The Long Road to Keeva - Part Two: It Came Down to Two

During my search for a canine companion that would not render me a slave to the antihistamine manufacturers of North America, I learned a lot about myself - mainly that to put myself through an almost daily punishment of hives and respiratory distress, meant that I really wanted a dog.  Or that I would exercise every option to could to ensure that a dog was not a possibility for me.  On a sunny autumn afternoon, I was sitting on the porch of my house when I met Guy.  Guy is a tall man with a broad frame, and he wore a porkpie hat and a long goatee.  As he walked by, I noticed that a dark figure trotted beside him, prancing calmly like a horse.  It was the most beautiful dog I'd ever seen!  Approximately 18 inches high, she was of medium build, her dark coat glossy and muted with grey and black tones.  I bolted from my bench and made my way to the side walk.  I stopped the man and his dog, "Hi!  Do you mind if I ask you what kind of dog you have?".  I looked down at the animal and she looked up at me and I stared deep into her eyes.  Her bearded muzzle nudged my outstretched hand and her wet nose tapped my palm.

"She's a standard schnauzer.  You don't see too many of these."

He was right.  Throughout my search, I encountered many giant and mini schnauzers, but never the breed that these two originated from.  The standard schnauzer, or "Mittelschnauzer" is a medium sized dog - usually between 17 inches and 19 inches in height, and between 30 and 45 pounds (a bit bigger for males).  They are generally recognized in two colours:  black and pepper/salt.  Schnauzers have a double hair coat - a soft under coat and coarse guard hairs on top.  The coarse outer coat serves as their "waterproof" layer - it keeps the water, sand and dirt from going further down to their insulating coat and skin.  Like our hair, it falls out, usually a few times a year.  In order to keep the harsh coat, the dog has to be hand stripped - that is, it has to be pulled out when it has grown out.  A lot of schnauzer owners find this tedious, so they instead clip the coat.  The coarse hairs eventually do not grow back, so you are left with the soft smooth coat.  With a black schnauzer, the coat fades to a dark grey, and the pepper/salt coat loses its colour banding to become a soft light grey.

                                      Black Schnauzer, natural ears                                  Pepper Salt Schnauzer, natural ears

Guy's standard schnauzer, Duza is a beautiful and calm girl.  She is a 5 year old schnauzer that has a soft dark grey coat.  That day, I pet her and let her lick me.  I was even so bold as to rub my eyes with my hands after contact with Duza.  There was no reaction - no hives, itching, watery eyes, wheezing.  No reaction!  This was really thrilling for me, and over the course of four months, every time I was Guy walking down our street, I bounded after him, repeating the process of petting Duza, letting her lick me, and then placing my hands all over my face.  Each time, no reaction.  I was ecstatic - I had found not one, but two dogs I did not react to.  It was now time to make the choice:  poodle, or schnauzer.

Mike and I talked long and hard about this.  We both wanted a dog that was big enough to live comfortably in a small house, but also able to walk among the big dogs.  We wanted a dog that did not bark excessively and would not be overly suspicious or jumpy among strangers.  As a family with an active lifestyle, we wanted a dog that would love romping outdoors on hikes and camping trips.  Obedience, intelligence, loyalty and the prospect of training for Good Canine Citizen certification was also important.  Both the poodle and the schnauzer met all of our hopes.  When it came down to it, we went with the standard schnauzer - their soulful eyes had it.  Their eye contact really made a connection with us - proof?  Look at the picture just above!

Once our decision was made, we started looking at rescue groups.  After all, we wanted to do the right thing, and give a much needed home to a schnauzer that needed one.  We contacted a couple of rescue groups and we went to interviews.  The bottom line:  because we are a family with young children who have never owned a dog before, it was recommended that we NOT rescue a schnauzer, but find a reputable breeder and get a puppy.  At first, I took this rejection quite badly.  I wanted to do the right thing!  But after speaking to the rescue co-ordinator, she assured me that a puppy would be the best and happiest decision for us.  Many rescues have behavioural issues that come about over time, and it takes someone who really knows and understands the breed to work through them with the animal.  The last thing we would ever want to do is to bring home a rescue, and then not be able to handle everything that goes with the dog and end up doing more damage by returning him/her.  

