More Vintage

Busy time of the year for every one, I opted to pull a photo from my photo archive. This one taken several years ago of Rosie, one of my favorite schnauzers that I have bred over the years. Little Rosie was herself only bred once, carried a HUGE litter of fourteen to term, however, we had many complications at birth, including a c-section after which we almost lost our Rosie. In the end only five of her pups survived. Rosie was a wonderful mom to those pups including our very special boy Finn, an American & Canadian Champion who has sired some of our most handsome pups with consistently the most outstanding temperaments. Rosie retired from our breeding program and lives with her owner Betty and her other schnauzer Kira enjoying summers at the cottage, hikes, canoe rides and winter vacations down south. Rosie was only about 18 months old when I took this photo of her basking in the sunshine looking very elegant and regal.

Pup-sicle

Maple enjoys racing about in the snow on Christmas day. Little does she know that come Monday she will be residing in Arizona...not much snow in Maple's future. "If I stand on my toes I can almost see over the snow bank"

Schnauzers best enjoyed in two's....or more

Many dog owners agree that while one is nice , two is great. We had one dog...once, a long, long time ago. Lasted about 8 months before we decided to add a second, then a third and.... well you get the picture. Mick is ambushed and overwhelmed by schnauzer kisses.

It's all about Pixie

Pix is one of a litter of eleven, most of the pups have left us now for their new homes. Pixie along with sister Maple and brother Moritz are still here. Maple and Ritz will be leaving us after Christmas, their owners wanted the cropped ear, which means pups must stay a bit longer. We left Pix with her natural ears, the set is nice and we think she is pretty darn cute as she is. I had the three of them roaring around the house this morning, Ritz and Maple were returned to their pen but Pixie stayed out for a little extra one on one. Do you think she misses sharing all the toys and the bed with her 10 siblings? I don't think so either.

Just outside my front door

Yep SNOW! I know I will be complaining about the stuff come February, but today it is white and fresh and just what we needed after a rainy weekend. I hear we are in for even more come Friday. Is it possible it will stick around till Christmas?? This morning all the dogs enjoyed a good romp outside, Gussy wonders if I am going to come out to join them.

Gloomy weather

Typical to Southern Ontario our weather has shifted from well below zero to three days of rain and above average temps. Dogs don't want to go outside, who could blame them? Thank goodness we have a sheltered area for Token to go out and do her business, she sure wouldn't willingly follow the Schnauzers out to the wet front yard in the morning. The only creature that seems to be pleased is this crow, he plants himself on this tree on the driveway and serenades us on gray days....

Schnauzer Christmas Ideas

For the deserving Schnauzer on your gift list this year, below are some great and durable Christmas ideas. Our first toy is a fleece play toy called Skinnies. They look like road kill animals...morbid but the dogs love them. They are far from indestructible, however there is NO stuffing inside them, which means no mess when they tear them apart...and you know they will always tear a plush toy apart. My guys drag and shake the furry remains around my house for months. they get two paws up from my schnauzers.

Best Value Dog Beds

IKEA sells an inexpensive dog bed that is durable and my dogs love them. I always have a couple scattered around the house as well as in the puppy pen when we have litters. They take a beating and when dirty I just throw them in my washing machine and dryer. I LOVE these dog beds.

For those herding schnauzers

This is the Herding Ball manufactured by a company called Boomer Balls. They supply enrichment toys to zoos. While browsing You Tube I found a video of a dog with a Herding ball. I ordered this ball the same day, it arrived last week. I pulled it out of the box and thought Juno's eyes were going to pop out of her head!! This toy is great for a dog that likes to chase and retrieve or herd. It isn't cheap but for Juno it was a splurge worth every penny. Boomerball.com is a great company to deal with, the ball arrived via Canada Post a week after I ordered it. I will upload video of Juno herding her ball in the future.

Best interactive play toys

The WUBBA KONG is one of my favorite interactive toys for my dogs. They are great for tossing and retrieving. NOT a toy that can be left hanging around a Schnauzer house, my guys can remove the canvas tassels in about 3 minutes. The squeak has a unique metallic noise that drive my dogs crazy. This is a great training toy. These are some of the highest quality toys made by a Canadian Company called CRASH TEST TOYS The are bar none the best Agility Tug/Training toys I have ever purchased. My guys can latch onto these tugging and shaking and other then some dog slobber the toys never wear out.

Almost indestructible toys

Kong, every schnauzer needs a few of these hanging around. Not completely indestructible, but always our longest lasting household toys. They cannot pass the Gussy test, she is a chew and destroy monster, but it isn't unusual for us to have the same Kongs kicking around in various states of destruction for 2-3 years. Great value for your dollar. This is the Cuz toy, I heard a lot of great reviews on this toy. I have to say I was a bit disappointed at how quickly the ears and toes were chewed off, but the ball itself does last a long, long time. For a less then enthusiastic chewer one of the Cuz toys is a good choice...doesn't pass our Gussy Chew Test though. The Rhino Bone has a great shelf life, even took Gussy a long time to finally get a piece removed. Not all dogs take to the Rhino Bone, could be why it lasts so long around my place. If you have a schnauzer that will chew 'anything' then the Rhino Bone seems a durable choice.

Best Schnauzer Toy EVER!

This is it, our choice for BEST schnauzer toy EVER! The ORBEE Ball!! I cannot say enough about them. The large red ball we have had since August and the smaller glow in the dark white & orange ball a week. These are completely, absolutely INDESTRUCTIBLE. I know everyone claims to have a toy that a dog cannot destroy, this is the first one that has ever lived up to this claim. The first toy to ever pass the Gussy Chew Test!