The Kraken

Picture your loving family pet, loyal, (semi)obedient....but what are they really thinking when you are not paying attention (cue scary music) bwaaaa....Tally aka The Kraken is watching, be afraid be very very afraid........... Special thanks to Tally's owners for sending this photo last night and making me laugh out loud!

The BIG number TEN!!!

"Happy Birfday to me, happy birfday to me....I look like a monkey......and I smell like one too" "Speak for yourself Cutter! I am just so embarrassed to see my age in print for all to read, a lady never reveals her age." Yep our dynamic dual of Cutter and sister Hope turned 10 years old yesterday. I can barely believe that time has flown by that fast. Happy birthday to the worlds cutest siblings and two of the easiest pups I have ever raised. They have been a joy.

Edee Ears

As more and more breeders are leaving the natural ears on their dogs we see many different ear styles. This is Edee, when I decided to leave her with natural ears I had my doubts on how they would turn out, Edee's puppy ears were HUGE. Although very different from the smaller ear and higher set I see in Fiddle and her lines, I like Edee's ears very much. Another bonus is I never had to tape her ears at all. Edee has a very strong European background (her grandsire was imported from Russia) and these are the ears that you will see in many of the Pepper & Salt dogs on the Euro websites.

Extreme Schnauzer Makeover

Another photo of Cutter to demonstrate what a difference a proper grooming can make.

Schnauzers: A hairy adventure

Photo of Cutter from a couple years ago in all his hairy splendour. Can you see his herding dog heritage? Part Schnauzer, maybe part Bouvier, part I need a date with the clippers :-)) Thank you to every one who expressed their likes and dislikes about schnauzer hair....clipped hair vs.NOT. I wasn't surprised being that most people that have a purebred dog are attracted to the breed visually, then (hopefully) they explore the breed traits and if they love 'em, or, can at least survive 'em they choose the breed for themselves. Occasionally over the years owners of our schnauzers have sent me similar photos to those I have shared of Hope, void of the long hair on the legs (we call those furnishings) beard and brows. The first few times an audible gasp involuntarily escaped from me. When I use to groom dogs for a living I refused to trim schnauzers in this manner, just could not bring myself to running the clippers over them to that extent. Gosh there was a time when I would never of thought to even clipper the coat of my retired dogs, I didn't clipper Hugo's jacket until he was past 12 years of age. How times change, I cannot wait to clip most of my dogs down if they do not have a show career, and immediately the clippers come out once they complete their show championship. If you have owned a Senior Schnauzer you will marvel at the 'grungy beard dreadlocks' their saliva can produce as they age, most senior schnauzers eventually sport a beard similar to what they had growing in at about 4 weeks of age, I think of it as 'beard growth reversal' as they move further into the double digit years of their lives. Many MANY of my views have turned around drastically the last several years. Perhaps it is related to years of experience with the breed, maybe it is my own age and realizing that life is indeed short and do I really want to spend a big block of that time grooming dogs?? I know as my breeding program matures I have less and less time for a poor coat, I want a harsh, wiry, fully rotating coat that takes only minutes not hours to keep in shape. For instance, I popped Fiddle on the grooming table Thursday, she was looking like some kind of schnoodle-doodle, in less then 45 minutes I had her coat raked of undercoat, long guard hairs stripped out and looking like a handsome schnauzer once more. Fiddle's coat has set the bar pretty high for me when it comes to a schnauzer coat. One more question for ya all. Would it be worth my while to put together a grooming video on the Standard Schnauzer that covers the technique of hand stripping as well as a 'proper' pet clip? Advice on how to quickly tidy up your Schnauzer in minutes to keep them looking good between trips to the grooming salon? For those that don't want to do the job themselves, maybe advice on what to ask your groomer for so that you end up with a decent trim for your dollars. God knows I have seen the horrible job that many professional groomers do to the breed. Anything else that you wish someone would show you how to do yourself? Let me know.

Return of the beard & brow

I am enjoying the growth of Hope's coat, from fully shaved ( click here for the video of her ) to the new formation of short beard and brows. I have to admit I have totally loved her shaved down look and have contemplated keeping her that way. What do you think, thumbs UP or DOWN on the smooth coated Schnauzer look?

