Fun Schnauzer Facts For Kids

Schnauzer, for years on end, has been a beloved breed with its provenance set in Germany where it was bred for two primary purposes: to get rid of rodents and to guard their family’s home. This dog breed draws its name from the German word for snout, 'schnauze'. Over time, the Schnauzer was bred into three different sizes which are the miniature Schnauzer, the standard Schnauzer, the giant Schnauzer, with their own defined breeding standards. Now, despite the variable size, their primary purpose was shared. However, gradually, the Giant Schnauzer became more of a working-class dog. However, the first Schnauzer that was ever standardized was the Standard Schnauzer. The standard Schnauzer is one of the most popular dog breeds for participating in agility dog sports but proper training is required to prepare it for any high-energy dog sport.

With their soft or hard wiry double coat, these dogs appear extremely cute. Keep reading and learning to find out more about these adorable balls of fur. After reading these facts about a Schnauzer dog, you may also like to look at giant Schnauzer facts and husky facts.

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What type of animal is a Schnauzer?

The Schnauzer is a dog.

What class of animal does a Schnauzer belong to?

The Schnauzer is classified as a mammal, belonging to the class Mammalia.

How many Schnauzers are there in the world?

The number of Schnauzers in the world is not accounted for since, being a domestic breed of dog, its population, unfortunately, depends on the demand for it in the pet market. Since no targeted studies have ever been launched at determining the number of Schnauzers in the world, no accurate number can be stated.

Where does a Schnauzer live?

The Schnauzer, being a domestic breed of dog, generally lives in a house or a farm. The energy level for this dog breed is that of a couch potato.

What is a Schnauzer's habitat?

The Schnauzer is a domestic breed of dog. Therefore, they can often be found living in homes with large spaces and backyards for them to be active to their heart’s content. Having said that, Miniature Schnauzers can also adapt to life in apartments as long as their physical exertion needs are met.

Who do Schnauzers live with?

Schnauzers are essentially family dogs. Therefore, this breed of dog usually lives with its human family and maybe any other pets that its family may have. In older times, since the standard Schnauzer dogs were bred to be cattle herding and working dogs, Schnauzers were also found to be living on farms with livestock and cattle, whom it would protect.

How long does a Schnauzer live?

A Schnauzer’s average life expectancy is about 12-14 years of age.

How do they reproduce?

Typically, in order to show an interest in a female for the purposes of reproduction, the male will approach the female’s private parts and smell them. If at all the female wishes to proceed, she will cooperate and move her tail to one side as a concrete communication of her mutual desire to reproduce. If, however, the female does not wish to reproduce with that male, she will either deny any further opportunity to the male by either sitting down or turning aggressive toward the male. If the female is fertilized after intercourse with the male, she will be pregnant for about two months following which she will give birth to three to eight baby Schnauzers.

What is their conservation status?

The Schnauzer breed has not been assigned any conservation status owing to the fact that these little dogs are from a breed of domestic dogs whose population depends on the demand for its breed in the pet market.

What do Schnauzers look like?

To begin with, their fur coat is generally fairly rough to touch and not wavy. Miniature Schnauzer dogs also don’t have the issue of fur-fall with soft or hard wiry double coats. This terrier dog breed usually has a firm and tall stance with strong shoulders and legs complemented by its strong neck and tail. However, the Schnauzer breed’s most characteristic feature is undoubtedly its face which is covered with fur growing downward near the snout, almost like Dumbledore’s beard but shorter. Its ears are floppy and face downwards. Some of the most popular coat colors for this terrier breed are salt and pepper, black, black, and silver color coat. Some of the most popular variations being white Schnauzer terrier and black Schnauzer terrier.

How cute are they?

The Schnauzer is an extremely cute dog with a jovial and friendly personality that will never shy away from making new friends. Always loyal and ever so intuitive, the dog will never let you go through anything feeling alone. Their double coat along with beards and eyebrows renders them an extremely cute appearance. These characteristics make the Miniature Schnauzer dog breed an extremely endearing and lovable dog that looked cute to even begin with!

How do they communicate?

The Schnauzer, being an extremely active and alert breed of working dog, usually barks energetically to communicate any emotion that it feels. Like most other dogs, the Schnauzer breed of dog will growl to warn its family or prepare itself for any danger or threat. Miniature Schnauzer dog will also be extremely mischievous when it comes to wanting to play with its family. It will wag its tail to show that it is happy or exciting and like every other dog, it will lick you to show affection. Ultimately, every dog has certain characteristic traits that differ from dog to dog, and that is up to the owner to understand for themselves. However, all in all, Schnauzers communicate by using the generic ways of communication employed by all dogs.

How big is a Schnauzer?

The Schnauzer breed of dog is found in three predominant sizes – the miniature Schnauzer, the Standard Schnauzer, and the Giant Schnauzer. Now, the Miniature Schnauzer variant of this terrier breed measures about 12-14 in (30.4-35.5 cm) in height when measured till its shoulder level, Standard Schnauzers, on average measure about 17-20 in (43.1-50.8 cm) tall and Giant Schnauzers measure about 23-27 in (58.4-68.5 cm) terms of height. In comparison, the Miniature Schnauzer will be, more or less, as big as a smaller breed of terrier, the standard Schnauzer will be just a little smaller than an average German shepherd dog and the giant Schnauzer will be as big or even bigger than the average German shepherd dog, but more muscular.

