Puppies can be safely altered as early as 7 weeks of age. This practice has become common place with animal shelters, guide dog training programs, and many responsible breeders. While the procedure may affect larger breeds development, it has been my experience that there is no significant developmental differences - and certainly no negative impact to performing the procedure at a younger age. On the benefit side, the procedure is done more quickly, with less pain/discomfort to the puppy, less bleeding and with faster recovery. All risks of having the puppy anaesthetised are borne by the Kennel. Finally, juvenile spay/neutering tends to be far less financially cumbersome to the owners. After 10 years, I’ve never had a client who has been unhappy with their puppy (although we have had reports of a few surprised vets!)

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The most common health issues include diabetes, pancreatitis, bladder stones (uroliths) cataracts*, progressive retinal atrophy (PRA), and sick sinus syndrome (heart).

Less common, but very serious issues include mycobaterium avium susceptibility (avtb or MAC susceptibility)*, portosystemic shunts (liver)*, megaesophaghus*, Legges Perthes Disease*, Juvenile Renal disease (kidney)*and myotonia congenita*.

Many of these problems can be eliminated by the breeder through DNA screening, health testing and informed breeding decisions. Others, should be detectable well before a puppy is ready to go to its new homes.

*Congenital or hereditary defects that have serious impact or are terminal should be covered by the health guarantees.

Look for more indepth issues in the breed information pages on this site!

No, and this is why:

In Canada we have a fixed breed standard which only allows for salt and pepper, black and black and silver miniature schnauzers.  While other colours may be registerable (ie white), often the pedigree is suspect (as in the case of merle or confetti  which do not exist in the acknowledged breed history and in most cases can be definatively shown to have been the result of cross breeding). 

Breeders who engage in breeding so called ‘rare’ colours are generally motivated solely by profit - do not respect the standard (ideal) and do not make any contributions to the betterment of the breed.  

While it is true that all breeds originate from cross breeding, once a breed is established,  those individuals who wish to engage in such activities ethically should not try to sell crosses as an accepted pure breed.  ACA, APRI, WCA and other similar registries are NOT pure bred registries, and the registration papers issued by them have no more value in the world of pure bred dogs, than Monopoly© money has in any world financial institution.  In North America, a miniature schnauzer must be registered, or eligible for registration with the American Kennel Club,  Canadian Kennel Club, or Fédération Cynologique Internationale in order to be deemed purebred.

Absolutely. We are happy to schedule grooming lessons with any of our clients, and will send home grooming charts to follow!

Companions are generally groomed by clippering the coat, and scissoring the furnishings, eyebrows etc. Most owners take their pets to professional groomers for this, however, routine brushing, and if needed bathing between grooms is recommended.

Show dogs are handstripped to emphasize the beautiful harsh outer coat of our breed. This form of grooming is more time consuming and requires dedication, and lessons in technique.

It's best to call or email us to ascertain availability.  We generally do not feature specific puppies on this website, but are happy to answer specific enquiries.

Uh Oh!  Despite your best intentions, you've discovered that you can't keep your beloved puppy!  Now what?

Our contract states that if you can not or choose not to keep your Meinkismah Mini, you must return the dog to us. If this is within a month after purchase, Meinkismah will issue a full refund for the purchase price of the puppy. After one month - the refund may be prorated on a case by case basis (based on the length of time required to rehome the puppy).

If you have a friend or family member who is interested in taking the dog, we are happy to discuss this option - but we ask you to remember we take responsibility for our dogs and like to know where they are.

All puppies are registered with the Canadian Kennel Club.

There is no such thing. Contrary to the claims of individuals deliberately trying to sell these pint sized pets, those that are eligible for purebred registration, are registered as MINIATURE SCHNAUZERS!  The terms 'micro-mini' and 'toy mini'  were coined STRICTLY as a marketing tool by unethical breeders.  This is also why these individuals will NOT guarantee size.

It is possible that even breeding towards the ideal standard (12" - 14") that a breeder may produce puppies that are ‘undersized’ or ‘oversized’ dogs. As long as the dog is healthy and free from genetic or congenital defect that will affect it’s health these dogs can make lovely companions. Unfortunately, frequently undersized dogs are the result of an underlying problem - and deliberate breeding of undersized dogs frequently exacerbates these failings. If a puppy requires feeding every couple of hours, and supplements such as Nutrical in order to prevent potentially lethal hypoglycemia - it is NOT a healthy dog.

I traditionally dock newborn tails unless I receive a specific request NOT to dock a puppy. Ears are cropped only upon request, by a qualified veterinarian, prior to a puppy being homed. Regrettably various radical animal rights groups are seeking to eliminate our right to have these procedures done and the CVO is currently debating whether or not it will continue to sanction members who perform them.  Have your say on the debate by joining pur community section!