When Irish Eyes are Smiling....

Two years ago to the day we welcomed Baby Beamish and his siblings into the world. I laughed out loud when I opened my email this morning and the first thing I found was this! Beamish sends a big Happy Birthday bro right back at ya Guinness! Always the Irish prankster Beamish asked me to post his brother's baby photo to embarrass his sibling. Below is Baby Guinness. But wait, one good giggle is deserving of another, sorry Beamish couldn't resist, here you are in all your chubby, wrinkly glory Ha ha do you see that even at a few hours old bouncy Beamish has two paws off the ground...that and the fact that all the pups were born naturally except for Beamish who we had to deliver via c-section should of keyed me into what a character he would be. Happy St Patrick's Day to our special pups, Beamish, Guinness, Wilson, Ciara and Heidi born on this day and to Co-Breeder Line Champagne who owns sister Ciara...oh what the heck, here is little Ciara striking a birthday pose :-))

Busy times at home

I have been a bit erratic with my postings and down right terrible about returning email inquiries. So much happening of late. First I decided to find a new home for Token, our Toy Manchester Terrier. We adored so much about Token and the breed in general, it was fun to fulfill the girlie side of me and have a little dog wearing jackets and sleeping in my lap. But the size difference between Token & my Standard Schnauzers was a worry. With the help of her breeder a wonderful new home was found and Token left us last week :-( She now resides with a lovely couple that has owned the breed for years, she is fitting in wonderfully. I will miss her lovely shiny black eyes, but I believe all things happen for a reason and that Token is exactly where she should be. I am also in the process of obtaining rabbits, this has been fun and exciting to research. My cages arrive next week and I will pick up my rabbits shortly after that. These are breeding rabbits whose offspring will be raised to (gasp!) supplement both our dinner table and the dogs. Stay tuned for lots of wonderful bunny photos in the future. I will not go into details about the Spring thaw, the constant weather change from snow one day and rain the next has turned most of our pathways into rivers of water and mud, keeping home and dogs dry is a challenge! And lastly who was not riveted to the TV last Friday watching the shocking video of the earthquake and tsunami in Japan, makes one take stock of just how lucky we are....wet dogs and all. PS I was taking photos of birds at the feeder and this bold sparrow was in many of the shots, if you look closely you will notice that it's left eye is missing. I didn't even notice it until I began editing the photos.

Extreme Raw Feeding

If you follow my blog you will know that I encourage feeding our dogs a raw and natural diet. Miss Molly below decided to fetch her own dinner :-)) Molly lives in beautiful Montana with her owner Terrie who sends me the most stunning photos of her girl. Terrie isn't new to Schnauzers, she owned and loved a Giant Schnauzer prior to Molly. I know Molly was a wee bit of a trial to Terrie through puppyhood (stop laughing at the 'wee bit' Terrie) But she stuck with it and ended up with a mature (still naughty enough) Molly. I have also included a couple of photos taken during their trips to the Oregon coast.Terrie writes.....

I just had to share this photo of Molly taken while hiking along a river here in Montana. This was her first encounter with a deer she could "catch"...or should I say, part of a deer. Thank god she didn't find the entire carcass! She was just so proud of this yucky item and was strutting around with loads of attitude. The worst part was we took it from her, needless to say, before letting her in the car for the return trip home. She whined for the entire 70 mile drive...she wanted her trophy! This dog does not forget easily:-) She is quite a character and makes life so much fun living with this little screw ball.

Best to you,

Terrie and Molly

Crufts & Iditarod

A couple of wonderful dog events happening in March. Starting today is Crufts from the UK, live link to watch is here http://www.dfscrufts.tv/ just click on the arrow to start the live action. You may need to sign up first, but viewing is free. I love the daily coverage of Crufts, the agility is fantastic and then Group competition in the afternoon. **Update Click Here for a little video of the Schnauzer Breed competition at Crufts And the Iditarod runs in March, link to the official site here http://www.iditarod.com/

Rainy day

Welcome March, does a rainfall warning qualify as in like a Lion?? No one wants to go outside and I don't blame them.