How fast can a Schnauzer run?

Mini Schnauzer was bred to be a working dog, which means that this breed is, by default, a high-energy and physically capable breed of dog. Even the miniature Schnauzer can achieve speeds of about 20 mph (32.1 kph) and the giant Schnauzer can reach speeds of about 28 mph (45.0 kph), after training, when in full stride!

How much does a Schnauzer weigh?

As per the specified breed standard, the miniature Schnauzer weighs about 11-20 lb (4.95-9.0 kg), the standard Schnauzer usually is as heavy as 30-50 lb (13.5-22.5 kg) and the giant Schnauzer weighs about 55-80 lb (27.4-36.0 kg). Regular exercise and training are necessary for their health.

What are the male and female names of the species?

Since the species of a Mini Schnauzer is that of a dog (Canis lupus familiaris), a female is referred to as a bitch and a male is referred to as a dog.

What would you call a baby Schnauzer?

A baby schnauzer is referred to as a puppy.

What do they eat?

A Schnauzer is a highly energetic and extremely active breed of dog. Therefore, they generally need quite a bit of attention paid to their nutrition. High protein diets consisting of about 20% protein content are generally recommended. This protein can be sourced from natural sources such as curd, chicken, beef, mutton, turkey, or any other edible and clean meats. In addition to this, adding some vegetables to a Schnauzer’s diet can go a long way in preventing nutritional deficiencies. To maintain a healthy amount of nutrition, feeding commercially available kibble for dogs under the guidance of your veterinary practitioner is also usually an excellent choice. Sometimes, owing to the trait of the breed, one can find Schnauzers chasing and killing rodents. Usually, however, they won’t eat them.  Regular exercise is important for the health and well-being of these dogs.

Are they slobbery?

No, Schnauzer is not a particularly slobbery dog since it has a fully closed mouth and only ever drools when it is hungry or becomes slobbery when extremely tired or thirsty. The best way to deal with this is to allow it to drink water to its heart’s content.

Would they make a good pet?

Schnauzer makes for an excellent pet if you are well versed and experienced with dogs. It is generally not recommended to first-time pet parents. However, if you have had a dog prior to this, Schnauzer can be the perfect pet for your family since it is an extremely loving and intuitive dog that will fiercely protect its family from any danger while ensuring that it showers love at home. Schnauzer haircut must only be handled only by a trained expert.

Did you know...

The standard Schnauzer, the original breed, was created by breeding a German poodle and a gray wolfspitz simply to preserve the trait of its fur. It was only much later that to create the varied sizes of Schnauzer breeds that they were mated with smaller or larger breeds of dogs for various dog sports.

Characteristics and Health

Schnauzer dog breeds are characterized by the fierce protectiveness of their family that balances their love to socialize. In addition, this breed of dog is known to be highly stubborn and cunning with its family. Therefore, if the owner cannot establish a healthy rapport and a power dynamic with the dog, the chances are that the dog will grow up to be unruly and ill-behaved and naturally, difficult to control. However, if trained properly, then Schnauzer will be an excellent companion dog. The owners of a Schnauzer must pay close attention to the weight of their Schnauzer since these dogs have a tendency to put on weight when not allowed the ideal amount of physical exertion. Moreover, it is one of the dog breeds that are prone to health conditions such as hip dysplasia, Osteochondrosis dissecans, autoimmune thyroiditis, and squamous cell carcinoma. Therefore, it is very important to schedule regular checkups with your vet for your Schnauzer. Being family dogs, these dogs can also be needy at times and love to cuddle from time to time. Moreover, since they do not shed obscene amounts of fur, you shouldn’t have much of an issue in taking these dogs into your beds and covers.

Having your own Schnauzer

The first piece of information necessary for people who wish to own a toy Schnauzer is how much it costs to buy one. In the USA, Schnauzer puppies generally cost north of $900 and can even go higher than $2000 for really high-quality pure-breeds. The price for a Schnauzer mix breed dog will be lower than that of a purebred dog. However, it is a better and much cheaper option to adopt these breeds since there are plenty of shelters that are home to Schnauzers. Moving on, German Schnauzer dogs need only a minimal amount of grooming which can include thorough brushing of their coat about twice or thrice a week. If you have children, Schnauzer can be a fantastic addition to your family as it will protect your child and you with its life. However, you will need to ensure and make sure that you train it well so that it understands how to behave around babies. It is generally recommended to get Schnauzers as a pet if you have a spacious home with a backyard since that offers the dog plenty of space to run around. If however, you live in a big apartment, you can get a Schnauzer home if you can guarantee that its physical exertion needs are met. Exercise for more than 30 minutes a day is a must for this breed. In order to train this breed, you will have to be extremely firm and establish, early on, that you are the alpha between the two of you. If this breed does not believe that you are the alpha, then the chances are that in the long run, the breed won’t listen to you. Having said that, if trained properly, Schnauzer can be the ideal pet for you!

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other mammals from our english bulldog facts and cane corso facts pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our Schnauzer coloring pages.