Okay, after keeping tabs on the 'votes' from here and the Facebook group, the stats are as follows for the upcoming Min. Schnauzer gathering:

Saturday (31st October 2009)
Audrey (Rayne)
Raymond (rkkyong)
Yen Lu (iluv2zzz)
Jason (jason86)



Sunday (1st November 2009)
Audrey (Rayne)
Eric (ericyong)
Crystal Sio (siewthaw)
Tinie
Diana (Dcom)


It's such a small number compared to what we had last time I guess most of you are not free? Any more members wanting to join the gathering? Please let me know okay?

At the moment, it seems like there are too little to call it a gathering...haha! We could just go, but I don't think it will be like a full scaled gathering like the last one we had...perhaps need to postpone ady, seeing that so many can't make it

Skin cancer? Don't think it's that serious quah...I think you need to get more details from the vet to know more about Papilloma. From what I've Googled, it is usually benign (not serious). But there are many types of papillomas, so best to inquire what it actually is, what are the symptoms (if any), will it recur after operation, etc etc.

Hope Hitler's surgery goes well next Friday.

Hi everyone,

Since there's not enough people going, I think the gathering would be postponed. But if you guys want to just go and bring your furkids along, please do yeah... I can't make it tomorrow, but I THINK I should be okay to go to Desa Parkcity on Sunday, maybe in the evening...want to go check it out (if it's not raining la.. ) If you are up for it, come and we have a mini 'gathering'...haha!

I SHOULD be going on Sunday evening...maybe around 5-6pm like that. So, if anybody else wants to go, we just have like a mini picnic or something lo Can't say we'll have a full scale gathering since a lot are not free...

I'm not sure where exactly, coz I haven't been there myself. I'll probably be just walking about to see the park. I'll PM you my number, and you can give me a call if you are going? This is not so confirmed as yet though...I'm giving it about a 60% chance I'm going. But will finalize tomorrow if I'm really going...

I love this photo! Too cute!


Hi yupio, congrats on your new pup! Post up some photos of your pup when you can, yeah? What's her name?

I guess there is no real 'solution' to your first question...I don't know if we can 'train' them not to be worried when we're not around. I certainly have not done that with Scottie. What I did do was just make him as comfortable as I can for him when I go out. Maybe you could leave an old shirt with your scent in the cage with your pup. Let her be occupied with a toy? They have to learn that there will be times that they will be alone, so you'd just have to endure the crying thing for some time. Let your neighbours know that your pup is very new and is still adjusting so that they don't complain so much. Also, I've learnt that when we go out, don't say a long goodbye to the pup. Just go out like it's a normal thing. When we tell them goodbye and stuff, they'll know it's a sign that you're leaving and will just start whining and all that.

When I introduced Scottie to the water bottle, I took a few drops of water from the bottle onto my finger and let him lick the water off. Then slowly lead him to the water bottle (while he's licking the finger) and press against the little ball thingy at the water bottle to let the water flow out a little (all this while he's licking the finger). Eventually, release the finger so he'll lick the water bottle itself. Repeat a few times, and he seemed to get it. You could give that a try. But I find that Scottie likes to drink from water bowls more than the bottle (maybe coz the bottle dispenses very little water at a time, and he's lazy to work hard for water ) so I eventually switched him to a Yogi water bowl, which worked fine with me.

LOL! You're welcome bro, but I'm not a guy... Try to encourage your pup to drink more, especially if your pup is on a kibble diet. Even if she doesn't drink a lot, ensure that she has access to water at all times

I think she probably has gotten used to your room's adjacent bathroom...when she's in a different place (your kitchen / other rooms) it smells different from the room she slept in, so maybe she doesn't know where to go. It takes time, but whenever you see her signs of wanting to pee or poo, try and get her to go at the bathroom(s) you want her to go. The more consistent you are, the faster she will get the picture...hope that helps!

Haha, I didn't know there are guys who do that so weird!

Well, training is like that I guess...we usually won't get it 'right' the first few times, but I'm sure after a few more tries, you'll be able to notice her signs more...now she's been only with you a few days, so give it about another few days to a week...I'm sure you'll be able to tell. But the best times to let her know where to go are after meal times and after sleep time. Since pups can't hold their pee quite long, they're quite consistent at these times...also if she's playing, bring her to the bathroom every 2-3 hours. You'll never know if she wants to pee or poo at the time. Saves the hassle of having to wait for her to actually want to go...but if she doesn't want to go after you've brought her there for about 5 mins, just let her play again and try in the next 2 or 3 hours.

