An update on Madison, now 11 mths old!

Madison lives with her owner, Bobbie, in Fredericksburg, VA.  Bobbie, says this about Madison, "She is the sweetest most loving dog ever and spoiled rotten! We love her sooo much."
Below:  Madison with her baby Schnauzer Web kins:)

Here is Madison during the winter when her furnishings were covered in snow!

An update on Casper...now 11 mths old!

Casper now lives in Maryland with his owner Nadia.  She shared this bit of news..."Casper is a very lovable, and full of life. Romeo on the other hand is a mellow puppy, which works out well...
Currently Casper is 24lbs. and, he loves to talk ;-))"

Pictured here are Casper with brother Romeo.

Nadia shared this picture with us last July, when Casper was just recently introduced to his new brother and home.

Nadia also shared this...
"He (Casper) is doing real well... He is one smart cookie, full of life. He knows several words, and understand  hand gestures...
He sits, lays down and stands up on commends and loves his cookies...

Gets along with our cats and  Romeo real well... They have bonded with his brother imminently...

He is a good boy and we very happy to have him in our family..."

An update on Charlie at 10 mths old!

I recently recieved an update on Charlie from his owner Anne-Marie.  She shared this cute story with me...."My dad got bit by a dog as a child so he has never really gotten along with dogs.  He always said he would NEVER allow a dog in his house.  To this day he always asks where charlie is, asks to watch him, takes care of him all day at the house if I have to go somewhere.  Goes EVERYWHERE in my parents house.  He can't get enough of him! :) My mom, nephew, and brother also can't get enough of him...makes me so happy...expect for the fact that they want to see him more then me I think ;) haha!!
He is definitely a mommas boy though.  He gets so upset when i leave and looks all over for me.  He is my baby and I don't know what I would do without him :)  Charlie is about 25 pounds! He is spoiled!!"

Toby our other Mini Schnauzer...

This is our other Schnauzer, Toby. He certainly looks very happy in this picture :)  He is not the Stud Dog, though the Stud is also named Toby!


















Dixie posed for this cute picture on Easter. She just got a haircut 2 weeks ago and she looks adorable!

The Genetics of the White Colored Schnauzer

White is a recessive trait in the color gene for the Miniature Schnauzer. There is some disagreement among the experts as to whether it was in the genetic pool from the beginning of the breed, or not.  Because it is a recessive trait, it is somewhat uncommon to have an all-white litter of Miniature Schnauzer puppies unless you plan for it.  

Dixie had her first litter of puppies in the Winter of 2007, with her first owner.  She was bred to a Salt n' Pepper at that time.  The resulting litter had 3 blacks, 3 Salt n' Peppers and 1 white puppy.  The number of 1:7 seems to be a common ratio for whites in a litter when bred to a non-white.  Salt and Pepper appears to be the most common Schnauzer color.

We adopted Dixie at 18mths, shortly after her litter was sold. We waited till the spring of 2009 before we bred her to a White Schnauzer. The resulting litter was completely white because her Stud also carried the double recessive gene for white.

There is an interesting website all about the genetics of color in the Miniature Schnauzer.  It says the following,
"The true white Miniature Schnauzer is genetically a dog with the color turned 'off' so that it has white hair and pink skin...The 'true' white Miniature Schnauzer will also show cream and beige.  In this color schnauzer, white is masking over the real genetic color of the dog."  If you want to read more about it visit the following website:  

http://www.max-the-schnauzer.com/white-schnauzer.html

About the Stud for our Litter

While we are still waiting on Dixie...I thought it would be of interest to tell you that after a lot of research and interviews, I have settled on the Stud dog for this litter.  His name is Toby and he is a small Schnauzer (under 20lbs).  He is AKC registered. His coat is a very light silver color, with white markings.  His owner has been breeding Schnauzers for 20 years, and knows Toby's lineage for several generations.  He has a lot of white in his lineage.   He has fathered many litters and often throws white puppies.  When bred with white females the result has been all white litters.  Nonetheless,  I should note that other colors are still a possibility!  But most importantly, Toby has a lovely disposition, a gorgeous coat and has every desirable trait to make a great match for Dixie!

It is worth noting at this time, that although the father is AKC registered, since Dixie is ACA registered, the resulting litter will have papers to be ACA registered.

I have talked with Toby's owner and all the arrangements are in place so that when Dixie is ready, the breeder will be ready for Dixie's visit.  I have also lined up some summer help to be here with the pups when I cannot.  So I have done my part, and we are ready to breed Dixie even if she waits until the end of April to go into heat.

8 weeks

 

This is Snowy (Casper) He was the last of the puppies to leave us.  We enjoyed our last few days together very much.  We felt happy for him and all the puppies as they had found such happy families to live with.

Nibbler's going to his home today. We're going to miss him so much!

Snowy and Nibbler's last few days with us. (8 weeks old)

Puppy Identification

Ok, so it is a little confusing trying to identify all the puppies in the pictures.  So I will give you the color code that we used while they puppies were little.

Color/gender      Collar Color           Nursery Name       Family Given Name  
Beige female       none- beige fur         Crystal                    Madison
White female       pink collar                La La                      Leila
White Male         Green collar             Teddy                       J.J.
White Male         Purple collar             Buddy                    Charlie
White Male         Light blue                 Frosty                     
White Male         Yellow                     Coconut                  Nibbler
White Male         Dark Blue                Snowy                     Casper

June 12 --6 weeks

The puppies at 6 weeks old are very lovely little pups.  We take them outside every few hours, to keep their pen clean and to continue with solid potty training habits.  They love to play in the grass as the weather is quite warm and nice.  They follow us wherever we go and never venture too far from the group.  They still try to nurse when they see Dixie, but she will only nurse them for a short time a few times a day.  There teeth and claws are sharp, and she is beginning to wean them

 

  

  

  

Lala (Leila) gives Dixie a kiss.

6 weeks - June 11

The puppies soon grow out of their nursery room.  We move them to a puppy pen during the day so they can be a part of our busy household.  It is so much easier to let them outside throughout the day, which keeps their quarters much cleaner.  We continue to hold each puppy every day, so that they will be very comfortable with people. We do not shield them from the noises of the household, as this will help them be easily adaptable.