Cross between a mini schnauzer and a soft coated Wheaten Terrier

[xVelvet_FuzzButtx]

I checked www.petfinder.com really quick and found several schnauzer/wheaton mixes btw..

[flipgirl]

Thank you for all your replies and now that I've read them I will surely not go looking for a breeder of such a mix. I'm a new dog owner and I would love to have both a wheaton terrier and a mini schnauzer as I love both breeds...well there are not many breeds I don't like. I would certainly not like to contribute to the many dogs that are killed or abandoned due to their unpredictablity and am aware that people will mix breeds for money...I was just wondering what other objections there would be. But thanks for setting me straight....a wheaton/schnauzer mix would certainly be more than a handful. If I had to choose between a wheaton and a schnauzer, I don't know which one I would choose! But that is not to say that I wouldn't rescue a dog either! Again thanks for the information...

[Jakesmom]

Both are terriers, and hence, well, they're terriers--stubborn, smart, and active. Personally, I love wheatons. We had one who had been raised by someone who was up to raising a terrier (that wouldn't be me), and we got him when he was 8 (his original owners couldn't keep him anymore). He was a wonderful dog, very sweet, loving, determined as all get out, an incredibly mentally tough dog. My observation is wheatons are very determinted and energetic, but not as hyper as the mini or standard schnauzers (though I've never owned a schnauzer, just observed them in dog parks).

Wheatons do have some health issues, however, especially congenital renal disease, so if you go with a wheaton, check into the breeding carefully.

jake's mom

[wolfsoul]

The breeds are incredibly alike in temperament. I am a dog groomer and schnauzers and wheatons are both very popular reeds that come into the shop. I always say that wheatons are just like big schnauzers. No other breeds consistently freak out when you try to pick them up lol.

Since they are so much alike I would say just get a purebred of one or both (but not to breed together). Breeding mixes is irrespnsible. Too many dogs in shelters -- people should be breeding to better a breed, not to create more.

[kelly4444]

So, obviously none of you have owned or met a SC Wheaton Terrier/ mini Schnauzer mix, because I do own one and have met several, and they are one of the best breeds I have ever met, and everyone who meets my dog always asks us where she came from and how they can get one just the same.

They are very smart,(we taught ours to use a doggy door in 20 minutes) and with this, sometimes gets herself in trouble, but she loves people and is very sweet, and very funny... So I recommend this breed to everyone and anyone....

Any questions?

[Suki Wingy]

Every dog is different. When refering to the temperament of a breed it is always a "most likley" situation.
The temperament of a dog has some to do with breeding, some to do with the environment a dog is raised in.
What most everyone is saying in this thread is while your dog may be a great, smart companion, there are others dying in shelters who would make just as great pets. I'm not saying your dog isn't special, I'm just saying another dog of the same mix is NOT necessarily going to be the same. As Sophie (Gisselle) pointed out, when you cross to breeds you are capible of getting a large range or temperaments and traits. Sometimes these are not even apparent in either of the parent breeds. For example, Golden/Poodle crosses sometimes have wirey coats that are different in texture from the poodle or golden ret.

[cloverfdx]

Kelly they are a cross breed not a breed . When you mix 2 different breeds together you dont know what you are getting with the resulting pups.

[buttercup132]

I wish I knew then what I know now but then

Don't worry, I think everyone wishes that. We aren't born knowing and unfortunatly not everyone is born into animal loving familes. Alot fo people on here have puppy mill/pet store puppies but now know that it's wrong.
I'm glad you changed your mind

In Toronto, where I work,

It says you live in Oklahoma so how do you work in Toronto? Unless their is a Toronto in Oklahoma.
If you work in Toronto Ontario, I can help you find a dog in need of a home.

[flipgirl]

Hi buttercup,
I just replied to your PM - I was born in Oklahoma a long long time ago but work in Toronto. I actually live in Burlington.

Let me know how you can help me in a PM....thanks!!!!

[IRescue452]

Do you realize that a wheaton-colored standard schnauzer would be the exact same thing? That's basically what you're looking for isn't it? Wheaton-colored purebred schnauzers do exist.

[cawicker]

I realize it's kind of late to pipe in here, but want to anyway as somebody who's had both a wheaten cross and a schnauzer. My wheaten might have been purebred, I'm not sure since like the schnauzer he came from the pound. Both were delightful dogs, although the schnauzer was awfully yappy until he blessedly started losing his hearing at 10 ;-). He lived to 19, BTW.

There are a couple of things the AKC folks fail to mention. For one thing, many breeds out there are the result of people breeding particular breeds together in order to get a new breed with particular qualities. So, when did the evolution of dogs stop? When the AKC decided? Some of the toughest, adaptable and smartest dogs out there are the indeciferable mixes you see in places like Mexico. Sled dogs that are mixes often fetch much bigger bucks than a Husky (better for speed in races but otherwise not the best sled dog for regular work).

Another thing is that the AKC has bred into breeds many of the problems that plague them. For example, somebody somewhere decided that "sloping hips" were a desirable trait for a German Shepherd. Now it's very hard to get one that doesn't have hip problems. Short noses and squished in faces for dogs like pugs and shiz tzus resulted in breathing problems. Ever heard a little pug on a hot day? Wheezing and snuffling? Wouldn't he be better off with a longer nose? But then he wouldn't pass the beauty contest!

