The RUFF GUIDE TO…
In our ongoing series for dog-lovers, we celebrate another of Britain’s best-loved breeds
It had never been our plan to get a dog: life seemed busy enough without one. But two events conspired to make it happen. First, we were burgled and the police advised that a dog was the best deterrent. Then I got ill and, on some days, a friend lent me her miniature schnauzer, Arthur, to keep me company while I recovered.
Arthur was not like the dogs I’d grown up with: a single-minded beagle and an affable Labrador. He was as self-respecting as the former and as good-natured as the latter, but there was something teddy bear-esque about him. Affectionate, sweet and gregarious, he made the house feel emptier when he went home at the end of the day. Afew months later, when I was well again, we heard that a recommended miniature schnauzer breeder was expecting puppies. My husband, Dan, our two sons and I made a decision that we’ve never regretted.
Scout came home with us one snowy evening six and a half years ago. At nine weeks old, she was half the size of my sister’s house rabbit. Tentative at first, even scared of the stairs, she soon revealed her merry, fun-loving nature. Within a week of her arrival, we felt daunted by the love we felt for her. And as the weeks passed, that love kept on growing. I wondered what we’d got ourselves into and what we had done without her.
A schnauzer makes a life-affirming companion with a huge capacity for love
The first miniature was born in Germany in the 19th century when the standard schnauzer – the original breed, with a 600-year history – was crossed with the smaller affenpinscher. Like its forebear, the miniature was an excellent rat catcher, but its special skill was to be an alert dog, telling the bigger dogs to do something. Alerting humans to a visitor is a job all miniature schnauzers take very seriously. Scout finds it impossible not to bark when someone knocks on the door and won’t stop her cacophony until they’ve come in and sat down. Most miniature schnauzer owners smile wryly when I ask them whether their dog is similarly vociferous.
For certain people, Scout reserves a special welcome – not yapping, but singing, a kind of joyful chorus accompanied b
