Schnauzer Where to Buy

Schnauzer Where To Buy?

Getting a Schnauzer: Where to buy for best health and behavior.

For optimum lifelong health find a Schnauzer breeder who health tests and doesn’t mate related dogs together.  Registered breeders can provide ancestries to check.  And for great behavior, seek a breeder who family rears and potty trains.

Schnauzer Where To Buy? – Australia

Schnauzer-where-to-buy

Schnauzer where to buy? Image by zora4dogs from Pixabay

There are several options in Australia.

Dedicated Schnauzer breeders who have pedigree records on all their dogs are either registered with the Australian National Kennel Club in their state, or the Master Dog Breeders Association.  They may also advertise on websites such as dogzonline.com.au.

[Or like us, they may have a fabulous website and Schnauzer Facebook page so don’t need to advertise on puppy directories at all!]

⚠ BEWARE:  Just because a breeder is registered with a recognised Association does NOT guarantee they provide quality puppies. ⚠

Schnauzer Where To Buy for HEALTH

There’s a reason why marrying your sibling or parent is not allowed ?

Unfortunately some breeders don’t get it and regularly breed related dogs together (which is called inbreeding or line breeding).

As a veterinarian I know that inbreeding is even more dangerous in the Miniature Schnauzer than it is in other purebred breeds.  Why?  Because the Miniature Schnauzer has a very small genetic pool (the 7th smallest of the top 100 breeds in the world).  So there is a high degree of relatedness between all Miniature Schnauzers already.  Breeding Schnauzers from the same family together creates an unacceptably high risk of genetic disease appearing in the offspring.

The other reason it is dangerous is because we cannot, as Schnauzer breeders, screen out the most common genetic diseases from our parent dogs.  Why?

Because the available genetic tests for Schnauzers are very limited and most of the diseases we can actually test for are exceedingly rare anyway. What that means is that dogs that test “clear of genetic diseases” can still produce puppies affected by genetic diseases.  A common example of this is the portosystemic liver shunt which we can not test for at all.  So the BEST protection against genetic disease is to ensure our parent dogs have no relatives in common.

Unfortunately there are registered breeders who do not understand the danger or disregard it in favour of linebreeding (inbreeding).  They may do this deliberately to improve the predictability of the appearance of the resulting puppies and thus increase their chances of winning in the show ring.

Backyard breeders usually do not have ANY pedigree records for the dogs they are breeding together.  So they are effectively ‘flying blind’ and wouldn’t know if they were breeding related animals together or not!

Schnauzer Where To Buy for BEHAVIOUR

The Schnauzer was originally bred to be a watchdog and chase off vermin from farms in Germany.  Subsequently they are a reactive breed, alert to anything that looks suspicious!  What this means for owners is that early puppy socialization is of greater importance for Schnauzer puppies than it is for most other breeds.  If you want to get a Schnauzer puppy that will grow up to have behaviour you will enjoy living with do this:

  • Buy from a breeder who raises her puppies as part of the family, with lots of handling and exposure to humans both within the household and from outside.  Do not buy from a breeder whose puppies are reared in kennels, as they will not be bonded to humans and ready to become part of your family at adoption.
  • Buy from a breeder who gets potty training started early on.  This will make it infinitely easier for you and the puppy to successfully finish the potty training process.  There is nothing worse than living with a dog which is not reliable with its toileting!
  • Buy from a breeder who actively guides you in how to safely socialize your puppy before it is fully immunized.  The puppy socialization period finishes around 14 weeks of age.  If you leave it later than this you and your puppy will miss the boat!  And you can’t go back later and fix it.  So get your Schnauzer puppy under your arm and out into the world.  Invite friends and family over to interact in a positive way with your puppy.  Take it to Bunnings.  Take it to Puppy Preschool.  Take it to the beach.  Do not neglect socialization or you may end up with a Schnauzer that reacts to everything, and that is no fun at all.

Why Not to Buy a Puppy from a Pet Shop

While considering the source of your Schnauzer where to buy, you may be tempted to have a look at puppies in a petshop.  This is not a great idea as you may feel compelled to “save” one and land yourself many years of trouble!

Research has shown that pups sourced from pet shops/puppy mills are much more likely to develop problem behaviours as adults.

These include an increased risk of aggression, particularly towards the members of the family who own the dog.  But they are also more aggressive to strange people and other dogs.  Increased fearfulness in general when taken out walking to people, dogs and other stimuli has also been observed.  Such dogs also display an increased risk of separation anxiety, attention seeking behavior, and sensitivity to touch.

All these problem behaviors stem from being given a poor start in life through inadequate socialization or fearful experiences during the early socialization period commonly experienced in the environment provided by breeders who mass produce puppies (puppy mills).

To learn more about my Miniature Schnauzer puppies for sale in Australia please click here.

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