I'm really not trying to rip the AKC - but I resent the fact that they try to say that these dogs are somehow "better" than a mixed breed mutt. My beloved Wheaten cross just died of cancer, and I'm seriously thinking about a designer mutt to replace him. I have allergies and a whoodle (wheaten/poodle) sounds like a smart, soft, and good natured mix. So, maybe they aren't recognized breed according to the AKC, but I don't think labradoodles are yet, either. Yet they are extremely popular. A shnoodle, whoodle, labradoodle? Why not? Maybe they'll be "recognized" one of these days. A shnauzer without skin problems, a less high-strung version of a poodle? How could these possibly be considered bad breeding?

[IRescue452]

Crossbreeding dogs stops when responsibility stops.

REPUTABLE breeders who want to crossbreed for certain traits start a parent club. They select a set of traits they want to try for. They select well-bred purebreds to start with. The take records of each generation. They get numerous health tests, not just from veteranarians, but from specialists in canine eyes and hips and spines and genetics and so fourth. Its a very long process and carefully planned. The breed becomes elegible for purebred consideration only after about 20 generations of breeding the hybrids to each other, not counting any generations where you bred back to a purebred of either breed you are using.

Bybs, puppy mills, non-reputable breeders do not have a parent club. They do not start with good stock because good breeders will not allow their dogs to be sold to a hybrid breeder. They do not do all of the health screening beyond a regular vet. They often do not even breed past the first or second generation hybrids.

This is why the evolution of breeds is such a controversial problem.

Believe it or not, the cockapoo has been eligible for purebred status for many years now. The parent club has more than enough generations behind them and the standard is developed enough that if they wanted to pursue it. But I suggest they give it a new name or people are going to start breeding hybrids from two purebred parents thinking they have the same thing as the parent club.



All of the arguements in this thread say that wheaton/schnauzer crosses were "the best dog ever" or "well-behaved" or "well-tempered". You would be saying the same thing if you had gotten a purebred and had it for life. Do you have any arguements that put the hybrid above and beyond what a purebred pup has to offer?

[Jags mom]

One thing that i would object to with the mixing or those 2 breeds is the coat they will have when they reach adulthood. As a groomer we have run into a lot of dogs crossed with one or the other, most crossed with schnauzers are really homley looking dogs(cute as pups), and sadly there are so many owners that are too judgmental and get rid of it. And wheatons have a high mantinace coat that matts really really easy and tight, even i would not own a wheaton or cross for that reason, and their personality is not one that most tolerate, from what i have seen and heard. Not saying that you wouldnt take care of it, but there are A LOT of ppl out there that wouldnt.

[Pop Alexandra]

One thing that i would object to with the mixing or those 2 breeds is the coat they will have when they reach adulthood. As a groomer we have run into a lot of dogs crossed with one or the other, most crossed with schnauzers are really homley looking dogs(cute as pups), and sadly there are so many owners that are too judgmental and get rid of it. And wheatons have a high mantinace coat that matts really really easy and tight, even i would not own a wheaton or cross for that reason, and their personality is not one that most tolerate, from what i have seen and heard. Not saying that you wouldnt take care of it, but there are A LOT of ppl out there that wouldnt.

That's my feeling, too.
Difficult to maintain, but they're also very beautiful if they're properly taken care of.
___________________________________
Alexandra
https://w2c.ca/en/services/animal-import/

[Twisterdog]

Thank you for all your replies and now that I've read them I will surely not go looking for a breeder of such a mix. I'm a new dog owner and I would love to have both a wheaton terrier and a mini schnauzer as I love both breeds...well there are not many breeds I don't like. I would certainly not like to contribute to the many dogs that are killed or abandoned due to their unpredictablity and am aware that people will mix breeds for money...I was just wondering what other objections there would be. But thanks for setting me straight....a wheaton/schnauzer mix would certainly be more than a handful. If I had to choose between a wheaton and a schnauzer, I don't know which one I would choose! But that is not to say that I wouldn't rescue a dog either! Again thanks for the information...

Wow, it's SO nice and refreshing to see someone listen and take others' opinions into consideration without getting defensive! My congratulations for your open-mindedness.

As for choosing between the two, adopt one of each from a shelter instead!

I also agree with what everyone else said. You don't always get "the best of both worlds" when crossing breeds, in fact, I would say you practically NEVER get a 50/50 split of traits, good or bad. I happen to like Italian greyhounds and English bulldogs. Can you imagine crossing the two and hoping to get the best of each? Perish that thought!


Kelly444 - I'm sure you have a lovely, wonderful dog. I happen to have a few lovely, wonderful, smart crossbreeds as well. But they are not "breeds". They are mutts. A crossbred, with two distinct purebreds as parents, or a Heinz 57 pooch, with dozens upons dozens of different dogs in its ancestory ... they are both mutts, mixed breeds, whichever term you prefer. Mixed breeds are great. I own four. I adopted them all and saved their lives. However, to intentionally breed mixed breed dogs is beyond irresponsible, when tens of thousands are dying in shelters, and starving in alleys.