Then maybe it's time to remove the mat in front of the toilet...haha! The smell is already there, so she probably assumes that it's her place to pee or poo. For beginner training, I think it's best if you stick to one particular place for her to pee and poo (the bathroom attached to your room). After she has been consistent with that bathroom, you could try it with another bathroom...maybe introducing too many places at a time might confuse her. To simplify it, just use one bathroom for her first? But yeah, it takes time to house break your pup... Upload photos of your pup soon! What's her name again? You didn't mention her name...

Min. Schnauzers shed very little, so 'color change' doesn't work like that. What I've read is that as we groom them by clipping their coats (as most groomers do, unless specified), the color will tend to be lighter because we clip through the undercoat (Min. Schnauzers have a double coat - the undercoat is soft, while the upper coat is harsh and wiry), causing the color to lighten considerably because the upper coat is lost. The 'proper' way to groom a Min. Schnauzer is through hand stripping, but it's not easy to do, very tedious and very costly if it's done at the groomers. Only show dogs get hand stripped anyways, so since most of our dogs are pet dogs, the easiest way is just to clip. Let me show you Scottie's coat color change (I only noticed it now after so long...hahaha!):

Scottie as a puppy (June 2007):



Scottie at 1 year old (July 2008):



Scottie at 2+ years old (September 2009):



Carrying to the bathroom should be fine for the first few days (so that she gets there in time) I think. Never a big harm to try...whatever that works for you to get her to understand that the bathroom is her place to go, try it If it doesn't work, try another method. There's no one sure way to train a dog.

She's so cute! What's her name? You never did seem to reveal her name...haha!

Yeah, it depends on the dog's genes and a little on how we groom I think. Scottie's light colors will show after he has gone through a grooming session...when his fur grows longer, the color is somewhat like his 1 year old coat color. Darker, but not as dark as when he was a pup. I don't know what his parents' colors look like, so I don't know if he'll get more light in time to come...

I actually don't really believe that a dog's coat color will change over time, unless it's due to something that was done to them. What colors that they were born with, I believe it's the same color throughout. It's like saying we can change hair color over time...haha! We can, but only if we color it...our natural hair color is the one that we're born with.

Yeah, I only noticed it recently when I was looking back at his old photos...haha! I miss his puppy look also, and how small he was... If only they would stay that way forever, right?

Silky Terriers are small dogs compared to the Min. Schnauzer...although Min. Schnauzers are small, but they are slightly bigger than Silkys definitely From what I've read, the average weight for a Min. Schnauzer ranges from about 5-7kg, but that's just the average...there are definitely smaller and bigger sized dogs, so what I usually do is to feel the sides of the dog (along the ribs).

The ideal situation would be that you need to apply a bit of pressure (like maybe pushing on a soft pillow) to be able to feel the ribs. If by just feeling lightly already can feel the ribs, it means your pup is too thin. If you apply pressure also cannot feel the ribs, it means that he is overweight. The actual weighing of the dog I feel is not that accurate, coz a lot of dogs grow at different rates. And I don't believe that feeding less will make the dog's size smaller (I get that a lot from pet shops or weird breeders). It just makes them malnourished, which is even worse than having a slightly bigger sized dog. Size is more towards genetics and breeding..the pup can't help it if they're small or big. If the pup is meant to be big, no matter how less we feed also they will eventually be that size, so I would say monitor your pup constantly...and a healthy dog is DEFINITELY much better than a 'small-sized but actually malnourished' dog.

LOL....I'm not Ray. Please call me Audrey

I haven't actually sent Scottie for a stripping session, so I have no idea if a one time strip will result in the coat being harsh and wiry their whole life. But I THINK (theoretically) a one time strip would not cause the fur to do that, because when we clip the coat, both layers of coat will be gone...even if we have stripped it before, what will grow back will be the softer coat anyways because that is the inner coat. The harsh wiry coat will be the outer coat (which will grow much later...maybe not so much also if we keep clipping the coat). I have seen a show Min. Schnauzer before though, and their coat is not really that harsh like say, a wiry JRT...it's just more firm compared to Scottie's kind of coat, in my opinion. But like you said, stripping is VERY expensive (and it cannot be done all in one sitting, especially if it's the first time) so no point in doing it I guess...

