Stanzee Speaks!

The Official Spokes Schnauzer for American Pet Pro

(Stanzee 10/01/1994 - 07/01/2006  Goodbye Good Girl!)

Explains what you need to get started grooming your own pets at home!

Hi everyone!  I've been waiting for you, along with my little brother Keeper.  That's him, playing with his toys as usual while I do all the important stuff around here.    I've been getting lots of phone calls and emails asking us what you need to have to take care of your own Mini Schnauzers and all other dogs  at home so I put together a wish list of all the things it takes to have a complete Schnauzer (and those other breeds too) grooming kit.  You can buy a few things at a time or everything at once if you want.  This stuff works wonders for keeping that just groomed beautiful look going between grooming appointments and for some, having the right equipment means you can do all of the grooming your dog needs at home!

First, if you are going to groom your dog at home regularly, you will want a grooming table with a grooming post (also called an arm) and a grooming loop (also called a noose).  Having us on a grooming table teaches us that getting groomed is business and not a time to play around or act up. It also gives you a place you can work comfortably and safely without worrying about getting dog germs on your kitchen table. Mom uses the Edemco Platinum Hydraulic table (picture on the right) because she grooms a lot of rescue dogs, not just us, but for at home grooming of only a few pets you will do fine with a Heavy Duty Folding Table that comes with it's own grooming arm (pictured on the left).  Tables and arms are also sold separately if you don't need both parts. Grooming nooses are available in many sizes and styles, pick one that you like best. The grooming noose helps us to remember we aren't supposed to jump off the table or play around on it.  I love my grooming table. It's where I go to get beautiful! Even dogs that don't get haircuts need to be brushed and a table makes that job much easier. Since tables are oversized and heavy, shipping can cost a lot.  We suggest you might want to get your table from a local pet supply store, a dog show or you can even make a table or grooming bench yourself! A hydraulic table is well worth the price if you have more than one dog and need to be able to raise and lower the top easily.  Mom couldn't do without hers.

DAILY GROOMING NEEDS: 

Every day (or at least 3-4 times a week) you need to brush us real good and then comb through our hair, all the way to the skin. On me, Mom uses the Classic small curved (denser) universal slicker brush that is also called "The Black One" but Keeper's coat is more cottony than mine so Mom uses a Classic Small Oval Pin Brush on him first, then she can use the slicker brush.  Be sure to use a fine/medium tooth comb after you brush us and use both sides of the comb through all of our long hair. Mom likes the Classic Double sided comb with a handle because it fits her hand best but some people prefer a greyhound style comb like the Classic 7½ inch  fine/medium comb.  The reason it is so important to comb us all the way down to the skin and use both sides of the comb is to make sure every single tiny tangle is out of our coats.  

For larger dogs, you will choose larger brushes and combs with teeth farther apart if the dog has a big, heavy coat.

 Little tangles can become big mats very quickly and mats pull on our skin  and hurt us. If your doggie does get mats, you can get the Mattbreaker tool to help get them out quickly but nothing beats keeping us combed and brushed every day to prevent mats from ever happening.  Any sized dog that has a very full coat should use a Coat King tool to remove as

Some dogs don't like to be brushed very much but we need it anyway.  Sometimes Keeper tries to bite Mom if he doesn't want to be brushed so when he acts like that, Mom puts a muzzle on him and it helps him to understand he can't be nasty when Mom is taking care of him. We use the Four Flags small soft Dog muzzle for Keeper. It is easy to put on and take off, it's soft and Keeper feels safer when he knows he can't lose control. These soft muzzles come in every size from xx-small to xx-large, one will be right for your dog. 

To keep our breath fresh and our teeth healthy we need our teeth brushed everyday.  Dog breath isn't supposed to be nasty and our teeth are supposed to be white and shiny all the time.  Mom uses these neat little disposable toothbrushes. They are nice and soft on our gums and the best thing is they come with a little specially designed doggie toothpaste stuffed right into the brush head!  That makes it real easy to use and you just throw them out when you're done so there's no icky germs growing on our toothbrush while it's stored.

Once in awhile, we get stuff in our eyes, like dirt, pollen, pieces of grass or a bug.  Mom uses Tomlyn's Opticlear to rinse the debris from our eyes in a hurry.  It is a gentle saline solution and feels really good.  The bottle is designed to allow a flow strong enough to rinse quickly without hurting us and the economical 4 ounce size lasts a really long time.  Opticlear also is good for rinsing out small cuts & abrasions too!