By now, it was spring 2011, and we had been researching breeders in the province, through the CKC (Canadian Kennel Club).  We also started to see a couple of other standards in the neighbourhood.  We asked the owners where their schnauzer came from and 3 of the 4 (including Duza) were from a small kennel called Dinsdale Schnauzers, in Grafton Ontario.  

http://www.eagle.ca/~dinsdale/   

I went onto the website and everything you wanted to know about Dinsdale Schnauzers, the breeder Lori, and schnauzers in general was all there.  A lot to read, a lot to absorb.  I devoured all the content, and was especially thankful for the "Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" section.  It let you know what it's really like to live with the breed.  I sent Lori Elvin the breeder an e-mail inquiring about puppies.  I also did as was requested, and left my contact information and gave her some information about my whereabouts, my experience with dogs and what my lifestyle was like.  I got a prompt response from her, along with a long "interview" sheet.  She asked a lot of questions that would give her a feel for who we were as a family, our responsibilities and the capability of welcoming and keeping a schnauzer healthy and happy.  I could see how this would be a deterrent to some, but for me and my family, it was a confirmation that we were dealing with a responsible and caring breeder.  She wanted to make sure that we knew what we were getting into, and she also wanted to be comfortable with selling us one of her puppies.  We were informed that all her puppies had been spoken for, and that she planned on one more litter in the fall.  We took our time answering all the interview questions, as we spoke with our children and discussed how we would care for the puppy we planned to take.  A couple of weeks later, we received word that we had been accepted, and we would be placed in line for a fall puppy!  We were so excited!  Remember my severe allergies?  Well, even in this happiness, I still had fears and doubts - what if we got puppy home and I started to react?  I e-mailed my concerns to Lori and her solution:  come up for a visit.  She had four standard schnauzers living with her and her husband in her farmhouse.  If any allergies cropped up, it certainly would occur in that environment.  Flash forward to August 2011 - we decided to take a camping trip to Sandbanks Park, near Grafton.  On the way, we would stop by Dinsdale for a visit with the dogs.  I was really nervous, because I felt that even though I was so close to dog ownership, I knew that if there was any reaction to the dogs in a closed environment, the dream of having a dog would be dead.  When we walked up to the door, before we put a finger to the door bell, we heard two short gruff "Woof Woofs", followed by the pattering of paws.  It was Hexe, a black schnauzer.  She waited at the door until Lori opened it, and then she let out one bark to let us know that we were entering her abode.  Edee, a really sweet pepper/salt  followed, and Daisy, another pepper/salt brought up the rear.  They were all curious about us, and we stopped to let them smell us, opened our palms to them, and when they nudged us and tails started wagging, we knew they accepted us and we greeted them with pats and belly rubs.  It was quite a sight to see!  Once we were settled onto the sofa in the sitting room, the dogs came up to us, sat on our laps (remember, full grown they are up to 40 pounds), perched on the top of the sofa, or lay at our feet.  There was even a puppy, Poppy - a pepper/salt  who was being crate trained.  We talked with Lori for over 2 hours, and she addressed my allergy concerns.  We went over worst case scenarios and it was made clear that if for any reason, a Dinsdale schnauzer could not stay in a home, it would be returned to Dinsdale - not surrendered, or given away or re-sold.  It was very important that her dogs were well cared for, from cradle to the grave.  We really appreciated that, as it solidified her credibility as a responsible breeder.  

When it was time to leave, I noticed that nothing had happened!  I was perfectly fine walking out as I had been coming in.  This final test sealed the deal.  We were getting a Dinsdale schnauzer!  Lori told us that sweet Edee would be the next one to be bred in December, and if all went well, pups would be ready for homes in March.  We were number one on the list for a pepper/salt female!

The Long Road to Keeva - aka how a dog allergy sufferer finally found her dog. Part One: The Jumping Point

I have always loved furry animals...from afar.  I, like hundreds of thousands of Canadians suffer from animal allergies.  Big or small, cat or dog - if it had fur, or licked itself and then me, I'd break out in hives and my windpipe would begin to swell.  I knew a play date was over as soon as I started wheezing and my eyeballs started to swell and protrude from its sockets.  I hated always having to ask if there were pets in the house before I decided if I would be able to hang out, or even worse, have them exiled to the backyard during my visit.  Even that wasn't enough, as their dander and fur were all over the house, floating in the air, and sticking on upholstery.  As it were, I was fed Benadryl before leaving my house, so by the time I got to my friend's, I was halfway gone, heavy under the antihistamine's slumber effect.  I never really remembered what we played - I have images of my friend Nicky bouncing along vivaciously, me following like a stunted Zombie four steps behind, drooling from the corner of my mouth.  It got easier as I grew up - our worlds got bigger so it was easier to meet outside of the home - go to the movies, hang out at the park, the mall, the pool - pet free sanctuaries for me.  But I was always envious of those who were able to pet a dog without feeling the prickle in the back of their throats.  I wished that the scratchy lick of a cat's tongue wouldn't cause my skin to break out into tiny blisters and itch and that I too, could feel how nice it was to have a dog's wet nose nudge my palm for treats.  Unfortunately, it seemed unlikely that I would ever have a furry companion by my side.  But that's ok.  I met my husband, had two amazing kids and life went on.

