You are reading a single comment by @mands and its replies.
Click here to read the full conversation.
London Fixed Gear and Single-Speed is a community of predominantly fixed gear and single-speed cyclists in and around London, UK.
This site is supported almost exclusively by donations. Please consider donating a small amount regularly.
mands
h2o
My folks have had three miniature schnauzers, two still alive although one of those is quite old now.
They're very intelligent, very sociable and very affectionate. They get depressed if you leave them on their own too much. They bend rules but generally are obedient if you train them properly. Although if they don't want to do something they'll let you know by doing it slowly and maybe giving you a growl if they're in a bad mood or if you're telling them to go out in the rain. The two males we've had have been insatiably playful and always want to fetch the ball or play tug or just be chased around. They'll grab a mouthful of your jeans when you're walking around the house to try to get your attention. The female wasn't quite so rambunctious but would insist on finding a way to lick and pretend to bite your nose. They like play fighting but know not to bite you properly. If they can get to a window they'll happily sit and watch the world for hours and bark if anything comes your way. If they're off the lead and they see something interesting they'll run off to investigate and ignore you, but eventually will come back. Which is less a problem in the country and more a problem in the city. Until they get quite a bit older at least - they slow down a lot and just want company and to lie on your lap while you're reading or watching TV when they're older. When they get older they get heart problems because they've got too much dog crammed into too small a space. The one that died and the older one now have had to go on medication to manage that. They don't shed so you need to manage their coat. Officially you're supposed to strip them so as to maintain the coat texture (wiry), if you clip them they don't mind but the coat gets very soft and they wouldn't win a competition, if that bothers you. If you don't manage their coat they suffer in the summer. You can clip them yourself but it's hard to do the proper cut if you don't know what you're doing. They look a bit bedraggled without the beard and skirt and socks.
Sorry, stream of consciousness. They're great dogs and all three we've had have been absolute stars.