Dear All

Thanks for advice a few weeks ago. We made the decision to get a Miniature Schnauzer bitch (her name is Poppy). We are collecting her tomorrow (at 8 weeks old). In preparation I have read 'The Perfect Puppy' and 'Owners Guide to a MS'. We are all very excited and a little nervious - the last time i had a puppy was over 20 years ago!

For her first night tomorrow, we have tried to prepare all we can, nice comfy bed, ticking clock, hot water bottle. We are getting a piece of blanket and some familiar toys from the breeder. Any extra tips on how to manage our first few nights and make her as happy as possible would be useful...

Also any other tips from Mini S owners would be great.

Thanks.

Hi Karen

I am so excited for you!!..It is only around 9 weeks since we picked our little Mini S up from the breeder, and I can honestly say it is the best thing we ever did!
We have a little boy called Rufus and he is now 18 weeks…and such a little cute bundle of fur!!
I read lots of information about the breed prior to picking him up..and was often in stitches reading about their general personalities and temperament…and it is so true.
He is very clever, VERY NOSEY, confident (in fact a little too much at times i.e. 3 weeks ago when he wanted to take on a Great Dane) and extremely loving.
I read in one book, “your mini schnauzer will think they are the best thing that has ever happened to you, and will secretly know you are the best thing that ever happened to him too”. This is very true – we seem to have a secret little language/understanding that you can’t really explain!

Please please keep me update as I may be able to help you, and you me! And it will just be fun to know how Poppy goes on!

Louise x

Ps If poppy is anything like Rufus she will also think she is the best looking dog ever…and walk around parading herself and making sure everyone pays attention..! (Even when they have bits of food stuck to their beards – :-))

Well done on your choice. They are fab little dogs. My mini is nearly 2 years old now..how time flies.

I completely agree with Louise's description..nosey...DEFINITELY! They want to know everything you are doing! They are extremely confident with other dogs...so much so they can be a danger to themselves, but can be a bit sensitive to sudden harsh noises and moods. They're keen to please and hate to be shouted at, but they won't run or cower or shiver...they'll just look very dejected that they've been told off. They'll follow you everywhere but won't necessarily want to sit on your lap or be cuddled all the time..they're definitely not lap dogs.

I can't really think what else you can get in preparartion for the arrival of your pup. It's best to get them used to being groomed from a very early age, so have you bought any combs or brushes yet? Even if you get a groomer to do the grooming you'll still need to give them a regular combing to prevent matts forming, especially with food in the beard. Remember to wipe this after every meal if you're feeding them soft food.

They're very clever and toilet training doesn't take long (at least it didn't with mine). Decide how you are going to train Poppy as soon as she gets home and start off as you mean to go on.

Anyway best off luck. They're playful little things when they're pups. Stan hardly slept at all and wanted to play all the time. Enjoy!!

hi
we have a 9 month old mini little boy called zak,he is so funny,what a character.the one thing that im bothered about is,he is shedding quite badly,and i thought with yours being 2 you might know,when do they stop shedding puppy fur?or could it be his winter coat?we had him stripped but were told that having him clipped would prevent the shedding happening so much.have you any advice?also we are planning on getting a kerry blue from a rescue home does the mini get on well with other breeds?
i think the original poster has made the right choice,you cant beat a schnauzer,they are a truly beautiful dog,and a wonder to own,may you have many happy years together.

Hello all,
Mini schnauzers are real characters i'm glad you have chosen this breed & i wish you all the best with poppy. I don't think you'll have much trouble settling her in to your home but if she howls on a night you may be tempted to put her in your bed:) which is what i did with my boy he soon got sick of being on the bed though & by 6months prefered the floor.

As regards to Mels dog shedding? I can't quite understand why he is shedding as they are a non moulting breed & its only if they are not stripped out properly (till you can just see the skin beneath the coat) that they shed. Personally my mini's have never shedded any hair but they are always kept on top of with regards to grooming/trimming.Could it be something your feeding him in his diet?
Bye
Jenny

Dear All

Thanks for the messages so far. I too have read many books on the breed and have now met several adult dogs - I think they are great. Incredibly noisy sometimes, but very friends and full of character. We are collecting her just after 1pm tomorrow. It is so funny, a bit like having a baby - we have done all the washing etc., the weeks food shopping is being done tomorrow mornining. Baby gates etc. have already arrived in preparation...........

As soon as I get chance in the next couple of days I will add a note to say how it is all going. As I said, it is many many years since I had a puppy and it will be completely new experience for my husband and daughter (5 1/2)!

Many thanks
Karen.

Yes my mini prefers sleeping on the floor too...not one for the comforts in life are they?

Minis' coats grow to a certain length and then fall out, unless you strip them out completely or keeping stripping it on a rolling basis to take out the longer hairs. I'm not sure what trimming it would do as I've never used a trimmer on the main part of the coat. I strip the coat with stripping knives. It doesn't fall out where I trim on the chest etc. Maybe you are leaving it too long between trims. Not sure about that one I'm afraid.

