Miniature Schnauzers

[scoobydoobie]

I think we're pretty much decided that our puppy should be a miniature Schnauzer. My son has asthma and I hate dog hair, so Schnauzers seem to suit from that perspective and from what we researched they seem to be good dogs for families, need moderate exercise and are easy-ish to train. The one trait that bothers me is the yappy-ness. I've heard from people that some are, some aren't. I'm sure its not possible to tell from a puppy at 5-8 weeks whether it'll be yappy so that is my sticking point. That and the fact that I do have to work part time on 2 days (4.5hours and 5.5 hours) though my husband is around for a few hours of that every other week. I have heard that the fact that they are intelligent (hence easy to train) means the fact that they could be destructive if left at home? I understand that getting a dog means integrating into your lifestyle, but at the end of the day, it is a pet and not another child, and they will be times when the dog can't come with us, or we feel it not suitable to take it.

I would be really grateful to hear from owners of miniature schnauzers, to hear what their opinions are of the breed and whether my concerns are to be considered. Also, if any owners of this breed would care to share their breeders name (by personal message), I would be very grateful as it seems to be a complete mine field to find a breeder who is genuine and above board.

Many, many thanks fellow Schnauzer lovers!

Scooby

Hi there. We have a 7 month old mini having done extensive research into all the various breeds as to what would suit our family ( 3 kids). We have put a lot of work into raining from day 1 and did tons of socialising.

Ours doesn't bark at all when out and about, but does bark when the doorbell rings as that is their watchdog nature. He has met so many strangers that he is very friendly towards people and loves other dogs ( a bit over enthusiastically sometimes)!

He definitely has a stubborn streak and will try it on so we have tried to be really consistent with his training.

They are very robust little dogs and have bags of personality. I can recommend our breeder if you are interested. They have been excellent.

Have you looked at the assured breeders list from the kennel club? There will also be a schnauzer walking group around i would think. Theres an annual walk this weekend in the peak district - schnauzerfest - as well.

Facebook
Southwest schnauzer walk
Group might be able to advise. Also have you tried the schnauzer forum (on tapatalk i think)

Ours is 17months and fabulous. He is barky though. Worst of all, he has an ear piercing bark which can be embarrassing, but he's brilliant with other dogs when off the lead, and a lot more chilled then.

He is not keen on visitors, even ones he's met before- but calms down eventually.

I have 3 dc, and he loves them all, but mostly he is my dog, and very protective. He loves long walks , but is equally happy sleeping on my knee. He likes to chase pigeons, but hasn't yet worked out that they can fly, and he can't.

He looks big, for a mini, despite both parents being exact breed standard. He wouldn't win any prizes at Cruft (tolerates grooming), I suspect he takes after his more feisty mother, than his very laid back dad
I love him to bits

Here he is in dd1's footy scarf. He looks suitably unimpressed, which is why I love him.

Our mini schnauzer is now 6 months, I love her to pieces, but yes she is most definitely yappy. She made no noise at all for the first few weeks but then she certainly found her voice. We got some good tips from our vet and are working hard with training her and distracting her before something sets her off. She is getting better but I think it may take a while, she's certainly a guard dog, we run a pub and live above it, when she comes down to the bar when we are already open and people are in then she's fine, but if she's down with us in the morning before we have any customers in, then when people do come is she goes nuts and takes a good while to settle down.

Putting pro dog walking hat on - We look after three mini Schnauzers, two from the same house. They are all lovely family dogs. One is VERY noisy when people come round, but her owner regards that as a plus, she reckons she's far cheaper and more effective than a burglar alarm!

They do all have fairly delicate tums, but they are such good natured dogs. Love them.

Ours love visitors to an embarrassing degree. The last one would insist on sitting next to the visitor all the time they were there even if they'd never met them before.
Lovely dogs, yes, they do like the sound of their own voice but we've found it is excitement rather than aggression. They can be a bit stubborn but in general I have found them easy dogs to be around.

I have one too. He only barks when the neighbours cat comes in the garden, very chilled, a joy to train, we've just started agility with him, he loves it. He's super friendly with everyone and wants to be friends with every dog he meets. When we went to visit the breeder, trefaldwyn dogs, there were 2 sets of puppies, his mum was lovely and calm, the other mum was quite barky, we chose well. I'm trying to think of downsides, but other than his hatred of cats, there's nothing.

Has anyone heard of Eronel Miniature Schnauzers please? They are in Swansea (I know, alarm bells!) but they are KC assured breeders (checked the KC website) and seem to tick all the boxes. They own both sire and dam (eye screened within the past 12 months) and both are show winning dogs but with foreign pedigrees (grandmother). They have 2 black mini Schnauzer boy pups ready on 27th June and I'm very tempted but nervous as no-one has given me their name as recommended.