WEEKLY CARE NEEDS: 

Once a week, most of us need our ears cleaned and our nails cut.  Cleaning our ears regularly helps prevent ear infections and that saves lots of money at the vet too.  Cutting our nails keeps our feet in great shape and prevents pain when we run and play.  Mom likes Ear Wash with Tea Tree Oil by NaturVet and for our nails she prefers the Miller's Forge 727 orange handled,  medium sized, pliers type clippers that stay sharp and cut quick and clean.  Nail Clippers come in smaller and bigger sizes so choose the size best for your dog. We also have some Kwik Stop Styptic powder  on hand in case Mom accidentally cuts one of our nails too short, but she hasn't done that in a  long time. And if your dog has rough, dry footpads, Skin Works from Coat Handler will take care of that in no time.  Mom used it on me when she first rescued me and it felt great.  Now she uses it on her own hands!

 BATH TIME: 

Just like little kids, most of us would rather not have a bath but we all need  them regularly to keep our skin clean and healthy.  There are lots of great shampoos to choose from depending on the skin condition and needs of your dog.  Mom likes to use Kelco's Pennyroyal for me during the summer  because not only does it cut down on tangles between baths, it also helps keep bugs from getting on me.  For Keeper, I think Mom should use Kelco's Filthy Animal shampoo because he really is one. For our faces, Mom always uses Kelco's Puppy Tears shampoo which is a gentle tearless formula and doesn't sting our eyes.  If our beards get stained then Mom uses Kelco's Ultra Blue shampoo to whiten them back up in a hurry.  After the shampooing is done, we like to use Kelco's Ultra Silk conditioner to leave our furnishings soft, silky and easy to comb. and for a natural chemical free flea shampoo, Mom loves bark2Basics Citrus Plus shampoo.

Between real baths Mom uses BioGroom's Super Blue Waterless Plus shampoo if Keeper gets into something, and he always does.  You just spray it on, rub up the foam and dry with a towel.  It doesn't make him gooey or sticky and it even gets urine odors out of fur instantly. 

After we are all bathed and conditioned, it's time to dry us. Leaving us to air dry will make our hair wavy and harder to cut properly.  Poodles will curl right up and look nappy, while Yorkies look dorky if they air dry.  Dogs with skin problems need to be thoroughly dried to prevent bacteria from growing in the moisture down under the fur. People type blow dryers are too weak to dry our hair quickly so they get way too hot for our sensitive skin and we overheat too easily to make using a people dryer safe.  We carry several very nice dryers that are specially made for dogs.  Andis has the QuietAir Pet Dryer that you can hold in your hand or place it in it's specially designed stand so you can continue to comb or brush while drying your pet.  The Andis QuietAir is best for toy breeds, like Poodles, Maltese & Yorkies but works fine on Schnauzers who have silky furnishings like mine.  For Schnauzers with thick cottony furnishings like Keeper's or other full coated dogs, the Metro Air Force Commander dryer or the Metro Quick Draw is better.  Both dryers have forced air which dries us quickly with very little heat and also allows you to see all the way down to our skin so you can be sure it is in good shape. Really hairy dogs, like Huskies and Chows and dogs with big thick coats like that need a bigger dryer to get the job done.  The Metro Master Blaster is one of the bigger dryer choices on our shopping pages.

Be sure to check our ears at bath time too and clean them if you haven't done it already this week.  Plus with Mini Schnauzers and many other breeds, hair grows in our ears trapping dirt and moisture which can cause ear infections that really hurt. I know it sounds yucky but you have to pull out any excess ear hair from the top of our ear canals. Never poke anything into our ear canals though, not even a cotton swab.  Mom uses Professional Pet Products Groomer's Ear Powder to help her grip the hair in our ears and it makes it pull out easily.  I only get a little ear hair so Mom can use her fingers but Keeper is a hairy little dude and he squirms a lot so Mom uses Miller's Forge 5½ inch curved Hemostats to grab his ear hair faster.  

After our baths, Mom always gives us a treat for being so good.  Keeper and I can't decide which ones we like best, Gimborn's Freeze Dried Liver Treats made only with real liver or All Natural Chicken Strips that are 100% real Chicken and are available in 2 varieties and 2 convenient sizes.  Just thinking about them makes me wish I could have a bath right now.  Keeper says He'll wait for that bath, thanks, but he could he get a treat any way?".

HAIRCUTS: 

To keep us looking perfect we need haircuts.  I look best if I have my hair  cut every 6-8 weeks.  Keeper is so furry he needs a haircut once a month.  The time between haircuts depends on how fast and thick the hair grows.  We're dogs, not sheep, and we like to look our best all the time, plus when our hair is kept neat and trimmed we have healthier skin too.  If your dog is a schnauzer like us, you need to get Peggy Blakely's DVD video, Pet Grooming the Miniature Schnauzer.  It shows you how to do everything we talked about before and how to give a perfect haircut.  It's step by step and Peggy is really easy to understand.  If you dog doesn't happen to be a schnauzer, you can still use all of the techniques shown on the video and change the hairstyle to something else. Also there are many wonderful websites on the Internet that show exactly how to groom your own special breed.  Just search your breed's name + grooming to find all the best sites.

