Which breed is your favorite

I guess the breed I have at the moment is my favorite...LOL....I have been owned by

2 German Shepherds

1 mixed poodle and  Shepherd

1 Mastiff

and 1 Schipperke that has owned me for the last 7 years. 

She is bright, alert and a great source of fun and entertainment....She is my eyes and ears.....will let me know if anything and I do mean anything enters her yard....

All my dogs have brought me love and devotion.....and at the time they were the "Best".....

I'm a schnauzer person too.  My last dog was a female Giant; she gave my husband and me the best 13 years of our lives.  Our first schnauzer was a standard black male, whom we rescued when he was eight, diabetic and almost blind.  We were humbled by the strength of his character and his ability to give such unconditional love despite all his hardships. 

I know lots of miniature schnauzers; they seem to be the most popular these days.  I am employed as a dog nanny  (my current charge is a standard poodle), so I go to the local dog park at least once a day.  The park is divided into sections for large dogs and those under thirty pounds, and every day my poodle steps up to the small dog gate.  He thinks I'm frustratingly hard to train, but I keep telling him that he's never going to lose forty pounds.  This is the first poodle I've known, and he can be aloof to other dogs, especially those his size.  I go to the park to be in the company of dogs, and he goes to keep in touch with his human fan club.  He does like sociallizing at the fence with the little dogs, where I visit with my schnauzer friends.  One man comes every morning with five miniatures, all males and off lead; I tell him he's the bravest man in Florida, though all but one seem to be pretty cooperative.

Your baby pic is precious.  What is her name?  Thanks for not cropping her ears.

Alice 

I'm a schnauzer person too.  My last dog was a female Giant; she gave my husband and me the best 13 years of our lives.  Our first schnauzer was a standard black male, whom we rescued when he was eight, diabetic and almost blind.  We were humbled by the strength of his character and his ability to give such unconditional love despite all his hardships.

When we were in Jacksonville I saw a fantastic Giant that lived in the complex were were renting at.  Black, and absolutely magnificent dog.

I know lots of miniature schnauzers; they seem to be the most popular these days.  I am employed as a dog nanny  (my current charge is a standard poodle), so I go to the local dog park at least once a day.  The park is divided into sections for large dogs and those under thirty pounds, and every day my poodle steps up to the small dog gate.  He thinks I'm frustratingly hard to train, but I keep telling him that he's never going to lose forty pounds.  This is the first poodle I've known, and he can be aloof to other dogs, especially those his size.  I go to the park to be in the company of dogs, and he goes to keep in touch with his human fan club.  He does like sociallizing at the fence with the little dogs, where I visit with my schnauzer friends.  One man comes every morning with five miniatures, all males and off lead; I tell him he's the bravest man in Florida, though all but one seem to be pretty cooperative.

Although I've never had a poodle I understand they are considered to be highly intelligent.  It sounds like he thinks you just aren't getting it, LOL.

Your baby pic is precious.  What is her name?  Thanks for not cropping her ears.

Alice

Her name is Sam.  Short for Samantha.  And you're probably going to flame me but yes I am getting her ears done.  I do not like the floppy ear look on schnauzers.  Part of what makes the schnauzer profile so nobile to me are the ears.  She is just too young to have it done now.  But I will be doing it around 12-14 weeks.  The vet that is doing it has been recommended to me by several top notch breeders that show, so I'll be using him.

She is sleeping in her crate totally at night now.  She goes down about 11 (when I can keep her up that late) and I get her up about 8 am, sometimes a little earlier.  She didn't like the leash, but I got one of the 'automatic" kinds that has a 20 foot lead and she likes that much better.

I am finding out she's a double dropper in the morning.  She goes first thing, runs in and chows down and then you'd better take her about 30 minutes later!  LOL  The rest of the day it's about 2-3 hours inbetween going out. 

I just love her to death.

I don't think it's flaming to state that IMO, your pictures bolster mine and Nancy's argument in favor of retaining your entire puppy.  I feel schnauzer ears are beautiful just the way they were sent from heaven.  Even in the show dog world, America is the lonely holdout on this issue, continuing to reward an outdated ideal based purely on fashion.  Veterinary schools, breed associations and even show judges are finally coming around, and an increasing number of dog owners are saying no to cosmetic mutilation.  And Nancy is right; of course it hurts them. 

Schnauzers are a very intense breed, and even the smallest ones can be very intimidating when in a protective mode.  Both my standard and giant were very alpha, and their ears softened the appearance of their powerful necks when they were in that ten feet tall and bulletproof stance.  I can't count the number of times I've had people tell me they had always been intimidated by schnauzers, but that mine just seemed approachable.  Usually they couldn't articulate why, but I attribute that feeling as much to their softer appearance as to their excellent behavior.  I often hear the same sentiment expressed about Great Danes and Dobermans, just to name two other breeds whose reputations benefit from gorgeous natural ears.

I sense your mind is made up, but you have some time to reconsider this decision before you take the final step, and I know you want to be sure of doing what's best, for both of you.  BTW, have you ever noticed that schnauzer foot pads smell like popcorn?

Alice

My favorite breed is the boston terrier.  Ours is extremely intelligent, wonderful with our children and just a joy to have.  Bostons love being with their people....they think they're human.:) 

Ours never barks.  When guests come over he runs to sniff their feet and waits to be petted but never barks.  He's a bit of a clown and loves to show off his fetching skills.  This is without a doubt the smartest and sweetest dog we've ever had.  We'll never be without a boston terrier in our family.:)

My son is nuts about Labadoodles, the newest breed for Guide Dogs.  One of his frat brothers trains them before they go to the Guide School- he lives in the dorm, goes to the cafeteria, classes, everywhere.  Anyway, it seems that Labdoodles are extremely intelligent, easy to train, does not shed and has less dander than most dogs.  It also does not have the tendency to develop hip problems.  They look like labs, but are more slender, exp. around the hips and their hair is just a little bit curly.  He says these are the latest things in "hybred" dogs.  They cost $5,000 (except for the guide dogs) and only in the first generation of breeding.