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The Miniature Schnauzer is a smallest dog in the Schnauzer breed and originated in the mid-to-late 19th Century from Germany. The Miniature Schnauzer is a cross between the Standard Schnauzer and other smaller breeds such as the Poodle. A miniature Schnauzer is a spunky, but aloof dog who does things their own way. They tend to be good guard dogs without the tendency to bite.
Forum rules
Please feel free to post here if your topic does not fit into one of the categories under 'Caring for your Schnauzer'. There are sections for breeding, feeding, grooming, showing and many more that may be more appropriate than this generic section
Sprays
We are preparing for the arrival of our mini boy and wonder if anyone could recommend a cleaner for accidents, mostly on hard floor, but also for the carpet ( we don't have much). Our local pet shop has run out of Urine Off due to Brexit! Are there other good/better makes?
Night time toileting
He will be in his crate in our bedroom at first, before moving to the landing/hall outside. Would people recommend taking him outdoors for a wee in the middle of the night? It's three floors down to the garden and a fandango to open the doors! But want to do what is best for him. I had thought about a pee pad in our bathroom for any 3am wees, - easier for me, but that might set a bad precedent?!
Hi Lyndsey,
With our puppies, we have a pad in the front of the crate so that if the puppy needs to go they can do so without getting into a routine of going out in the night. You want to train him to hold on and not to get into the habit of night time toilet trips to the garden. However, some people do introduce a phased process of getting up during the night but moving the time further and further on until the puppy has learned to hold on. It can depend on the individual puppy and the house training that has been done by the breeder before you get your puppy. I have known many pups who can hold on through the night until about 6-6.30 a.m. but must go straight outside when they come out of the crate - carry the puppy if it is a distance to the garden and have assistance with opening the doors as, if you let the puppy make their own way initially or keep them waiting to open the door they will pee where they are!
In the early weeks you do need to do everything you can to avoid accidents in the house as the fewer times this happens the more successful the house training will be. As regards sprays, we use the Barrier V1 spray which is a multi-purpose safe spray against bacteria, viruses and moulds as well as neutralising odours. There is a link here but you can get this spray online from a variety of different websites:
Oscar was a dream to toilet train. Otto was a slow learner and I made a mistake of not taking him out in the early hours so had to restart the whole process again. If I had another pup I would take them out before bed then with the pen/crate right next to the bed I would take him/her out as soon as they begin to stir and carry them out. Should only take a few days. Regarding sprays, I invested in a small carpet cleaner (Bissell Green), super for removing evidence of accidents.
Man cannot survive with wine alone...
we also need a schnauzer.
With both of ours OH is always last to bed so he would take pup out before coming to bed. Both were in a crate in bedroom. When they woke up in night I would take them outside for wees, as Leigh said always carry them from crate to where you want them to pee, and dont interact with them. Give them a treat and a good boy reward tickle if they pee then straight back in crate. That way they wont start waking up for a play. If you are going to do this rather than pad in crate, I would suggest putting the pad by your exit door if you are not going outside. That way pup will begin to associate that door with going outside to pee. Saying a command word while they pee will also mean you can ask them to pee on command when you go outside.
Once they get bladder control they can hold it for hours, easily 12 hours from last wee to first wee in the morning.
Our first family dog
Barney - Pocketpark Biali Eyebright 6/2/13 - 8/3/19 Gone too soon Motto for owners who groom their own Schnauzers -"Never mind it'll soon grow back"
Thanks Julie and Alison. That's really helpful advice.
Once out the back door, there is a very small, covered paved area, then a steep-ish flight of steps up to the actual garden (not ideal!) I had wondered about laying a pad just outside the door, on the paving, for his night wee. Would that be more appealing than paving stones for him, or not worth bothering? I realise this may sound mad!
No not mad at all. Given the choice they always go for absorbent surface, inside nearly always the carpet not lino floor outside grass rather than concrete.
Jasper and my previous dog would find the one clump of seaweed on an empty sandy beach to do a poo on
Our first family dog
Barney - Pocketpark Biali Eyebright 6/2/13 - 8/3/19 Gone too soon Motto for owners who groom their own Schnauzers -"Never mind it'll soon grow back"
Re using pads around the house or outdoors, do be aware that it can encourage a puppy to only go on a pad when you actually are trying to train him to go on the ground outside and not to go in the house at all. There is also the risk that a puppy may associate any square or rectangular shaped item on the floor indoors as a place to pee and will then use rugs or mats as well It is true that most dogs do favour absorbent surfaces although male dogs also pee on upright objects too e.g. table legs and lamp posts. I have heard of people living in apartments using a small real or fake grass ‘toilet’ in an outside space rather than a pee pad to help pups move to toileting on grass.
Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. ~Roger Caras
Magic - Silversocks Sharade at Darksprite Trilby -Darksprite Rosa Bud
My sister used a small piece of fake grass for toilet training her pup, 1m squared. At the age of 6 he still uses it for his nighttime wee wee and they hose it down regularly. I think it was a great success.
Man cannot survive with wine alone...
we also need a schnauzer.
Welcome to the forum, good idea having your puppy in a crate in your bedroom from day one, I did that when we brought our boy Gino home, he slept all night after a wee in the garden around 10pm. I couldnt believe that he had slept all night, as soon as I heard him stir I was up, & carried him straight outside to the garden for the toilet. yes my boy was only 8 weeks old & had gone all night from day one, just a few accidents during the day due to husbands fault but he was housetrained within a couple of weeks. We couldnt believe how easy he was housetrained compared to our last girl. He still wants his crate at bedtime his choice but suits us for when we travel with him. Make sure you take out to the garden every couple of hours, when toilet training & especially after eating & sleeping. You have made a good choice of breed for your first dog.
Christine & Gino (Siglette Shadow (born 9/5/17 ---
Suzi (15/5/04---13/4/17) (Sugarbabe) RIP loved you to the moon & back, miss you so so much precious girl
First thing I do even before visiting the toilet myself. Take pup out. And always immediately after playtime and feeding. Currently at 2 hour intervals, gradually being extended to 3 as he gets older.
Female black and silver mini born 15.1.14. Gone way too soon. RIP my sweet darling Sept 28 2021 we'll never forgot Cleo. You left a hole in our hearts.
Male black and silver mini born 7.7.21, you naughty boy Tobias. “time for jail “. ( crate ).
Just an update. I’m finding it extremely difficult house breaking Tobias. In fact I don’t recall having this issue with any of my past pups. I do the usual outside business after key times, like sleeping , leaving his crate or playtime and eating. But sometimes within an a couple of hours he’ll pee inside.
Female black and silver mini born 15.1.14. Gone way too soon. RIP my sweet darling Sept 28 2021 we'll never forgot Cleo. You left a hole in our hearts.
Male black and silver mini born 7.7.21, you naughty boy Tobias. “time for jail “. ( crate ).
Frederickdawg wrote: ↑19 Nov 2021, 18:15
Just an update. I’m finding it extremely difficult house breaking Tobias. In fact I don’t recall having this issue with any of my past pups. I do the usual outside business after key times, like sleeping , leaving his crate or playtime and eating. But sometimes within an a couple of hours he’ll pee inside.
Individual puppies can take longer than others with house training. It is also possible that the pee-ing indoors is not a question of Tobias not being able to hold on until he goes outside (is he holding overnight for example?) but that he is marking territory or making a statement in some way by doing this in the house. As well as the regular routine you have established to take him out, you will also need to keep an eye on him to see any signs that he may want to go - circling or sniffing a particular spot in the house before he pees for example. Male dogs can be more likely than bitches to mark the house and outside by pee-ing and this can be triggered by scenting a bitch in heat in your neighbourhood or by his adolescent urge to establish his territory. If he does mark in the home you will need to try and find something to eliminate the scent if possible as a dog will go back and pee in a place he has marked before.
If Tobias is not in a playpen or crate when you are not able to watch him, I would go back to using these if the pee-ing is a real problem as it will at least contain the area and you can use a pee-pad or similar and see if he uses that instead. It may also give you an idea if he really needs to go every couple of hours or if something else is triggering him to pee.
Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. ~Roger Caras
Magic - Silversocks Sharade at Darksprite Trilby -Darksprite Rosa Bud
outside grass rather than concrete. 
It is true that most dogs do favour absorbent surfaces although male dogs also pee on upright objects too e.g. table legs and lamp posts. I have heard of people living in apartments using a small real or fake grass ‘toilet’ in an outside space rather than a pee pad to help pups move to toileting on grass.
we'll never forgot Cleo. You left a hole in our hearts. 
“time for jail “. ( crate ).