Now you need to pick out a professional clipper.  You can get cheap clippers at stores but you won't get very good results.  We have lots of professional clippers here but Mom uses the Andis AG One Speed clipper because is does the job right and is easy to maintain.  It comes with a #10 blade and a 4 ounce bottle of clipper oil that will last a very long time. If you have a large dog that needs to be shaved or one that has a very thick coat, you will want to get the two speed model so you can have the extra power to get through the heavy coat or large body surface quickly.  

You will also need a few more blades.  Blades snap on the clippers and are easy to change. The blades warm up so you have to change them when they get warm or else we will get burned by them.  Mom has 2 #10 blades and sometimes she wishes she had 3!  The #10 is what we use on our body, head, neck, butt and cheeks.   For dogs with thinner coats you may want to use a # 8½ blade and to leave a longer coat for winter time, use a #7F blade. If you use either the 8½ or 7F blade for body work, you will want at least 2 of them so you can switch when they get warm. We use a #40 for inside the ears and for between the foot pads. Andis and Oster blades work just as well and all blades fit on any of the professional clippers. Each blade size cuts a different length, some are smoother cuts than others.  It's a good idea to ask which size would be best, if you don't know.  When using a two speed clipper on the highest speed check your blades more often.  The higher the speed, the faster the blades heat up, so be careful.

If your dog is small and has a silky coat or is always kept relatively tangle free, or you only need a small clipper to clean up feet, butts and private parts and ear from time to time, the best small clipper/trimmer is the Laube Speed Feed Kit.  This wonderful clipper is cordless, lightweight, ultra quiet and is very low vibration.  It comes with 2 batteries and a blade that adjusts from size 9, 10, 15, 30 & 40!  this is the perfect clipper for puppies first few haircuts, for full body clips on well maintained dogs and for quick tidy-up jobs. (NOTE: The Speed Feed is shown here as a complete kit, in it's case and off to the right side is an enlarged view of the clipper, front and back view)

All new blades have to cleaned with Blade Cleaner before you can use them because they have a protective coating put on at the factory and the blades won't cut very well until they have that coating cleaned off.  You also need to completely clean your blades after a few uses.  Mom uses Oster Blade Wash for cleaning.  After each grooming you need to clean out the hair and oil your blades.  Mom uses Kelco's Mr. Lube-N-Cool to cool blades down during use.   Andis Clipper oil is perfect for oiling your blades and keeping them running smooth.  Clipper oil comes with each set of Andis Clippers and you can also by it separately if you need some.    Remember to completely clean and oil your blades after every use.

Andis makes a Tips & Techniques video in DVD format that is perfect for showing you how to clean and maintain your clipper and blades as well as safety tips for clipping between toes, around ear edges and stuff like that.  This video is a must if you are new at clipping your dog!

To save time trimming our leg furnishings you can use a snap-on Blade Comb by Laube.  Mom uses the #A which leaves our leg furnishing 1 inch long.  You can choose from many sizes depending on the length you like best. 

After the clippering is done, you need to do some finishing work with scissors.  For the legs and body you need Straight Shears.  Mom uses Roseline 8¼ inch straight shears (JFRL82085).  For any curved area, like around the feet on schnauzers or any curved line on other breeds, like poodle topknots or Bichon heads, you need Curved Shears.  Mom uses Roseline 7½ inch Curved Shears (JFRL82076).  She uses the curved shears for my eyebrows and the straight ones for Keeper's.  Then to blend the hair, especially on the cheek, near the eye for us, you need a thinning shear.  Thinning shears are also really good for breaking small mats apart.  Mom says you really get what you pay for with thinning shears and she prefers the Fromm 44 Tooth Thinning Shear (FMES44). For large dogs or long surfaces to scissor, consider buying a longer shear.  Most brands also come in 9-10 inch sizes which reduce the amount of movement you hand makes to trim the same area as short shears take.

If your dog tangles easily or builds up static electricity while you are brushing, blow drying or scissoring, you can use Bark 2 Basics Anti-Stat Scissoring Spray & Detangler.  It's the perfect solution for fly-away hair and doesn't contain any silicone or oils to gunk up our coats.  Mom says it's good because it's made by the Coat Handler people who know all about making show dogs look good and if it's good enough for show dogs, then it's good enough for me!

Now that you are about to have your very own grooming center at home and all your doggies are going to look beautiful all the time, you might wonder where you will put all of your new professional stuff.  Metro has a really cool chrome Tack box if you want a truly portable grooming tool box.  It has all kinds of hidey places to store everything you need to keep us beautiful all the time.

 Well, that's the complete grooming wish list.  You decide what you need right away and what you can wait for until later.  To order now, just click the "Let's Go Shopping " button on the left or the link below.  

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             That's it for now.  Don't forget to bookmark this page and come back to visit me real soon for some more special stuff! If you have any questions about the stuff on this page, email me at info@americanpetpro.com or call my mom at 1-800-543-9480.

And THANK YOU for doing all you can to take care of your dog!