Reni is a 15-year-old Miniature Schnauzer who is both a snuggler and an independent explorer of life. We know quite a bit about her, and will gladly answer questions after an adoption application is received, Reni is thriving in a foster home: She came to us with apparent good health but our vets found crystal “stonbes” in her kidneys that required surgery. She came through that with flying colors and is now ready for her forever home. We are looking for a house with minimal stairs and a fenced back yard, two things that will help her joy. She handles stairs that are not slippery well, but looking down the road we’d like minimal stairs in her future.
Who knows Reni best? Her fosters Deb and Mark:
Here is some of what we have learned about Serenity:
She loves to snuggle; Mark is her normal snuggle buddy at night, but sometimes she wants to snuggle with me in the day if she thinks I may be available/not too busy to snuggle. She does get a little warm when she snuggles, and with the warmer weather I am seeing her snuggle less than when it was cold.
Because I am usually not available to snuggle, she just follows me around pretty much all day. She’ll sit at my feet when I’m on the computer rather than be on the couch a few feet away, when I go up or down the stairs she follows me. If she wants to be petted, she gently nudges my hand with her nose but if both hands are busy she sits quietly by me.
Despite her love of us, she’s actually pretty independent and confident – a good sign that she was well cared for. I can’t remember one foster that we had who didn’t need me to go outside with him/her when s/he first came – but Serenity never had any qualms. I actually do go out with her (our resident dog is a poop eater, so I watch the dogs very carefully to keep that from happening), but I can send her outside and then get my shoes & jacket on.
She does stairs very well, but we have wooden stairs and sometimes they get slippery for her so I watch her very carefully and even carry her down if she is hesitant. The tile kitchen floor and the car seat are also a little slippery for her. She does not have good “sea legs.”
She has lots of energy, especially considering her age. Prior to surgery, we would take daily walks of a mile or two, depending on the weather, and she did great! After the surgery we’re taking it a little easier, but she hasn’t seemed to slow down one bit. Every now and then she even gets her “play on,” usually with us but sometimes with our dog.
She has a great sense of curiosity, loving to explore our backyard as well as everything on our route on our walks (as much as I will let her, anyway).
She likes people of all ages! The people who surrendered her had three young kids (elementary school age) with us she’s been with young adults through seniors and is loved by all.
She can be a little sassy. To encourage her to “go” outside, we gave her a small treat after she successfully “went” and both dogs came in. Once, when our dog didn’t come in quickly enough, she asked to go out again and started barking at her – producing the desired results (Winnie ran fast!). Sure wish I could have gotten that on video! She tried being sassy like that with us, but we didn’t appreciate it and it did not get the desired results!
She is mostly but not totally deaf….she’s only reacted to very loud sounds on a few occasions. As a result, we have used a little “sign language,” wiggling our fingers to get her to follow us and signing “no” when she’s being sassy or barking too much. She’s a smart girl and has learned very quickly.
She tends to bark at other dogs while we are on walks or she sees them from our yard or the front door. She’s learning that the barking isn’t okay, but it is likely a 15 year old habit and not easily curbed.
She is NOT a fan of precipitation of any kind. She can tolerate a light sprinkle or snow flurry, but any big, wet flakes or drops make it hard to get her outside. Holding an umbrella over the princess helps. She also doesn’t like to walk though “deep” (or deep for her) snow, so we shoveled little paths on our patio and she was fine.
She has adorable little yawns – they are “squeaky.”
She is fine in her kennel and even puts herself to bed sometimes – sometimes even during the day when I’m home with her.
Before her surgery she had some accidents, after the surgery she’s had only one and it was probably just because I overestimated how long she could wait. She has never messed in her kennel or inside.
As you may know, we are really more “Retriever/Lab people,” and keeping her coat groomed like a Schnauzer needs has been a challenge for me. Our daughter worked briefly as a dog groomer so I asked her to help me get the mats out while she was last home, but I didn’t realize that, although she’s received a few tips from the groomers, she was more in charge of bathing and nails than grooming. As a result, her current cut is not professional – but it’s growing back! Anyway, I don’t know if it’s my technique or what, but she’s not a fan of being brushed either, but we’re trying!
She loves food but she’s a little picky about what she eats. A small scoop of the “gravy” type wet food, mixed in with the dry, helps a lot, but she will eat the dry with a little encouragement. Funny, but she’s more likely to eat her dog food as treats than she is at her meal times (though not always)!
She really is a blessing to us, but we know that God has someone else in mind for her.
