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Miniature Pinscher

Miniature Pinschers

Previous:
How to Feed Your Miniature Pinscher

Next:
Miniature Pinscher Healthcare

How to Groom Your Miniature Pinscher

To keep your min pin healthy, you must provide regular grooming and care to his coat, skin, nails, ears, eyes, and teeth. Grooming is also a great time for you and your min pin to bond, as well as an opportunity for you to inspect his body for changes that may be signs of illness.

Getting Your Min Pin Used to Grooming

If you socialize your min pin to grooming early, he’ll probably enjoy it. And the more your min pin enjoys grooming, the easier and more fun it will be for you as well. To socialize your min pin to grooming:

Start a consistent grooming routine immediately after you bring your min pin home.
Keep grooming sessions short.
Reward your min pin with treats for staying still and allowing his feet, muzzle, and ears to be touched.

If your dog doesn’t like to be groomed, don’t force it. For instance, if he doesn’t like his feet to be touched, try touching one foot for one second, then reward him with a treat. A few days later, touch the other foot for two seconds and offer a treat, and so on.

Coat and Skin Care for Your Min Pin

Brushing and bathing your min pin will help to keep his coat and skin healthy.

Brushing Your Min Pin

Although he doesn’t have long, flowing hair that requires daily brushing, a min pin still needs regular attention paid to his coat, especially when he is shedding. Brushing removes dead hair and debris and distributes the natural oils from his skin to make his coat shinier. Regular brushing also helps your min pin avoid skin infections and irritations.

Brushing Tools and Procedure

To brush your min pin’s short, smooth coat, you’ll need the following tools:

Rubber mitt or coarse cloth: A mitt or cloth will keep your min pin’s coat glossy, shiny, and healthy-looking.
Shedding blade: A loop of saw-toothed metal extending from a brush handle, the shedding blade is good for removing debris and dead hair from the coat. Use this tool when your min pin is shedding heavily.

Brush your min pin’s sides, chest, neck, belly, legs, and tail. Avoid sensitive areas such as the nose and eyes. While brushing, always have treats handy in case you accidentally make him uncomfortable.

Bathing Your Min Pin

Bathe your min pin only when he smells bad or gets very dirty. Bathing him too often will dry out his skin. You can wash your min pin in a bathroom tub, or in a kitchen or utility sink. Place a rubber mat at the bottom of the tub or sink to prevent him from slipping.

Bathing Tools and Procedure

Wet your dog’s coat thoroughly with warm water.
Wet his head as well, but tilt it back so that water doesn’t get in his eyes.
Avoid getting water in his ears, or gently insert cotton balls into the opening to keep out water.
Lather your min pin well with dog shampoo, rubbing your hands with and against the coat in circles.
Once you’ve shampooed your min pin, rinse him thoroughly, making sure to get every last bit of soap out of the coat.
Dry him with a towel or a hair dryer set to a low setting, being sure not to burn or frighten him.

Miniature Pinscher Nail Care

When a min pin’s nails grow too long, they can affect his gait uncomfortably. You’ll know that his nails are too long when you hear them clacking against hard floors. Depending on your dog, his nails will need to be cut every few weeks. If your breeder hasn’t removed the dewclaws, the nails farther up the inside of the legs, they may need to be cut more frequently.

Nail Care Tools and Procedure

To cut your min pin’s nails, you’ll need two things:

Nail clippers: Get a small-sized pair of guillotine-style nail clippers, available at any pet store. Don’t use scissors or nail clippers made for humans.
Styptic powder or gel: Styptic powder or gel will stop the bleeding if you cut your dog’s nail too far.

Trim each nail just a tiny bit at a time or you’ll risk cutting the quick, the blood vessel inside the nail. In a dog with light-colored nails, you can see the quick as a pink line running up the middle of the nail nearly to the end. On darker nails, you can see the quick by holding a flashlight under the nail. If you do cut the quick, dip the nail into styptic powder or gel to stop the bleeding.

Miniature Pinscher Ear Care

Check your min pin’s ears once a month for signs of mites or illness, and bring him to the vet if his ears have:

A color different from the skin
Red blotches
A strong, unpleasant odor

Ear Care Tools and Procedure

Even if your min pin’s ears are healthy, it’s still a good idea to clean them each week. To clean his ears, you’ll need cotton balls and dog ear cleanser, available at any pet store.

Squirt a liberal amount of dog ear cleanser directly into your dog’s ear, and rub the ear in a downward motion for approximately 30 seconds.
Most dogs shake their heads immediately after this, which actually helps to loosen dirt imbedded within the ear.
Use a cotton ball (not a cotton swab) to clean the visible area inside the ear. Do not stick anything deeply into the ear.

Miniature Pinscher Eye Care

Keeping your min pin’s eyes clean will improve his appearance and help ward off infection.

Eye Care Tools and Procedure

To clean your min pin’s eyes, you’ll need a moist cloth. Whenever necessary, remove discharge from the corners of his eyes by wiping it away carefully with a moist cloth. If he seems to have constant eye discharge, bring him to the vet. If your min pin’s brows or eyelashes are interfering with his eyes, you can trim those hairs carefully.

Miniature Pinscher Dental Care

To keep your min pin’s teeth and gums clean and healthy, brush them once or twice a week.

Dental Care Tools and Procedure

To brush your min pin’s teeth, you’ll need a dog toothbrush or finger brush (a little rubber toothbrush that slides over your index finger) and dog toothpaste, all of which are sold at pet stores. Never use human toothpaste on a dog.

Put a little toothpaste on the toothbrush.
Rub the brush against the front of your min pin’s teeth. You don’t have to brush the backs of the teeth.

If you don’t brush your min pin’s teeth regularly, plaque will build up, and plaque can be removed only via a thorough cleaning at the vet. Vet cleanings require full anesthesia, which can be stressful and can’t be given to older min pins or those with certain health issues. That’s why it’s particularly important for owners of sick or old min pins to brush their dog’s teeth regularly.

Acknowledgments & Disclaimer

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How to Feed Your Miniature Pinscher

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Miniature Pinscher Healthcare

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