coat and if your dog is not being shown a clippered coat is a quicker and easier option. However clippering of the 'body coat' will cause the coat to lose it's course texture and become much softer. This is because individual hairs grow thinner from the root and thicker towards the tip, cutting the hairs prevents the tapering and thickening of the hair that would provide a courser texture. Also clippering does not remove undercoat and the overall coat may appear the same colour as the undercoat, usually a greyer colour or a reddish tinge.

BODY COAT

1. Brush the coat regularly and thoroughly before 'trimming' or 'hand-stripping'.

2. Using the blue stripping knife start at the shoulders and strip the coat within the dotted area and in the direction as shown. If you prefer to clip your dog use blade No 7 or guard No 2-3.

3. Finish off by stripping/trimming the back of the neck.

(N.B: Starting at the shoulders will encourage confidence in the dog before commencing the more intricate parts of the body.

REAR

1. Using the blue stripping knife or clipper blade No 7/ guard 2-3 - trim the back legs as shown.

2. Using clipper blade No 10 / guard 1-2 clip the rear and inner thigh as shown to accentuate the natural hairline running down the back of the leg

3. Clip the dogs bottom across the thigh to the centre. N.B: Before doing this check the density of the hair in this area as a longer blade may be preferred.

CHEST

1. Brush the hair on the chest downwards.

2. With the dog standing up, using the chest bone as the apex, trim an inverted' V ' shape to the top of the front legs as shown.

3. Brush hair away from the chest and scissor upwards from beneath the dog to achieve a neater line.

4. Similarly comb the hair away from the hocks and scissor downwards as shown.

HEAD

1. Using the large nodular wiskers (identified by red circles) as a guide, brush the beard away from the face. Clip with blade No10 guard 1-2 in the direction show up to the ridge of the skull shown by the dotted line.

2. The hair between the eyes should form a natural inverted' V'. Accentuate this line by scissoring from the corners of the eyes. Clean a small area out between the eyebrows with the clippers or scissors - keep the scissors 'flat' to the skull and this will prevent 'cuts and 'obvious scissor' marks.

3. Trim the eyebrows in a line with the nose as show.

4. Strip the top of the head in the direction of the arrows with the red stripping knife, alternatively clip with blade 8 or guard 2-3.

EARS

1. Clip the ears with blade No10 or guard 1-2 in the direction of the arrows.

2. Trim the edges of the ear with scissors to give a neat edge.

FEET

1. Use the clippers to trim the hair level with the pads in the direction shown by the arrows, alternatively cut with scissors. This will prevent clogs a dirt and mats from causing sore feet.

2. Tidy the hair around each paw to create a round 'Cats Paw' effect.