Giant Schnauzers?

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GinaB

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I really want one of these. Does anyone own one? Are the as great as the minis? (as we all know how great my Beastie is
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) How difficult are they to get (I've only ever met one, who ignored my labs but fell in love with Beastie) how much would you be paying etc? And any health problems they are prone to?
 
I always wanted a giant schnauzer too, as I know a fair few minis but i am very much a big dog person, but when I used to work at the kennels one of our regulars was a giant and he managed to well and truly put me off.

I have no idea if he is typical of the breed but he was very agressive but in an unpredictable way- as in he would come up being all bouncy and friendly and then 2 seconds later he was trying to eat you! He had diabetes mellitus and was a regular at the vet. He was on medication and had to have prescription food and used to drink almost as much as my horse does (a normal dog bowl was by no means sufficient). We had to take him from the kennels a few times and he was very well known by the vets because of his aggression, they requested he was muzzled before entering the premises and that he was only to be taken at the end of surgery so the waiting room was empty.

Then to top it all off he also used to self harm by chewing both front legs until they were all ulcerated and infected. He did this while in kennels which can be explained by it being a stressful environment but he also did it to a similar extent whilst at home- his owners were pulling their hair out as to why he did it. His owners could only take him on walks where he wasn't going to encounter any dogs or people and I think he only ever went out muzzled.

I really really hope that this dog was a one off as they are beautiful dogs, but the dog I knew was truly awful and I'm afraid he put me off looking into the breed any more.
 
Only met one, she was a show bitch that eventually became an Irish Champion but she was windy as anything....she kind of sank into the ground because there were flags flapping overhead while we were walking along at a show.

Hoping someone can prove me wrong as there are loads of generalisations about GSDs that I hate!
 
My dad has two giants and two minis (a dog and bitch of each) None of his are like the ones that MillenJet described. They are all affectionate and friendly but wary of strangers, and fun to be around. Obviously with all dogs they need to be socialised from an early age and trained properly to overcome some of the problems that are associated with the dog in MillenJets post (but there are always exceptions regardless of training and socialising). None of my dads have any health problems even though one is quite old for his breed. All have qualified for crufts but are house dogs, and are treated like a member of the family they also live with children.

I love them and if I had the space would seriously be considering having one.
 
I guess there are always exceptions to every breed, so its good to hear that the dog I had the misfortune to encounter does not appear to be the norm for the breed.

Like I said this one dog is the only animal of the breed I have ever had anything to with.
 
Our old YO had one years ago 25+years, she was ace, a bit minging because she was a top ratter despite her size, and she was never properly trimmed, just had a hunter clip when she got too gross!!
I have to say I prefer the larger ones to the miniatures.
 
I have only had standard ones but the place I got them from also bred giants and they were fantastic. Even though I now have a JRT and a Wire fox terrier schnauzers are definately my fave.
 
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