Activities Overview
 Above and Beyond Basic Obedience |
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Introduction The standard schnauzer was originally bred to guard the tradesman's carts laden with their wares. Also expected of him was to keep the house and stables free of vermin, and to be watchdog for the families children & property. To this day he still retains the multipurpose duty of family companion, watchdog, obedience and agility competitor. He has the beauty and stable structure to compete in the conformation ring and the character and sensitivity to perform therapy work to the elderly and weak. He is truly one of the most versatile of our canine friends. Because the standard schnauzer is so intelligent, they really thrive on learning new things. The sky is truly the limit as to the variety of fun things that you can do with your standard schnauzer. You can even get involved in activities that can help save human lives, such as search and rescue. Getting involved with they therapy dog program can be a hugely rewarding experience for both you and your schnauzer as well. The activities described in this section are often regarded as "above and beyond basic obedience", which is always recommended as a prelude to these types of activities. For basic obedience training resources, see our Training page. Including additional activities for your schnauzer (as opposed to obedience training, see our training page) also provide a wonderful outlet with which to make new friends and it also provides the opportunity for your schnauzer to socialize with other canine friends. This page in no way is intended to be all inclusive, and it never will be. It is intended to provide an basic overview of some of the more common activities and provide you with basic information so that you can do more research on your own. We hope that you will find many fun things to do with your standard schnauzer! |
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| MY OH MY. If only some human beings were THIS lucky! |
| Rose & Jake. Silberfel Everlasting Rose and Schattentier's Nautical Kid |
| Photo courtesy of Gail Wilson |
| Agility The sport of agility is growing by leaps & bounds in North America. There are several organizations offering titles for your dog to obtain. Developed as a spectator event during Crufts in England it is modeled after the horse event of Steeplechase. The dog and handler must negotiate a course of jumps, tunnels, teeters, elevated walks. This is a timed event with time faults awarded for refusal of obstacles, incorrect performance of sequence, physically directing your dog and may vary depending on the organization. Standard schnauzers are wonderful candidates for the sport of Agility being of a medium size and built for sudden bursts of speed and turn on a dime direction changes. For more information on Agility in Canada visit the Agility Association of Canada web site. |
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| Baron. Photo Credits: Owner Helen J. Kwasniewski, breeder LeAnn Shank. |
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Therapy Dogs & Canine Good Neighbor
- Earn a CGN title for your Standard Schnauzer!
The Canadian Kennel Club has a Canine Good Neighbour Program (CGN title). The objectives are to identify and reward responsible caring owners and their canine companions throughout Canada, and to to ensure that dogs can present good manners at home or in other places, in the presence of their owners. There is a test involved to assess the abilities of your canine companion. For more information as to the exact test criteria and as to Evaluators in your area, visit the Canadian Kennel Club web site. St. John Ambulance Canada has a therapy dog program, which takes volunteers and their dog into organizations on a weekly basis. The dog's temperament is assessed to ensure their suitability for this program. If you are interested in whether or not this program includes a title for your dog upon completion, you should enquire directly first. Your dog must be able to demonstrate certain capabilities such as accepting a friendly stranger, etc. For more information, visit the St. John Ambulance Canada's web site at www.sja.ca We suggest that you research for other organizations that also offer pet therapy programs, such as PALS therapy programs etc. - or do a Google or Yahoo! search.
There is also a Canine Good Citizen program that is sponsored by the American Kennel Club. |
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Fun Days, Grooming Seminars,
Picnics, Schnauzer Walks You can organize a Schnauzer Fun Day, grooming seminar, picnic or a schnauzer walk, where people and their standard schnauzers all come together and have fun. It's a great way to make contacts and learn more things about standard schnauzer and is basically a wonderful way to socialize your standard schnauzer as well. There is a listing of parks across Canada where you can take your dog to walk. This list may not be entirely up to date at all times, but you can check it out at the Canada's Guide to Dogs web site. The link is called "Dog Friendly Parks". You may also with to contact your local municipal authorities/city hall office regarding possible permits and logistics etc. Pictures of our Fun Day in Camrose AB are on our Membership page (part of the benefits in joining our club). If you would like to do this, you should contact your breeder first and contact the club President for more information on how to go about this. In some instances, the Standard Schnauzer Club of Canada may even be able to help defray some of the expenses of holding such an event, such as ribbons for contests etc. Don't feel alone if you'd like to try doing this. There are always people that can help you! See our Club Info section on who to contact. |
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Health Clinics From time to time, information on upcoming health clinics will be listed in the "events" section of our official club newsletter (see membership to join our club and receive the free club newsletter). Other health clinics that may be held are those to screen for:
