Schnoodle – Schnauzer Poodle Mix

Dogs are remarkable animals and even more so the diverse breeds that exist. One breed which is truly mesmerizing is the Schnoodle. If you don’t know already, a Schnoodle is a breed that combines a Poodle and a Schnauzer. 

A typical Schnoodle weighs between 3.2-7.3kg and comes in a range of colors. Schnoodles are referred to as lap, family, or a performance dog. Moreover, Schnoodles tend to live around 10-15 years on average. 

Is a Schnoodle a good family dog?

If you’re looking for a new furry family member, then we would recommend getting a Schnoodle! This breed is incredibly pleasant, friendly, and loves to play with both children and adults. Their high energy bursts and desperation to be the center of attention allow them to go looking for affection from any family member.

If you decide to buy a Schnoodle puppy, we advise you to make sure you train it and expose it to socialization from a young age—that way, when the Schnoodle grows, it will become used to other humans. 

Similarly, if you’re looking to purchase an older Schnoodle, make sure it’s socialized when young, so it fits into your family well.

If you buy a Schnoodle and want to introduce it to your children, do it slowly. While doing this, you must teach your children the best way to play with a Schnoodle. For example, don’t grab its hair, remove its food when eating, or pounce on it when it’s sleeping, and many more basic techniques.

Are they hypoallergenic?

While many breeds are different, Schnoodles are one of the ideal dog breeds if you have a large number of allergies. That’s depending on which genes they inherit from their schnauzer and poodle parents.

At birth, you won’t know if your Schnoodle will shed a lot of hair. Therefore, before buying your Schnoodle, we suggest talking to the breeder about its parents. This way, you will get a good idea of what their coat will be like when growing up.

Most of the time, Schnoodles shed hair but not frequently and only very little. The times you will find Schnoodles shedding tend to be during the end of a season, such as a summer or spring. To keep your allergies in place, we recommend brushing your Schnoodle twice a week. If you brush your Schnoodle often, this will remove any knots or tangles in its coat, preventing lots of hair shedding. 

On the contrary, if you do own a Schnoodle and find it excessively shedding hair, you may need to take it to a vet. Sometimes, a Schnoodle can shed more hair than normal if their skin is irritated, has a poor diet, pregnant, lactating, or is in a hot environment.

Are they smart?

If you want to own a dog, train it, and teach it many tricks, a Schnoodle may be for you. Schnoodles are highly intelligent animals and require mental and physical stimulation. If you do not play with your Schnoodle and give it an environment to train its brain, it could become aggressive and self-destructive. 

Does Schnoodles like water?

If you’re an adventure lover and like to go in rivers, the sea, and splash around in the water, then the Schnoodle breed will be the perfect companion for you. 

Similarly, if you’re looking to have lots of playtime with your dog, then Schnoodles love to play fetch, especially on a beach! Most Schnoodles love the water because their ancestors (the Poodle) were once bred to be a water retriever, i.e., to love water! 

Are Schnoodle puppies easy to train?

No doubt getting a puppy can be a challenging time for your family. Arguably, you will want a breed that’s obedient and easy to train. Well, you’re in luck if you choose a Schnoodle as they inherit a large amount of its intelligence from the Poodle and Schnauzer family. 

To make sure your Schnoodle listens to you and learns the tricks you teach it, you will want to make sure the environment is mentally challenging. Moreover, you will want to start training the Schnoodle from a young age, so it’s more receptive to the tricks. 

While the Schnoodle is easy to train, it’s also essential you conduct the right training for it. A good type of training to teach Schnoodles is through positive reinforcement. This means, once you teach it a trick and they do it, reward them with a treat. Do not yell or scold them, as this will only invoke a sense of fear in them.

When does a Schnoodle stop growing?

They are interesting breeds, and at times, as a Schnoodle owner, you may be confused when they’ve become fully grown. If you didn’t know already, there are three different breeds of Schnoodle: Miniature Schnauzer, Standard Schnauzer, and Giant Schnauzer. Generally, the smaller the breeds of Schnoodles take less time to grow, but on average, a Schnoodle will stop growing between 1 year to 18 months.

