What to look for when buying a puppy

Everything you need to know about bringing a puppy into your life starts here. How to find that Schnauzer puppy, what to look for in a breeder, early care, training and feeding are all covered. We even cover Schnauzer crocodile teeth.
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dannie_kl

Re: What to look for when buying a puppy

Post by dannie_kl »

Amy your dogs are beautiful and of course well cared for and there is also 2 of you to look after all your dogs but what i was aiming at is the sorts of people we see with several different breeds, then they start crossing them for "designer breeds" and dont actually care about the dogs or breeds needs. Your set up is great and no one could say you were not dedicated to your dogs but also that takes hard work and discipline which there are many people who are not like you and like you say just breed this to that with no thought, consideration or actual base of knowledge. Then and again I would like to think anyone visiting your home as i have done would know after walking through your door into your kitchen you can immediately see you are proud of your dogs by the rosettes, trophies and pictures you have on display, also all your beautiful show leads in the process of being made.......I would say people only need to spend 5 minutes in your company and they should realise they are buying something very special be it a pup, an adult or an older dog who has been run on and if someone cant tell the difference between walking through your doorway and that of a puppy farmer.......well I dont know how else to educate them. I apologise that my statement was quite broad and sweeping and I should have perhaps clarified my point leaving no area for confusion between successful show kennels with more than one or two breeds and commercial breeders with more breeds and cross breeds than hot dinners
nujaxshowdogs
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Re: What to look for when buying a puppy

Post by nujaxshowdogs »

I understand that Dannie, but there are many breeders with only one breed be it Mini's or anything else that breed without a care for the breed. This does not mean puppies are reared or kept badly but they breed to only make money. That was my point, don't be fooled by someone just because they only have one breed.
dannie_kl

Re: What to look for when buying a puppy

Post by dannie_kl »

I know that too amy but sometime sits like fighting a losing battle when sadly so many people are of the opinion that "its only a pet" so it doesnt matter when it should matter to everyone whether you are buying your dog as a pet, potential show dog or for other activities such as agiltiy etc
daved1953
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Dew claws

Post by daved1953 »

Hi Everybody,

I at the early stages of doing my research on the suitability of having a miniature schnauzer and everything seemed reasonably fine until I read to my horror about dew claws being left on and the very high cost of having them removed.

Have I misunderstood the thread because if this is correct choosing this breed is definitely not an option for me

Dave
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Re: What to look for when buying a puppy

Post by SarahA »

Not all breeders leave dew claws on, look around and choose one that has them removed if you're that bothered about them being left on. I have one girl with dew claws and one without and so far haven't noticed anything different between them.
Sarah + Pippa (p&s mini - d.o.b.22/5/09) & Daisy (b&s mini - d.o.b 01/5/12) - Perfect additions to our family.
Tulip

Re: What to look for when buying a puppy

Post by Tulip »

Some breeders take them off, some leave them on. It has to be done at 3 days or less, or it will cost to have them taken off at an older age. Personally I only have back dew claws removed as they are just a loose piece of skin with a nail on them and get in the way of grooming, and generally have no purpose. Front dew claws are actually a digit and almost like an extra toe, so I leave them on. I discussed this at great lengths with other breeders and my vet, who himself has bred working Labradors for 20 years and has never had a tearing incident, and decided the risk of them being caught or ingrown were low enough to keep them. I hasten to add that to take a dew claw from a puppy at three days old was very very cheap, just £5 a claw, so very inexpensive.
So long as your dog has his dew claws trimmed regularly there's no reason to be worried about them, in my opinion. :)
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Re: What to look for when buying a puppy

Post by daved1953 »

Hi Everybody,

As part of my research what are your opinions regarding the hardiness of this breed. Reading about its suscepblity to diabetes, liver disease and deteriorating eye sight etc etc. has me really worried me about the probable high cost of owning this breed of dog. I mean is it imperative that I have a health insurance plan and if so how much would is it likely to cost per month.?

Dave
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SarahA
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Re: What to look for when buying a puppy

Post by SarahA »

Insurance costs vary, you would have to do a comparison with various insurance providers and choose the most affordable policy. I have two schnauzers and pay £26.44 per month for a joint policy. However this is a 12 month policy (conditions only covered for 12 months) and I have been looking at lifetime policies and they are considerably more expensive (around the £60 per month for both dogs)
Sarah + Pippa (p&s mini - d.o.b.22/5/09) & Daisy (b&s mini - d.o.b 01/5/12) - Perfect additions to our family.
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Re: What to look for when buying a puppy

Post by zeta1454 »

daved1953 wrote:Hi Everybody,

As part of my research what are your opinions regarding the hardiness of this breed. Reading about its suscepblity to diabetes, liver disease and deteriorating eye sight etc etc. has me really worried me about the probable high cost of owning this breed of dog. I mean is it imperative that I have a health insurance plan and if so how much would is it likely to cost per month.?

