Mini Schnauzer Pros And Cons

From my experience, really easy to train! With my last Schnauzer, I went on a short break and left him with my sister, and when I came back he could spin and dance and I was amazed! With Kenji, he learned to go outside for the toilet as soon as he got home and was housebroken in a day or two – no exaggeration! We only used two pee pads in his playpen – the rest was unused! We did however wake up consistently (during the night my partner and I took turns) to let him out for the first two weeks, and after that, he learned to hold and sleep through the night. At only 10 months old, he already knows more than a dozen tricks and commands!

So they don’t actually! One of the perks of owning a Schnauzer is that they don’t shed much if at all! I love how I don’t have to lint my clothes before going out to meet friends! BUT I would say if you want a lovely smelling Schnauzer and one that can see out his/her eyes, you must keep them groomed regularly! Before Kenji, I had Pepper when I was not even in my twenties, so I was always strapped for cash! So, I taught myself to groom Pepper, and by the time he was 6, 7, or even older, he looked like a proper Schnauzer! Bless, he did endure some bad haircuts before 5 years of age but I repaid my debt by making him the hunkiest senior Schnauzer ever and even got featured on a dog blog at the tender age of 12!

Oh, I think I hit the jackpot with Kenji because he is the most affectionate Schnauzer I’ve ever had! That’s out of three in my life so far! From my experience and seeing other Schnauzer families I definitely think that Schnauzers are affectionate! Kenji loves lots of cuddles in the morning! In fact, that’s how he gets us up.

Mine is super varied depending on what else is going on. When I get home from work he goes bananas, jumps up and down like I’ve been gone a year. Which is lovely. Then after about five minutes he’s got no real interest in affection for the next couple of hours. Once he starts getting tired he may or may not decide that it is Cuddle Time, and he’ll drop onto you and prevent you from moving. Until he’s had enough, at which point he’ll retire to the rug. In the morning he’s not interested in affection until around 8am or so, which was when I went to work pre-lockdown and he’ll try and prevent that with love until he’s ready to sleep again.

[They’re] very family-friendly! However, like all dogs, they should be trained to be around unpredictable behaviours so they learn to be tolerant and gentle around young children. I thought about having a baby with Pepper because he was so calm and caring, sadly timing didn’t quite work out. I have every confidence that Kenji will grow to be even more affectionate as he matures and continue to be a playful friend for when I have children one day.

You just need to ensure that he/she gets enough exercise. Schnauzers are terriers who have plenty of energy! We walk our Schnauzer before going to work in the morning and then walk her again in the evening. We also take her to doggy day care once a week, just to break it out. Doggy day care is fantastic because she gets to run around the whole day whilst playing and socialising with other fellow dogs. On weekends, we try to include in her in our lifestyle activities as much as possible eg take her out for drive with us, go to a cafe and sit outdoors al fresco style with her. We also take her to an off leash dog park where she can play with other dogs. Our Mini Schnauzer is a healthy happy dog living in an apartment.

[Mini Schnauzers] aren’t too big so they’re easy to travel with and suitable for apartment living. We travelled to Belgium (through France) with Kenji at 6 months old and he was absolutely wonderful in hotels and restaurants. We did learn that he was overstimulated (partly because of his age, and partly because of the new environment) and therefore was reactive as a result! We solved it by enforcing a full day of rest and he was back to his happy and calm self! See! He really is very adaptable and we just needed to pay attention to his needs and his communications!

Mental stimulation is one of the most important aspects of life I think. Even as humans, if we are not mentally stimulated we are bored, sad, or worse, depressed. Schnauzers are originally bred for killing vermin on farms so they do need to fulfil their instinct to chase and hunt (like all dogs in many ways) through trick training, puzzles, and other activities. It adds so much to their overall well-being and mental health too!

Kenji is my third schnauzer (and maybe I got lucky), but he is generally very quiet, except for when something spooks him so he sounds an alert or warning. We also ‘accidentally’ discovered that he can howl. Here’s the story: when he was a small pup and licking my neck I got really ticklish and started laughing, and he howled in response to my laughing! Because my first Schnauzer (King) also howled I immediately felt connected to that side of Kenji, and now and then, we howl with him because it’s just so cute!

Having learned from my experience with Pepper, I got Kenji used to grooming from a very young age. I recently learned hand-stripping so I can help maintain the shine and colour of his jet black coat! I also brush him before every single walk (no exceptions – no matter whether it’s a big park walk or around the block) so that he knows brushing means he gets to go meet new frens! He also gets wiped down all over after each walk and his beard wiped after each meal – this is just to keep his hygiene up so we can kiss him all the time!

Being a ‘pedigree’ (like many pedigree dogs) they can have health concerns like skin issues. There are no perfect dogs and it’s up to us to do our best to take great care of them. Sometimes some things are just out of our control like when Pepper was diagnosed with Cushing’s disease two-and-a-half years before his passing. We took nearly a year to bring Kenji home because we were worried about potential health issues (like the issues Pepper had) and we were worried that we were ‘replacing’ Pepper out of grief (and we didn’t want to do that!). In the end, we decided for us that we want another Schnauzer because it’s a very low-shedding dog and it suits our needs and lifestyle. Kenji ended up being a completely different pooch to Pepper in personality and in needs, even though they are the same breed. None of our concerns have realised, and touch wood Kenji will remain healthy, and most importantly, as happy as Pepper was with us as a family.

With Pepper, no, he was very good at being left (and on his own), because it was a different era then (no WFH option)! With Kenji, I was unwell when I first brought him home so I actually have developed separation anxiety from him, and he of course has difficulties in being left on his own. We are working on that, and with his keenness to learn, I am confident that we can improve on that.