Are they aggressive?

Schnoodles are often seen as guard dogs, as they are protective and loyal to their family members. Sometimes they’re often referred to as extremely happy dogs due to their playful personality and constant quest for attention and interaction. However, depending on what genes they inherit from their parents, their temperament may differ from other Schnoodles you will see.

If you have a Schnoodle with strong genetics from their Schnauzer parent, they could be cautious towards strangers and only friendly to family members. Similarly, they can be quite loud and bark a lot when young. Therefore, it’s essential you put them through training while they’re young, so they learn the proper socialization skills.

The giant Schnoodle breed is playful and friendly with kids. Similarly, some can develop a strong attachment for one person in particular. 

Can they live in an apartment?

If you choose to own a Schnoodle, you will need to be aware that an apartment is not suitable for all Schnoodle breeds. The smaller Schnoodle breeds such as the miniature and schnauzer can live in an apartment.

However, if you own a giant Schnauzer, you will want a large home with a garden and fence. Most of the time, Schnoodles need ample space to run around and play. Therefore, even though some smaller breeds can live in an apartment, you must give them space.

You might also want to consider getting a Maltipoo, Cockapoo or the Pooton which are quite similar to the Schnoodle in size and traits, and are perfect apartement dogs.

It’s also important that a Schnoodle stays and lives indoors. Simply putting a Schnoodle in an outdoor kennel is bad. As Schnoodles are companions, putting them outdoors to sleep can build up a large amount of separation anxiety. 

What health problems do they have?

If you want to buy a Schnoodle, then you’ll be please to know that this breed is generally healthy. However, just like all animals, they can become susceptible to the following health problems: 

• Epilepsy – Brain abnormalities, causing seizures and muscle convulsions.
• Cataracts – Disruptions to their sight and an opaque lens.
• Progressive Retinal Atrophy – Degeneration of their eyes nerve cells, leading to blindness.
• Diabetes – Little insulin, preventing them from absorbing nutrients and causing large amounts of glucose to be lost.
• Addison’s Disease – When their adrenal glands become damaged by an autoimmune disease. In particular, the Schnoodle will have low quantities of steroids, causing vomiting, diarrhea, and a lack of appetite. At worst, they can collapse.
• Gastric Torsion – When their stomach bloats, rotates, and twists, causing gastric problems. Because of this, their cardiovascular system can suffer and prevent nutrients from being delivered correctly to the body’s tissues. In the long term, this can lead to cellular damage and cause death.
• Patellar Luxation – Because thye are playful dogs, they can sometimes become prone to Patellar Luxation. This is otherwise known as the dislocation of their kneecap. 
• Legg-Calve-Perthes – On the Schnoodle’s back leg, the head of their femur bone can degenerate randomly. If it does, it can cause their hip joint to degenerate and increase inflammation in the bone joints. Unfortunately, the cause of Legg-Calve-Perthes remains a mystery.

How much it costs for a Schnoodle puppy?

If you’re looking to buy a Schnoodle puppy, you will find that, on average, they could cost between $700-$6,600. You may be surprised that this is a large difference between the two prices. Because of this, a Schnoodles price can be affected by its breed, training, litter size, breeders reputation, ability to socialize, and much more.

It’s also important to consider how much it costs to look after a Schnoodle. Schnoodles need to be looked after regularly, and that means frequent vet visits. Don’t forget Schnoodles need to have vaccinations, be fed, dewormed, groomed, good dental care, household supplies, and be looked after. Therefore on average, Schnoodles yearly upkeep can cost anything from $500-$2000.

Final Thoughts

Overall, the Schnoodle/schnauzer poodle mix is a stunning and incredibly smart breed. If you provide them with the right environment to grow and have a loving home, they will be the perfect addition to your family. You must keep them indoors, and they have space to run around outside (when needed).

When possible, we encourage to take them out for walks and to rivers and the beach, as they love to play in the water. Just like other dogs, they are susceptible to health problems, but overall are a healthy breed. But, if you want to buy a Schnoodle, we recommend saving up and conducting research on which breed is the best one for you.