One good web site is www.offa.org for more information. This site is worthwhile for you to visit, as you can search their database for clinics to be held in your area. You can also do searching of medical results for various types of dog breeds including the standard schnauzer. Their links section contains valuable information on other excellent web sites where you can obtain all sorts of canine health information. Another good web site is that of the Canine Eye Registration Foundation, or CERF. Their web site is located at www.vmdb.org/cerf.html and has lots of information on canine eye health and upcoming eye health clinics as well. If a health clinic is specifically intended to be held for one dog breed only, it will generally state that information in the clinic description. Otherwise the clinics are generally open to all dog breeds. It is always good to attend these if you have a chance to, as these clinics are less expensive than a normal overall veterinary examination, plus it's really fun to go to a dog show! The various health clinics that are held are decided upon by the SSCC board of directors. The logistics and costs are not always easy, so they are held wherever and when they can be held. Obviously, if you are in a city with a Veterinary College, your chances are better to find a locally sponsored health clinic. Other than that, you can seek out local all breed dog shows to attend these health clinics, which are very well worth your while. The www.dogevents.ca website does contain listings for health clinics that you may wish to attend. And again, you can add your own events to the database as well. It is not warranted how up to date this information may be. If you ever encounter a physical problem with your standard schnauzer, you should contact your breeder right away. Breeders' Ethics are covered in the Constitution [Printer-friendly PDF version] of the Standard Schnauzer Club of Canada. |
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Search and Rescue/Tracking A good place perhaps to start is the Search and Rescue BC web site, or SARBC. The web site has a good many links to all sorts of search and rescue sites, including land, air, marine and specialty rescue information. There are links to missing children's groups, avalanche rescue and much more. The site includes information on search and rescue dogs. Another site to check is www.carda.bc.ca . It has a lot of information on avalanche rescue, lists of validated avalanche rescue teams and so forth. The above sites list search and rescue resources across all of the provinces and so are as good place as any to begin your research. Perhaps also try contacting your local Police department for more information as to how to get involved with this activity. |
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| Christa Tracking - Great Job! |
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Showing Your Standard Schnauzer There was a time when standard schnauzers were seldom seen at dog shows. Over the last five years the breed has emerged into a top competitor in the conformation ring. (See our Training page to see Gypsy's accomplishments). Breeders should be applauded for the wonderful specimens they are carefully producing. Opinions vary as to which standard schnauzer may be considered as the "top standard schnauzer" to date. Obviously a standard schnauzers may win a variety of different titles, and/or any different number of any particular title. Some of the top standard schnauzers that are worthy of note:
If you are interested in showing your standard schnauzer, you should talk to your breeder for more information. As the rules for dog shows are governed by the Canadian Kennel Club, you should also see their web site for additional information. They have information materials that you can obtain, such as a booklet titled "Conformation Show Rules and Regulations". Showing your standard schnauzer is encouraged by the Standard Schnauzer Club of Canada. You do not need to be a member of the Canadian Kennel Club to show your dog, but your standard schnauzer must be registered with the CKC or have an ERN (Entry Registration Number) or a PEN number. A PEN number is not for conformation and is for dogs that are pure bred but may not have a CKC registration number, IE perhaps a puppy that was purchased in a foreign country and there were difficulties getting a CKC number. Once your dog is spayed or neutered, you could apply for a PEN and participate in obedience, agility etc. and earn titles. Forms are downloadable from the CKC web site and click onto CKC services. There are certain requirements, photo, spay/neuter certificate etc. but it does allow unregistered purebred dogs to participate in CKC events. You can also earn championship and obedience titles through the United Kennel Club (UKC) and in other countries world wide including USA, Bermuda and Mexico. You would be required to have your standard schnauzer registered with the canine governing body for the country selected and your standard schnauzer would have to meet the requirements set down by them.
To address this, we have created a "Titles Available for the Standard Schnauzer" page that will hopefully help to unveil the mystique of what titles that you may wish to compete for with your standard schnauzer, and to also help explain just what all of these titles actually mean! For more information, please see: Titles Available for the Standard Schnauzer. |
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| Showing your Schnauzer. LOVELY CONFORMATION TROPHIES. Indi in the background. |
| Photo taken by Brooke Thomas & courtesy of Imagodog.com (Brooke Thomas & Lori Elvin) |
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Sport Activities It's hard to know where to start as there are so many sports that you can do with your dog. A good place to start is the web site www.dogevents.ca where you can start to search for all sorts of information on different activities to do. You can event add your own event to this database. Some examples of sports that you can do are but not limited to:
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Did you know that if you wish
to do any therapy dog work, such as visiting nursing homes with your
standard schnauzer, that there is generally a requirement that your dog
has graduated from a registered therapy dog program. If a CGN title
is awarded to your standard schnauzer, then the CGN title may be shown as a
suffix title after your dog's registered name. The Canine Good Neighbour program is supported by the Canadian Kennel Club.