Dave
I can't offer any specific advice with regard to insurance as we put money aside into a special account for vet billd rather than use insurance for our dogs. However I would just say that we have owned miniature schnauzers since 1996 (7 dogs to date) and have never had one with diabetes, liver disease or eye problems. The health warnings that are mentioned regarding any pedigree breed are not to be ignored but if you are careful as to where you get your puppy from the risk of them developing these kind of health problems will be greatly reduced.
As regards eye problems, there are several hereditary conditions which can be screened for and you should be ensuring when you buy a puppy that it has been bred from eye tested parents - hopefully from a line of eye-tested dogs - and that the litter of pups has also been screened by an eye specialist vet. These tests are available to check on-line at the Kennel Club website if you have the full registered KC name of the parent dogs of the litter. As regards the other 2 problems, clearly the healthier the breeding the fitter the puppy is going to be but it's future health will also depend on the quality of it's diet and if you avoid poor quality foods high in fats and sugars the likelihood of diabetes or liver disease will be greatly reduced. We feed our own dogs now on a BARF (raw food) diet but our first 3 were fed on a premium quality kibble and as I say none of them developed any of those ailments. You will probably find some interesting threads on a number of these issues on the Forum if you are browsing :)
Last edited by zeta1454 on 14 Nov 2012, 12:23, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Dew claws

Post by zeta1454 »

daved1953 wrote:Hi Everybody,

I at the early stages of doing my research on the suitability of having a miniature schnauzer and everything seemed reasonably fine until I read to my horror about dew claws being left on and the very high cost of having them removed.

Have I misunderstood the thread because if this is correct choosing this breed is definitely not an option for me

Dave
I think you may find this with a number of breeds - not just schnauzers - some breeders choose to leave the dew claws intact and others choose to have them removed. Certainly if you choose to buy a dog that retains its dew claws and something happens to damage them so they need removing later in life the cost will be high but if you are worried about this then I would check with the breeder whether they do have the dew claws removed from their puppies just after birth. Many breeders do still do this, it is just no longer as common as it once was.
Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. ~Roger Caras

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Re: What to look for when buying a puppy

Post by Caramomo »

This is a very good article outlining how to go about starting your search for a puppy.

http://www.champdogs.co.uk/blog/finding ... og-breeder
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Re: What to look for when buying a puppy

Post by hart »

Clear eye tests are of course Important but there are other conditions that minis can suffer from (although not as common).

Macophanges, Megaoesophagus, von willenbrands.
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Re: What to look for when buying a puppy

Post by Caramomo »

I've never heard of any instances of those diseases affecting mini's and I've never heard that they are of concern within the breed. Do you have any more info?
Cara and Mo, two black mini's and Molly a black & white Heinz 57 all served by Elaine, the cook, poop picker, and chief toy thrower.
I live by the Mini Schnauzer code; when in danger or in doubt, run in circles, scream and shout!
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Re: What to look for when buying a puppy

Post by hart »

Caramomo wrote:I've never heard of any instances of those diseases affecting mini's and I've never heard that they are of concern within the breed. Do you have any more info?
hi elaine.
I only recently heard of Macophanges from an Austrailian schnauzer breeder, apparently there have been increased cases out there. It's apparentley an autoimmune disease.

Von Willinbrands and Factor V11 is to do with blood clotting. I think cases of these diseases are fairly rare now, but worth researching.

Megaoesophagus has do with an enlarged oesophagus and affects the ability to swallow and digestion.

i'm not sure how to post links on here so you'll have to google it if you want to know more
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Re: What to look for when buying a puppy

Post by zeta1454 »

hart wrote:
Caramomo wrote:I've never heard of any instances of those diseases affecting mini's and I've never heard that they are of concern within the breed. Do you have any more info?
hi elaine.
I only recently heard of Macophanges from an Austrailian schnauzer breeder, apparently there have been increased cases out there. It's apparentley an autoimmune disease.

Von Willinbrands and Factor V11 is to do with blood clotting. I think cases of these diseases are fairly rare now, but worth researching.

Megaoesophagus has do with an enlarged oesophagus and affects the ability to swallow and digestion.

i'm not sure how to post links on here so you'll have to google it if you want to know more
Hopefully the diseases mentioned are much more rare in miniature schnauzers in the UK than the inherited eye conditions which should be tested for in breeding dogs and puppies. There is an on-going health survey of all 3 sizes of schnauzer which is done annually and the results can be seen on the Northern Schnauzer Club website:
http://www.northernschnauzerclub.co.uk/ ... ey2012.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The more people who offer to participate in this each year the more significant the results for assessing the problems that owners are actually experiencing with their schnauzers and any illness or condition not previously highlighted may then become more obvious.
Dogs are not our whole life, but they make our lives whole. ~Roger Caras

Magic - Silversocks Sharade at Darksprite
Trilby - Darksprite Rosa Bud


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