Giant Schnauzer

The Giant Schnauzer has an expression that brooks no discussion. Dense, overhanging eyebrows, an impressive beard, and a serious, searching gaze make it look like a stern, bearded general who has just caught you in a flagrant act of insubordination and is wondering what to do with you. This dignified seriousness is not, however, a pose — it is the largest of the three schnauzers, bred in Germany as a farm dog for driving cattle, and later a prized guard of breweries, slaughterhouses, and yards, in time an excellent police and protection dog. It has behind it, then, generations of serious, responsible work and carries this within it with full awareness. Except that this general's seriousness is only a first impression — and as first impressions tend to, it does not tell the whole truth. Because the Giant Schnauzer is not only dignified and fearsome. It is also surprisingly sharp, mischievous, and — toward its people — boundlessly tender.

Let us start with that famous expression, because it can stir up quite a mess. The Giant Schnauzer most of the time looks deeply worried about something or slightly disappointed in you — the beard and eyebrows make it, even in excellent humor, present itself like a retired lecturer who did not buy a single word of your explanation. Beneath this skeptical façade, however, a first-rate brain is at work: this is a dog so sharp that it often seems a step ahead of you, and it knows perfectly well which rules really apply and which can be creatively circumvented. Bored, it will take matters into its own paws — it will learn to open doors, empty cabinets, and organize entertainments that no one assigned it. On top of this it treats the role of guard with a seriousness worthy of that beard: it scrutinizes every guest from head to toe, meticulously notes who approaches the gate and when, and by its very presence makes many a mailman feel the urge to reconsider their career. This is really a lot of dog — self-assured, vigilant, and deeply convinced that it is solely thanks to its supervision that everyone in this house is still whole and safe.

And then the doors close, the audience disappears — and the stern general vanishes somewhere. Because with its own family the Giant Schnauzer throws off all that seriousness like a too-tight uniform and shows who it really is: a great, bearded mischief-maker that brings toys, demands a shared chase around the garden, and with disarming unceremoniousness arranges its several dozen kilograms as close as possible to its beloved people. But beneath this merriment not for a moment does the deepest thing in this breed fade — the Giant Schnauzer has appointed itself your bodyguard and treats this function as a life mission. It watches over you when you rest, stands between you and anything it finds suspicious, and would without hesitation shield you with its own body. This is precisely its way of saying “I love you”: not with sweet submissiveness, but by taking you under its protection and never again letting you out of it. And being someone to whom such a dog has given its faithfulness and its mischievous, tender smile hidden from the whole world is one of the more beautiful privileges a dog can give.

The Giant Schnauzer is a great deal of character in one impressive dog — it is not a companion for everyone, because it requires movement, wise guidance, and occupation for that sharp head. But for someone who understands these needs, it becomes a guardian and friend like few others: dignified, devoted, and surprisingly funny.

Give it a proper dose of movement, work for the mind, and a place at the very center of the family, and in return you will get this whole dog without reserve — its strength, its vigilance, and that mischievous glint in its eye that it hides from the whole world. Because although the Giant Schnauzer wears the expression of a stern general and guards you with a seriousness only a true watchdog can muster, deep in its soul it longs for one thing: to be by its people, watch over them, and time and again make them laugh to tears. And if it is you it has chosen, you can be sure that there is nothing in the world this bearded giant would not shield you from.