My mini gets on very well with my whippet and my breeder has a boxer, and they all fit in well together as far as I'm aware. Introducing another adult dog will need care I imagine, but minis love greeting other dogs..it's more whether other dogs like being around minis I reckon.

Dear Karen,

Ooohhh How excited you must be, I imagine she is now at home with you. I have a nine week old miniature Daschund bitch (Lottie!!!) . She is absolutely gorgeous and I agree with you the first couple of days are very daunting. She has been at home for nine days now and has settled in amazingly well. I guess the most noticable thing the first couple of days will be just how much she piddles!! so be prepared with that mop and disinfectant, because it really does feel like they are going every ten minutes!!!, but after just a couple of days you will notice they can hold themselves a little bit longer each time.

I asked for help on the toilet training front and had so much useful help. The best advice I was given (I know every dog is different and different things work for different babies) was if you do have an enclosed garden, to use it as soon as possible, I was told that it is so much less confusing to put them out as early as possible, as opposed to putting them on paper and then getting them used to the garden. I am putting her out every hour and a half now, and she is going immediately. I am on my ninth day now, and last night had no little pressies in the kitchen at all!!!. They sleep a lot too!!, so I am putting her out as soon as she wakes up, and straight after a meal also.

What food is your mini snaus eating???

I am still in the honeymoon period and am totally and utterly smitten, so it would be great to hear how you get on. Very best of luck,
Kindest regards, Julie

Well, we collected her at lunchtime on Friday and she is wonderful. Easting and drinking plenty and has only so far had two accidents in the house (we are taking her out every 60-90 mins during the day - if she is awake!). My daughter cant believe how fantastic she is! (Also, forgot to put that she is black/silver on my original post).

We are feeding her a combination of Asda tinned meat (puppy) and Asda complete dry puppy food. I was told to give a around 1/6 tin of meat and a handful of dry at each meal. She has this for all four meals, although yesterday we only manated to give her three, due to sleeping etc. I was told that sometimes she has milk mixed with water in the evening, but I havent done this yet. Also, as she eat all of the food I put in front of her, I was considering only three times a day - as our daughter is a very early riser and we like to go to bed at a reasonable hour. Any suggestions of comments on feeding would be greatly appreciated.

She has howled during the night the last two nights, last night was worse and we are all quite tired, but have decided that we are not going down to her until it is almost morning (this morning we went down at 6am). How long does the crying/howling usually last - also any tips on how you put them down at night would be useful - do you wait for them to be a sleep first and then carry them to bed, or put them to bed sleepy, but awake? (She sleeps in a utility room, which opens on to the kitchen during the day, but we shoot the door at night. Again, any tips would be great??

We are going to try leaving her during the day for a short time tomorrow, to get things going, possibly leave her for 45 mins, how do you all deal with this at first. She is never going to be left regularly for long periods as apart from two day out of 10, I work from home - but like to pop out for coffee, shopping etc.

Many thanks for all the messages - we think she is absolutely beautiful....my daughter is total besotted and has refused her swimming lesson this morning, which is normally her height of the w/end!

Karen.

Hi Karen,
One or two things I do with my pups, which has always (so far!) seemed to work. I feed my pups at 8am, 12 noon, 4pm and 8pm. When they're about 16 weeks I feed at 8am, 1pm and 6pm.

When I put them to bed last thing, I put them in awake, and give them a biscuit when they are actually in bed. My lot still come galloping in from the garden last thing and leap into their beds waiting for their biscuit! Then I can leave them to settle down.

She should be able to be left for about an hour, and later on leaving her when you go shopping etc won't be a problem.

Hope this helps. :)

hi are there any experienced dog owners still here if so can i ask a question????

What sort of question, Scooby?

Hi everyone.

A quick update to let you all know how we are getting along. Poppy is still completely clean during the night and we have had no accidents in the house (apart from two mistakes when she arrived on Friday) - we cant believe how good she is. The howling at nighttime has calmed right down, although she does start to make a lot of noise just before 6am, so we take her out into the garden then. She has had her first injection and her check over was fine, which is a real releif.

She is a wonderful little pup with a lovely nature. It seems that yesterday and today she has really settled and she is brimming with confidence! Out in the garden she has already started to bark at shadows and runs around like a mad thing :-). This means that we have had to deal with a little more play biting, not a problem for us, but it has upset my daughter a little (who had to sit on the work surfaces this morning!). However, we are actively trying to discourage biting, by using toys and not getting involved in any rough play etc.

I left her yesterday for two sessions of 30 mins (the first time I heard her crying a little, the second time she seemed quiet). This morning she has been left for just over an hour and she seemed absolutely fine, no noise when I left and she was fast asleep when I returned home.

We are amazed at how easy she has been during this first 4/5 days - she is a wonderful little dog.

Karen.