"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.
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!
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