# Coat King?



## Caniche (Oct 1, 2011)

My son has 2 miniature schnauzer that he keeps shaved because he can't get the mats out in winter with a longer coat.

I was watching Jodi Murphy's dvd and she brieftly talks about coat king.

Christmas is coming and I'm thinking of buying one for him. Is it a good tool to remove the undercoat? Is there something better for that? 

I saw coat king have different #. For schnauzer they say #12, 16 or 20. Which one should I get?


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## prntmkr (Jan 17, 2009)

The Coat King is a gr8 tool!
There are a number of similar such products on the market, probably cheaper, 
but the Mars brand seems to be the tool of choice for those "in the know".

We have two of them (different sizes).
You'll want to be judicious in your use,
but these things do remove undercoat extremely well!

As far as size is concerned, I cannot help as,
at 125 pounds, our boy is a wee bit bigger than your son's dogs.

As these are not particularly cheap items,
you might want to contact a Mini Schnauzer breeder
to get an exact size recommendation,
rather than "winging it" and getting something 
which might not be quite ideal.


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## mom24doggies (Mar 25, 2011)

Yes, the coat king can be a good tool for removing undercoat; although honestly I'm not entirely sure that it's a good buy for a schnauzer...maybe someone else can tell you more about that. Either way you have to be pretty careful because you can actually cut the coat, which isn't what you want. Also, it's not really a de-matting tool, so if you are looking for something to help your son keep the mats out, I would look into a good slicker brush and comb as well.


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## Caniche (Oct 1, 2011)

It's the undercoat that makes it hard to brush. I bought him 2 Les Pooches slicker brushes but he says they don't do the work. I babysat (doggiesat I guess) one of his schnauzers and was amaze at how thick this undercoat is. He lives in a very very cold area lol


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## Graco22 (Jul 16, 2007)

Because the schnauzers are shaved, there is no guard hairs..its all undercoat. Shaving prevents the guardhairs from coming back on a terrier that "should" be stripped. A coat king will do nothing for the dogs, and will likely hurt if he tries to use it. Schnauzers that are clipped have soft coats...those soft fine coats matt very easily, and very fast. A slicker and a greyhound comb, at LEAST weekly are the only things that are going to keep matts at bay. If the Les Pooch brushes are not working, then its user error. ;-) Its hard work to properly brush and comb out a schnauzer with more than half an inch of hair. He has to be sure to separate the hair, brush TO the skin, and them comb TO the skin when done brushing. If he is looking for a miracle tool, sorry, there isn't one. I would recommend if he can't keep up the coat, to have them shaved every 2-3 months to prevent the bad matting.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

I use a #12 on Max's not very thick double coat. an #18 is suggested for spaniels but didn't get anything off him. The knock off sold at the pet stores did nothing.

I used it on Artie, a terrier mix. He had been staying snarly even though I had gotten the actual mats out. After I went through with the MCK and removed the long, dead and damaged undercoat he was easy to comb out. He looked interesting though with a long top coat and short undercoat.

For a couple years I tried using a metal flea comb to remove dead undercoat to see if Max's coat improved, nope. I wasn't cutting his coat at all with the MCK. I am back to the faster MCK now. Really try that before spending the big bucks on the MCK. It works just as well, start low so you aren't combing through as much hair and work up AFTER going through the coat with a brush and comb.

Some groomers use MCK as a pet strip type groom as they can get more of a harsh feel to the coat without stripping the traditional way and some have done so and not been happy with the dog's coat condition as it grows out.


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## Caniche (Oct 1, 2011)

Thank you all for the great info. I knew schnauzers should be stripped but I never knew why. I had no idea that shaving would bring all that thick soft undercoat. I do suspect he doesn't brush his dogs often enough. When I ask him he always says they hate brushing. He stops shaving in october or so and will shave them around april because of the weather. That's 6 months of hair and probably why he's having such a hard time. 

Learn something every day  thanks again


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## Graco22 (Jul 16, 2007)

Caniche said:


> Thank you all for the great info. I knew schnauzers should be stripped but I never knew why. I had no idea that shaving would bring all that thick soft undercoat. I do suspect he doesn't brush his dogs often enough. When I ask him he always says they hate brushing. He stops shaving in october or so and will shave them around april because of the weather. That's 6 months of hair and probably why he's having such a hard time.
> 
> Learn something every day  thanks again


I don't doubt they hate brushing..lol They ARE schnauzers..;-) I never understand the theory in shaving then leaving them grow all winter? Lots of people do it...but a matted dog does not stay warmer, as the matts don't unsulate anymore. And in snow, they get wet, and the skin stays wet under the matts all day, which makes the dog colder. If letting them be longer for winter, that should mean even more frequent trips to the groomer to keep them brushed out and matt free. The longer the hair, the more often needing groomed, not the opposite. 6 months is WAY WAY too long for a schn to go between groomings unless the owner is brushing and combing thoroughly every single day for the last 4 months..and we know thats not happening. Try to educate him...groomers do more than shave dogs..we can also clip in longer lengths so the dog is warmer in the winter, without have 6 months of matted hair. That defeats the purpose.


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## Caniche (Oct 1, 2011)

Graco22 said:


> I don't doubt they hate brushing..lol They ARE schnauzers..;-) I never understand the theory in shaving then leaving them grow all winter? Lots of people do it...but a matted dog does not stay warmer, as the matts don't unsulate anymore. And in snow, they get wet, and the skin stays wet under the matts all day, which makes the dog colder. If letting them be longer for winter, that should mean even more frequent trips to the groomer to keep them brushed out and matt free. The longer the hair, the more often needing groomed, not the opposite. 6 months is WAY WAY too long for a schn to go between groomings unless the owner is brushing and combing thoroughly every single day for the last 4 months..and we know thats not happening. Try to educate him...groomers do more than shave dogs..we can also clip in longer lengths so the dog is warmer in the winter, without have 6 months of matted hair. That defeats the purpose.


Thank you I'll pass the info along. I wish he lived nearby so I would take care of his dogs myself. He's 6 hours away.


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