[rufuspup]

Hi everyone,

I have a 6 month old black miniature schnauzer. I love him to pieces but the problem is no one seems to realize he's a schnauzer! Nearly everyone i meet tells me "oh I love scottish terriers!" "oh what a cute scottie puppy". It drives me nuts!

I groom him myself and have taken special care to ensure his leggings are longer and fluffy, his body hair is short and he has distinctive beard and eyebrow hair.

Are there any suggestions for what I can do to stop people from mistaking the breed of my puppy?

Thanks a bunch

[AkiraleShiba]

Maybe you should post a pictures so it's easier for prof. groomers on the forum to answer you

[FilleBelle]

I would think the best thing to do would be to say, "He's actually a Schnauzer, but thank you. We think he's very handsome, too!"

I don't always do even that much, actually. Just this morning I was walking the Pug I'm housesitting and a gentleman out for a morning walk stopped to tell me what a good looking Bulldog I had. "Thanks!" I said. "He's a monster. Not as cute as he looks."

Honestly, what's the big deal? Not everyone knows as much about dogs as some of us here do...no need to stress over it!

[rufuspup]

That's a good point, not everyone knows everything about terriers. It just gets frustrating.

Unfortunately I don't have a good camera but I'll see what I can do about a picture.

[rufuspup]

here's some pictures I took with my camera phone (my digital isn't working )
anything I can do or should I just chalk it up to people just not being schnauzer-educated?

[TeddieXRuxpin]

I had a white Schnauzer for 11 years. Your fur kid is quite the cutie.

I think the hair cut is the difference. If his hair was cut like the "standard" cut he would look MUCH more Schnauzer in my opinion. Usually the hair on the body is cut short, but a skirt and longer legs is left.

However I think your little guy is very handsome. How old is he?

[Graco22]

I can see how people are mistaking him for a scottie. Scotties and Schn have some similarities in the cuts, such as shorter bodies, and longer furnishings, though there are some differences in patterns. But an inexperienced person isnt' going to know that. The big thing I see that is makinghim resemble a scottie is all the hair on his ears. A schnauzer ears should be completely hair free, short as at LEAST a #10 blade, all around it. There is no longer fuzz, its a nice, tight, clean ear. Scotties have a tuft at the base, and your pup have tufts all about the ear. That is probably making people think he is a scottie, as the black schn. aren't as common either, and people probably automatically think that as well. I would tighten up his head alot too, and define those brows and beard more, and you will get a more distinct schn. look.

[LuckysJ]

My two dogs are basset hound/beagle/lab mixes, and they have the basset hound legs, out turned and short, and long bodies. And they are pretty big, 38 and 45 lbs (big compared to the rest of the story). So my husband and I were walking them one night and 2 completely different people in 2 separate areas asked if they were dachshunds! My dogs are huge compared to any dachshund I've ever seen! We both looked at them and said very slowly, "ugh, no, they're part basset hound".

[Kuma'sMom]

lol, people have mistaken my Pug, Kuma, for a Pitbull! Talk about mistaken identity!

[LeRoymydog]

Everyone thinks my American Bulldog is either a white Boxer or Pitbull. It doesn't hurt my feelings at all. I just tell them that he's an American Bulldog and then they start asking questions about them. It's a good way to teach people about this breed.

[Maggpie]

Ok, before I answer this post all I have to say is "HEY I KNOW LEROY"

Now getting back to post, what a cutie-patootie your pup is! I wouldn't be overly worried about it, you know what he is and just chalk it up to someone else's lack of education on the breed. I am sure there was no ill will when they made that comment.

I have had people call Maggie a pitbull, a pug, ETC.

[wyopets]

I'll chime in with the mistaken breed identity too , you've gotten some good grooming tips to make him look more schnauzer but don't be too surprised if people still get it wrong. Mine is always Nehemiah...to this day people say "oh, what a cute Lab puppy!" because he's black(ish, he has dark brown guard hairs)...but he's smaller than a lab, has a very hound conformation and his mother was a purebred Redbone. When I tell people he's actually a 14-year-old coonhound they tend to look at me like I'm out of my mind, of course a black dog is a lab!

