First Time Owner - Tips?

[LornaC]

Hi All,

We are looking to pick up our Standard Schnauzer puppy in roughly a month,

Both me and my partner work full time, however the pup will not be left alone (working from home, retired parents, doggy daycare)

I was just wondering if anyone has some handy tips?
Obviously we have done extensive research for over 3 months on the breed,

But any experiences of Standard Schnauzer puppy hood would be great!

Thanks so much,

Lorna

[Writeress]

Hi there!

Puppy day care will be a great investiment! Their energy levels are really high and they can play over than 4 hour in a row and still have fuel to burn. And socialization in earlier age is the ultimate key for a balanced puppy. Don't wait for the end of vacination period to show the world to your puppy. Taking precautions to people in street don't touching it, take it on your arms and go out for a walk, so the puppy can see and hear things such cars, bikes, skates, bunch of people. Doing it twice a week will make the first time out home really easy. When your puppy is old enough, get prepared to go out for long long walks. Mine is capable to be out for a 2 hours walk and ask for playing time when she just gets inside.

Be aware of surfercountering. They are very curious and food oriented and your puppy sooner or later will search over tables and kitchen balcony. They are powerful jumpers - mine have jumped a 1,60m wall chasing birds. Jumping and bouncing to greet people is a common behaviour and you will have to be very firm and consistent to deal with it.

Start training obedience the sooner you can. Use a clicker and positive training. They are really smart dogs and like to learn. It will surprise you the breed learning skills.

For chewing, I recomend you nylabones or buddy toy's for heavy chewers. If I knew them sooner, my life would be extremely easier.

Be welcome. You're going to fall in love with the breed. They are amazing!

[Eric]

Greetings LornaC,

Congratulations on choosing a fine breed! Its my opinion that the Standard Schnauzer is the best all around dog there is. They are very loyal, territorial of their household, and very athletic. Mine is more independent than his Giant Schnauzer brother, and its nice since their not under your feet every second of the day, but definitely love my Giant just as much. I have to admit though that raising my standard was much easier than my giant..

My initial recommendation is to socialize your puppy with everything you can, from the lawn mower, to various people, dogs, etc..

After he or she matures (mine was at about a year and a half) then obedience training, along with other types of fun activities (nosework, agility, etc..) just makes for a well rounded dog. Mine loves chasing balls, getting your puppy interested in that will make tiring him out a whole lot easier. Having another playmate is also beneficial. My Standard expends expends a lot of energy each day roughhousing with his Giant brother, whether at his choosing or not.

Other then that, there great dogs. Enjoy..

Eric

[Valentino]

Despite lots of reading and other research, as first time dog owners with Tilly we still made loads of mistakes, some of which we're still living with. Here's my rather random tuppeny worth of thoughts:


Put her with cats regularly from an early age.

Ditto chickens and sheep if you live in the countryside.

Always be patient and kind, but also be very firm. 'Positive training' should not exclude the use of a water squirter, if all else fails, when she launches herself at the front door or goes bonkers when she sees a squirrel in the garden. And the occasional (non-violent) loss of temper can work if used sparingly. Tilly is quite intimidated if one of us loses it with her; she goes all submissive and licky.

Whatever not-pulling-on-the-lead training tactic you adopt, make sure that everybody who walks the dog does exactly the same thing. My partner and I were doing different things and just couldn't understand why Tilly was simply not getting it when it came to walking nicely. She's more or less OK now but, boy, did we make hard work of it.

If you're black, make sure she meets lots of white people early on, and the other way round if you're white. Tilly sometimes embarrasses us hugely by barking at people who look different

Get her used to having her claws clipped from day one.

Relax. Anxiety over bad behaviour, or the prospect of bad behaviour, - especially when you're out in public - will be picked up by the dog and make it worse. Forgive the dog and yourself when things go wrong, and try to get it right next time. You probably won't be the perfect owner and will probably not end up with the perfect dog. Accept this!

The best way to prevent counter surfing is NEVER to leave food near the front of the worktops. You'll probably learn that yourselves quite quickly..

Keep laughing. Schnauzers can sometimes be a pain in the backside, but they are nearly always hilarious.

[Robin black mini]

First time owner...
Start as you mean to go on...give clear rules to the pup for behavior that you will expect from an older dog re jumping up,being left ,grooming,accepting visitors etc.

Safe place...every pup should have a safe place..for my bigger dogs ( when I was working)it was always the kitchen,gated off ,with water,bed and safe toys etc..

Structure...dogs thrive on routine..keep walks interesting,include basic training in everyday walks and you will have a well behaved pup in no time.i like to have the basic obedience established before 6 m...eg sit,walk at heel,stay,down etc.

SOCIALISE.....vital for this breed.


Diet.. Grain free,low fat diet if you feed dry.
If you feed raw ,join a good group online so the dog gets a well balanced diet.

Grooming..if you want a non shedding ,healthy coat...start weekly stripping and carding at ten weeks...little and often..on a table,gentle but firm...then Go to the u tube sites,groomers sites etc and learn the pattern for the breed..the coat care is easy enough but requires a weekly commitment .you will get a lot of help on board if you wish to groom at home.