Hi, A mini schnauzer is on our list were are considering for our first dog. We love airedales too. We've met a lovely male schnauzer when we dog sat him and we fell in love with his personality. I was wondering what your schnauzers were like in temperament and personality??? Also, do any of you have one in the midlands and are willing to let us possibly 'allergy' test my husband? He's lived with a westie and a yorkie before with no reaction. Thanks, Melanie
Hi Melanie, I have a nearly 9 month old mini schnauzer and her temperament is excellent. She is very friendly, over-friendly sometimes! One thing I will say about her is that she does not like to amuse herself, she likes to have attention continually so I would imagine they would be very hard work if you had very young children. She is quite vocal, if she sees something she does not like, she will voice it, but its not a yappy bark, but she will continue until she gets the reaction she wants. Shes very good with my two teenage children and is basically full of fun - 24/7. I think it is important to socialize them from an early age as my friend has a girl whose 3 and shes very wary of other dogs and chases them off, I made sure Sparkle saw loads and loads of dogs and she just wants to play with any dog she sees. If you are looking for a dog to be your best pal, this is definitely the breed for you. They are a people dog and are happiest with their owners. My husband has allergies and is fine with Sparkle. I hope this helps
Hi Melanie I was given my first Mini as a gift in 1964 when working in a famous Airedale kennel and have had one ever since. I love their temperaments and find them easy to train. They are eager to learn, inquisitive and make very loyal companions. My niece has very bad asthma and numerous allergies but she never seems to have a problem with my Minis.
Hi Melanie, I just looked at your profile and I think that you would have no problems with a Mini Schnauzer. Pepper was my first dog, I too wanted an Airedale but decided that they weren't really suitable for a novice owner. I love the terrier types so I went for a Schnauzer as I read that they had terrier looks without the terrier temperament. Unfortunately Pepper hadn't read that and she is all terrier, in fact she's been a bit of a handful! She is over confident and has selective hearing, she picks things up very quickly but then chooses whether she feels like doing it. She has a high prey drive and it's taken me 3 years to get her recall even close to reliable! We do Agility together and she picked up all the kit really quickly but has a tendency to wander off mid-run if she comes across an interesting scent. However from what I've read I'm not sure she has a typical Schnauzer temperament and I don't want to put you off the breed but I just wanted to prepare you for what you might get! J.
Thanks guys for your views, the more I learn, the more I'm liking the mini! I'm thinking at the moment that a mini would be a better match size-wise for our house at the moment too...now just to get landlords permission (he lets me have rats, so hoping he's open to a dog too!) Do you find there is much difference between girls and boys temperament wise?? We're hoping that if all goes well with the landlord, possibly to look for a puppy around late Dec...fingers crossed!
Hi. We have two Standards and their temperaments are very good. They only bark at the postman! and any other visitors...which we don't mind as we live in the country with no immediate neighbours. They are great fun and full of energy but do quieten down as they grow older! I am sure they would be good for anyone with allergies as they like Minis and Westies dont cast their coats.
thanks, thats really helpful well, our landlord has said YES!!!! we can have a dog, wohoo!!! so we've been in contact and have 2 breeders we're in touch with and hopefully will know if their girls are pregnant soon!!!
Thats good that your landlord said you can have a dog. I know of some Mini Puppies for sale in Derbyshire. Anywhere near you? They would be ready to go though.
Hi Melanie it is wise to make sure you buy a puppy from a good breeder who breeds from health tested stock. Any puppy you buy should have had its eyes tested at 6 weeks and you should get a copy of the certificate. The test carried out of the sire and dams and the date of testing should be printed on the KC registration certificate, it should say Eye (date)-unaffected by CHC,GPRA,HC. Here is some information on eye testing.. quote from the SCGB
thanks xanthe, we wont be ready til dec though. thanks minihaha, its good to know what to look out for on the certificate. both breeders say they do those tests and will give me the certificate. one is on the committee of the mini club, we'll be visiting both breeders soon and meeting their dogs thanks for the info on health testing too we want to get the best and healthiest puppy we can
This is a breed that I am also considering along with an airedale. My concern is my 10 year old female cat who has been the sole pet since we got her when she was 13 months old. she is tolerant of my daughter's cat when we cat sit occasionally so my be ok with a puppy. I really need advice on which would be more compatible with her.