That's cool that Sam's coat is what you wanted Grooming is like that I think...the first time I sent Scottie for grooming, I didn't tell the groomer to leave his long eyelashes...they cut it so short he didn't look like my Scottie. haha! Needless to say I didn't send him back there again! The groomer I send Scottie to is quite good...I've been sending Scottie there since he was about 5-6 months old. But I've only let Scottie have the usual Schnauzer cut...not sure if that's what you meant by 'puppy cut', but I'm quite traditional in the sense that I prefer to have my dog look the way they should look breed-wise (or at least look about 90% that part ). I am not partial to the 'Horse cut' style, but a lot of people like it, so to each their own I guess. I like Scottie the way he is now

This post has been edited by Rayne: Nov 9 2009, 09:51 AM

Sorry to hear that you have such an inconsiderate neighbor, Raymond...but what to do? Some people are naturally like that. The only thing you can do is maybe teach Max not to make noise when he wants to pee / poo by providing him with a toilet tray? I do that with Scottie...I leave a tray at his playpen so that whenever I cannot let him out to do his business, he does it on the tray without any fuss.

A lot of people have the misconception that obedience classes will teach us how to house break a puppy and all that. They don't actually. Obedience classes are just classes to teach us how to train our dogs to behave properly while outside (heeling, sit, stand, down, stay, recall) Another side course to beginner's obedience is called Canine Good Citizen (CGC) which is the same thing...if you go to higher levels of obedience classes, they are called competition levels. Basically about the same exercises but with different degrees of difficulty. House breaking has to be all on our own.

Yeah, maybe you could let your neighbor know that you're in the midst of training Max now, so they would have to put up with his 'crying' for a while.

I think what you're doing is fine...when he has consistently done his business on the tray in a confined area, you could slowly open it and keep an eye on him. Whenever he starts showing signs that he wants to go, just point him to the correct place to pee/poo. That's what I did with Scottie... When I see that he wants to pee, I tell him to 'Wait' (and he does wait! LOL!) and bring him to the tray and encourage him to do it there. When he does, I praise him madly and sometimes he gets a treat

Oh, Max's play pen is outside the house? Maybe that's why he's crying, coz he's more used to being inside? Or you could also give him an old shirt of yours that has your scent, so that he doesn't feel so alone. Give him time...he will get used to sleeping by himself. Scottie doesn't like to sleep on beds too..he prefers to sleep on the marble floor, even though I've bought a nice bed for him

Not sure if it's normal for dogs to lick their paws...Scottie usually does it when he's bored. Or if there's something irritating the paws. So everytime he does that, I would take a look at it and see if there is anything stuck there...if not, I just distract him with toys and play.

Min. Schnauzers don't really shed that much...if they are, it's not normal. Maybe he's having some infection on the fur? I remember Kenji (a Chihuahua) got it before...he had sort of a fungal infection on his fur that caused him to shed so much. The vet asked us to bathe him and Scottie with Malaseb every 2 weeks until the shedding stops (Scottie and Kenji share the same play pen, so the vet recommended that just in case Scottie got infected). Try giving some coat supplements for your pup and see. If he's still shedding you might want to visit the vet.

Infections on the fur takes a while to recover...if I remember correctly, the vet told me it will take Kenji about 1-2 months to recover, so patience is a virtue Meanwhile, keep giving the coat supplements. I give Scottie and Kenji salmon oil capsules for their coat (human grade). Since they don't take the capsules, I squeeze the oil out on their food.

Not sure what kind of shampoo to use...I just use back the normal shampoo that was used to bathe Scottie and Kenji, plus the Malaseb shampoo every now and then. You could ask your groomer for recommendations. I think they have a better idea, since their profession is mostly bathing and grooming the dogs

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Added on November 11, 2009, 11:57 amSorry to hear about WaWa. Hope she'll get better soon!

If you feel like you need a second opinion, I say go for it...no harm in knowing a bit more about the problem so that we can prevent it in the future.

This post has been edited by Rayne: Nov 11 2009, 11:57 AM