WHY YOUR SCHNAUZER NEEDS LOTS OF REST

Schnauzers need lots of rest because they work very hard all day. At least two hours are spent body slamming the back door to get out and chase the squirrel, the horrible squirrel. It sits on the railing looking in the glass back door, flicking its tail, chattering away. Their mom human flings the door open, the dogs bolt out. The squirrel dashes down the railing to the end of the deck and jumps onto a branch. The dogs dash down the railing to the end of the deck and crash into the gate. Then they stick their heads out between the railing slats and vocalize (think shrill screaming) about how close they were to catching the darned rodent. In about three minutes, the dogs come back in, the squirrel slips back onto the railing just outside the back door, starts flicking its tail and chattering, and the whole activity starts over again. Much mental stimulation for both squirrel and dogs, much annoyance and frustration for the humans.

Schnauzers also need rest from their jobs as assistants and personal trainers. As assistants, they spend hours following their dad human around as he uses hammers, screw drivers, wrenches, fixes plumbing, takes down Christmas lights, replaces headlamps on cars. They take full advantage of licking his face if he happens to make the mistake of being on their level. They drag tools away from the job site. They sit and stare and marvel at his abilities. And they frequently give unsolicited advice about how to do the job.

As personal trainers, they motivate the mom human while she’s on the treadmill by sitting beside it and howling. They stand on her stomach when she’s doing sit ups. They crawl underneath her when she’s in the plank position. They take every opportunity to lick her face if they can reach her. Sometimes, mom human goes to the gym just to avoid having personal trainers.

Schnauzers have several other activities that require them to rest frequently. We’ll discuss these in a future article.