[AkiraleShiba]

People think I am walking a Wolf and ask me if I am!

Don't worry your little one does look like a schnauzer, scotties have longer faces and are lower on their legs, plus they're usually a bit bulkier

[ohrats9]

The dog Jimmy grew up with was a Scottie. I had him with me a lot and everywhere we went I would have people say, he's the cutest Schnauzer! or the likes. So I guess it goes both ways huh? I would always let them know he was a Scottie but it never bothered me. It's funny because as soon as I would say he was a Scotty most people would yell TOTO!! *sigh*

[rufuspup]

Thanks so much for all the responses! It's really a relief to see that I'm not the only one having trouble with wrongful identifications, I actually don't feel as bad now since at least I can try to cut his hair a little better I'll read up on Scottish terriers so that next time someone starts talking about them I can discuss the differences. I agree, he is very handsome. He's just shy of 6 months.

White schnauzers are cute too. I adore schnauzers in general, especially now that I have one- great temperament also!

I thought this was the "standard" cut? Minus the skirt. I'm a bit afraid that a skirt will make him look bigger and thus add to to the Scottish terrier-look alike.

I'll make sure to trim his ears asap, well as soon as I'm done writing this then
. Should I leave any hair near the inner ear as a protection or should it all be cleaned out? I wasn't sure and I didn't want to damage anything. In between his eyes is supposed to be shaved, right?. I'm a little fuzzy about where his beard is supposed to start also, should the hair under the eye be cut/shaved or should that contribute to the beard hair? lol- I've tried to gather what I can from pictures and a few online help sites, but they're not as specific as I'd like.

rofl, i'm sorry to hear about your scottish terrier ohrats9. I can only imagine comments about The wizard of Oz must be even worse. Interested to know it goes both ways . I happen to go to a school who's mascot is a Scottish man, so i don't think that helps either!

[Patt]

Your little guy is SO cute.

I found a couple of sites of how to groom mini schnauzers, one is a video. They may make is a little easier for you. Maybe a "skirt" would make a little difference.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q...=Google+Search

Here’s a video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaJG69fn_IY

[flipgirl]

First of all, I love your baby...he's a cutie! Second of all, I really can't see why people would mistake him for a Scottie as Scotties are shorter and closer to the ground. Maybe those people have never seen a black Schnauzer. I live in Ontario, Canada and I don't see many black mini Schnauzers, only the salt and pepper ones. Not that that means anything to you but maybe there aren't as many black Schauzers so they think it's a Scottie.

[Graco22]

Yes, you want to shave the insides of his ears with a very short blade, like a #40. The outsides of the ears with at least as short as a #10. The topskull from the eyebrows should be very short (at least a 7F) all the way down the back. You do NOT want to shave between the eyebrows. Only separate them with thinning shears. The beard goes from the outside corner of the eye, to the outside corner of the mouth. I like to use a 7F in reverse (against the lay of the coat) to get those areas nice and clean and neat. Schnauzers shouldn't really have a "skirt." The only reason for the hair underneath is to show depth of chest (no longer than the elbow) You skim with the body blade straight down off the ribcage, then trim the length with shears. That youtube video someone posted is a great one for you to learn from. Also, look at some photos of some show dogs to see the lines, and the pattern on schnauzers to help you see what is very short, what is blended, etc. That will help you get an eye for what they "should" look like if that is what you are wanting him to look like.

[rufuspup]

Thanks for all help everyone! I'll post another picture when I'm done trimming up the ears. I'll try to let a sorta mini-skirt (lol) grow out too, so we can try that look a bit. Graco- Thanks for the very specific information about how to trim, you must be a groomer and show your own dogs(guessing by avatar pic?). I really appreciate you taking the time to explain the details to me.
I'll give those you-tube videos a good look Patt. thanks!
I didn't realize black schnauzers were rarer, but if so- that would make sense why people get so surprised.

[digits mama]

I always welcome it when people call my pups Totos...It is probably because Toto was a Cairn..


Its the ones that seem to tell me that my Puddles looks like an Opossum that gets me all defensive.