Mike and I were the first couple in our group of friends to have babies.  We were in our mid-twenties (me 27, he 28) when our son Atlin was born.  Just shy of two years later, we had a beautiful girl, Ellary.  The "million dollar family", as my aunts and uncles called us (though I'm still waiting for my million dollars!).  Life went on, and suddenly we found ourselves in our mid-thirties, with a seven and nine year old asking why we didn't want to have other kids - after all, our friends were now just starting their families!  We thought about that for a moment, and laughed!  We were clearly done with the diapers, the night feedings and the schedule juggling to avoid pricey daycare.  We were a tight family unit.  We were happy.  Until..."Mum - how come you have to be allergic to dogs?  We'd like a dog - we're old enough and we will help take care of it.  Please mum!".  And with that, my deeply buried itch to have a pet you didn't have to keep in a bowl or cage resurfaced.  

I started looking on-line about people who suffered from pet allergies but still owned pets.  What did they do?  What did they take?  I read about "hypo-allergenic" dogs, tonics that you could rub on fur to decrease dander production - all that jazz.  But after a very serious family conversation, all four of us came to the following conclusion:  owning a pet is forever - from the day the animal comes home, until the day the animal dies, that pet would be our responsibility.  I am too familiar with the stories of people buying a dog or cat, bringing them home and then either not being able to care for them, or discovering that they have allergies to them.  It is heartbreaking how many of these animals end up in shelters or humane societies because of this.  We decided on a dog.  But which dog?  And how would I know I could live with it without the allergies destroying my quality of life?  Three words and two years, which really made me think hard about how bad I wanted a dog:  Process of Elimination.

That's right, for TWO years, I walked around the city, Reactine in my pocket and Ventolin in hand and every time I saw a dog, I would approach the owner and explain that I was trying to find a breed that would not trigger my allergies.  Most people were supportive and invited me to pet their dog, allow their dog to lick my hand.  From there, they would give me a wealth of knowledge they had about their dog's breed.  Hair vs. fur, how much shedding they encounter, behaviour, health, breed specific issues...people love to talk about their pets - the good and the bad.  Here is a brief summary of the hundreds of dogs I had the "not so pleasure" to have had exposure to:

• Retrievers (Golden, Labrador, Chocolate etc) - wheezing, hives within 5 minutes of meeting.  I love these dogs, and could "air-pet" them, but their dander/saliva is very reactive to me.
• Jack Russell Terriers - smaller dogs I could pet;  in a closed room, my breathing begins to become laboured after 10 minutes.  In the outdoors I am fine, but I have to wash my hands before touching my face, or I break out in hives.
• Dachshunds, mini-pinschers, chihuahua - surprisingly, the smooth coated versions of these dogs made me react really severely!  The tiniest of teacup chihuahuas in a big room was intolerable for me - the wheezing and itching began as soon as I entered the room!  I was told that their coats produce quite a bit of oil and it traps dander.
• Poodles - all sizes.  I did not react to them!  Outside, inside - no wheezing, no hives or itching.  This one was definitely in the running!
• Doodles - these included the so-called "hypo-allergenic" cross breeds, such as the Labradoodle, Goldendoodle, Cockapoos - anything mixed with a poodle.  Hit and miss, really - it depends on which breed the dog takes after more.
• Mixed breeds of any sort - can't do it - there is no way to tell what I am reacting to.
• German Shepherds, Huskies, Akitas, Australian Cattle dogs - great to hang out with outside, not so good for my airways in a closed room.  
• American bulldogs, Staffordshire Terriers, Pit Bull Terriers, Cane Corso - Essentially these are the larger breed dogs people are a little afraid of.  On the contrary, I loved them!  But I could not live with one - another type of fur that I reacted to.  Here's my opinion on them - these dogs are the type of dog that need a very firm and disciplined owner.  By this, I mean that there is consistency and kindness (consistency is the key) and it has to start from day one.  They are so cute when they are pups, but bad behaviour that is cute when they are young can be destructive when they are older.  I live in Toronto where there is a ban on Pit Bulls - but anytime there is an incident with a dog (any dog for that manner), we should be looking at the owner and his/her behaviour when assessing the dog's behaviour.

The list goes on and on, and I thought for sure - we are going to end up with a poodle.  I didn't react to any of the 15 that I had met, they are smart dogs, they have curly hair that doesn't shed much (when people tell you their dog doesn't shed, trust me, they do - just not as much as others).  We started looking at rescues and breeders, and then....