[Knute]

My mini-schnauzer is 3 yo and always clipped. When he was a pup, his coat was black with white furnishings. I thought he was a black & silver, but as he aged......his coat matured to Salt & Pepper. Now, he is more of a silver grey.......

Anyhow, I have a continuous round of comedons and my research suggests this symptom could be aggravated by clipping the coat. Clipping is pretty quick and easy to do, I have been doing this myself for nearly 3 years. Now, I desire to try another approach to the comedon situation and I'd also like his darker wire coat to emerge.

I am planning to undertake the stripping task myself. I have not found groomers that I trust or that are familiar with coat stripping. In truth, I'm not comfortable with stripping the dog to bare skin. Thinking more along the path of a "Rolled Coat". Shadow is not a show dog. I know the Rolled Coat will take more time to manifest into a wire coat.

2 Questions:
1.) Will a coat clipped for 3 years be able to generate a wire coat?
2.) Does anyone who strips the coat of their dog have suggestions?

 

[parus]

1. I seem to recall you saying in another thread that Shadow barely had any wire coat even before you started clipping him? If that's so, I wouldn't count on him developing one now - he might not have inherited a typey Schnauzer coat. Lots of mini breeders don't bother to select for it these days. (That's not to say that stripping isn't potentially worth a try anyway for skin health.)
2. I have stripped coats before and my recommendation is to get an experienced person to instruct you in person, if you haven't already, not just rely on written or video instructions. It's a skill that really asks for a hands-on demonstration.

 

[Knute]

Parus, Yes, you are correct. I have said he doesn't appear to have much wire. On the other hand, I do not have another schnauzer in proper coat to compare. So, my initial judgement is based on ignorance and expecting to see a denser population of wire.

Recently, I have been examining his coat very closely. I am doubting my earlier ignorant judgement is correct. This coupled with my research on comedons has me wanting to try for a correct wire coat. Yes, I understand the wire coat may never manifest.

Remember, I'm in China. The pet care here is difficult and the "professional groomers" don't know much more than the informed owner. They are skilled with the "fashion accessory" styles using dyes, ribbons, bows, cute cuts.....and assorted odd not dog things. Finding an experienced person in China to learn the stripping technique is like finding a unicorn fart. I have searched the Dongguan area. All the groomers are happy to clip into a "schnauzer style", none are familiar with stripping the coat. Not to mention the Mandarin/English language barrier is larger than the Great Wall.

Truth is, I'm not sure if I want to strip the dog bald. I'm thinking of a "rolled" coat process. I know the rolled coat will develop more slowly than a stripped coat. I tend to think if the wire is not coming out, then a rolled coat will be an easy return to clipping. The other factor is the weather here is beginning to cool, soon we will be in single digits (Celsius) without heat in the buildings. Meaning the risk of a chilled dog without hair is something I'd rather avoid.

With all this said, I need to rely on written, video or forum hints. One on one experienced hands on guidance is extremely rare and difficult.

 

[parus]

The challenge I'm possibly foreseeing is that you could easily spend months and months rolling without seeing results. Because you don't know whether he's capable of growing a hard coat in the first place, and you don't have hands-on experience with this method, if you don't get results, you won't know whether that's because a)it needs more time b)you're not doing it right or c)he just has an improper coat due to genetics. The stakes are pretty low, sure, but it's a fair amount of potentially wasted time and effort, so it's something to consider before you start. (He'll also be looking pretty scruffy during this experiment, just so you're prepared for that.)

Everyone has their own methods with their terriers, but my feeling is that generally speaking, rolling is more suited for maintaining an established coat. You might consider waiting for warmer weather, stripping him thoroughly, seeing if more of a hard coat grows in, and if it does, then using the rolling approach to shape it up and maintain it.

 

[Knute]

Parus, you bring forward some points about the weather that are under consideration.

Last Thursday, my company told me that I was going back to USA at the end of December. This will end a 6 year stay in China. I'll be in central Iowa for the winter. I think I will wait until Spring. This also will give me time to locate a groomer or person with experience for stripping coats that is willing to guide my efforts.