All Hail Princess Fiona!
We would like to recognize and pay homage to Her Royal Highness, Princess Fiona; officially known as GCHP CH Steadfast’s Sweet Land Of Liberty CAA FCAT ACT1 ACT1J DS CGC TKI. Among her many accomplishments, here’s a short summary of her top achievements: 2022 Fastest Female Standard Schnauzer in the Nation in FastCAT. 2022 Winner of the AKC FastCAT invitational. 2023 SSCA National Specialty Best of Breed Winner. 2023 #1 Standard Schnauzer in the Nation. 2024 Westminster Best of Breed winner. 2024 Achieved Grand Champion Platinum certification; the highest level of Grand Champion possible. Of all of the accomplished Steadfast dogs out there as Champions, Grand Champions, titles in numerous sporting disciplines, and even as a very accomplished Therapy dog; as of this writing, none are more accomplished than Her Royal Highness, Princess Fiona. Fiona is an excellent representation of the breed and she’s made us very proud as her breeder. All Hail Princess Fiona!!
Tips for acquiring a puppy
With our current Independence Day litter, we have had the opportunity to meet and interact with many, many people from all over the country, and even outside of the country who are trying so hard to find a Standard Schnauzer puppy. Some people try for years to get a puppy. It is expensive. It can be frustrating. And it can be heartbreaking for some. This blog posting is for all of you future Standard Schnauzer puppy parents who are trying so hard to find your new fur baby. One of the really hard things we have to deal with as a breeder is having only X number of puppies available, and then having many, many times that number of applicants trying to get a puppy. We have to say No to say many really nice people who would make really good puppy parents; not because there’s anything wrong with them, but because there are others out there that for various reasons were just a little better fit for the puppies we had at the time. So, I’m going to offer some, hopefully, helpful input to help increase your odds of getting one of these very rare, but amazing puppies. First, even though you may not have a Standard Schnauzer yet, I would highly encourage you to join your local Standard Schnauzer club if there happens to be one in your state/region. These are regional clubs that are associated with the National Standard Schnauzer Club of America, and the AKC. By joining one of these clubs, you will get the opportunity to meet many of the reputable breeders in your region/state. You will also get to meet and know professional and amateur handlers, and owners of dogs that are involved in all kinds of sanctioned competitive sports and breed certifications. And then of course you can get to know others that are just pet owners and do not compete in formal events with their dogs. In a local sense, these clubs are the most “inside, in-the-know” group of fellow Schnauzer people that you will probably get the opportunity to meet and associate with. They are such a valuable resource on so many different levels when it comes to this breed. You’ll have the opportunity to learn, and share: grooming tips, nutrition and vaccination information, behavioral issues, and all the fun stuff associated with owning this wonderful and challenging breed. To find out if you have one of these clubs in your region/state go to the Standard Schnauzer Club of America at this link: http://www.standardschnauzer.org/regional_clubs.htm For those of you who are in Texas, we are currently in the process of forming our own regional Standard Schnauzer Club; the Red River Standard Schnauzer Club of Texas. Here is a link to the website which is currently in draft form: http://www.rrssc.org If you live in Texas and are interested in getting plugged-in with the state wide Standard Schnauzer community, then I would very much encourage you to reach out to myself or Darcy here for more information. We would be happy to help you. Second, if you do not have a Standard Schnauzer Club in your region/state, then consider joining the national Standard Schnauzer Club of America. Although not as tightly knit as your local Schnauzer club would be, it is again a great resource for information, events, and access to other members across the nation. Here is a link to their home page: http://www.standardschnauzer.org/ Third, when you fill out a breeder’s application for a puppy, try and be as truthful and forthcoming as you can. Beyond just answering the breeder’s questions, your answers are an opportunity for the breeder to get a better sense of you. Applying for a Standard Schnauzer puppy should be harder than applying for a job. You are filling out an application that is the equivalent to a job application, but even more so. You want to have the best “resume” so that you can hopefully move on to the interview phase. Trust me when I tell you that when you apply for a breeder’s puppy, you are competing against a lot of other applicants who want the very same special and rare puppy that you’re after. When a breeder reads an application and gets responses like “Yes”, “No”, or unanswered questions; it is uninspiring to say the least. Don’t write a novel but be honest and tell them about you. Tell them about why you want one of their puppies. Let them know that you have a good understanding of this breed in particular, and of working dogs in general. (And actually know this stuff). The breeder is doing their best to match the temperament, characteristics, and activity level of the puppy to the applicants – so take some time to assess your normal environment, expectations of the puppy/dog, and then be truthful in your conveyance of those details. As advocates for the breed, and their puppies in particular, breeders want to hear about what you’re bringing to the table for their pups. Don’t just focus on your needs/wants of the dog. How is your lifestyle going to mesh with the dog’s needs? Standard Schnauzers are highly intelligent and energetic dogs. They need to be stimulated both mentally and physically constantly. These are working dogs, not couch potatoes. They are purpose driven dogs. If you do not give them a purpose, then they just may give themselves one….one that you may not be particularly happy about. Fourth, know what you are getting for your money – and get your money’s worth. Standard Schnauzers are not an inexpensive breed, so know what you’re buying. All reputable preservation breeders will have had the Sire and Dams of their pups tested for DCM, eyes, and hips as a minimum. Some will do more. You should always expect a reputable breeder to have the results of those tests documented on www.OFA.org . If a breeder cannot prove those three tests have been done and/or is evasive in their answers, do not
They’re here!!
Steadfast Standard Schnauzer’s is proud to announce the birth of our Independence Day 2020 litter. Yes, you heard that correctly. If you have been keeping up with our kennel, then you know that our 2018 litter was born on Flag Day; thus their flag related names. This years’ All American line up was born on July 4th, Independence Day. We couldn’t have planned this if we’d tried. Throughout the wee hours of the morning on July 4th, our Miss Zoey (GCH CH Postem’s Zoey FDC BCAT CGC TKI) produced a beautiful litter of 6 girls and 2 boys. The proud papa for this litter is BIS, BISS, GCH CH Blackhawk Finnegan’s Wake RATN; better known as “Finn”. (Please see our blog posting of June 9th for more info about the proud parents). Here are a few pics of our busy night with Zoey and her new pups. Please feel free to keep up with us on our website and FB page for additional news and pics as time progresses.
Puppy Placement Process
Due to the upcoming litter, we are now starting to receive an increase in applications and inquiries. In the process of answering various questions about us, our kennel, our dogs, payment, etc., we realized that instead of writing a bunch of lengthy individual responses we needed to come up with a document that answers most prospective puppy parents’ questions, and provides more detail about us and our placement process. With that in mind, we created a document called ‘Puppy Placement Process’ which you can find it under the Litters tab on our website. For all new puppy applications, we ask that prospective puppy parents to read the Puppy Application Process before completing an application. For all those who have already applied, you will not need to re-submit your application in the new format. However, we encourage you to read the Puppy Placement Process since it will be relevant to you too.
We’re pregnant!
For my very first time posting on our website, I have the pleasure of announcing that our Zoey, (GCH CH Postem’s Zoey FDC BCAT CGC TKI) is pregnant, and her pups are due around the July 4th time frame. Zoey is currently an AKC Grand Champion that holds numerous titles in companion and performance sports. In Fast CAT events, her average speed is 25.43 MPH over a 100-yard dash! Zoey is tied as the fastest female Standard Schnauzer in the nation…. Ever! The Sire for Zoey’s pups is BIS, BISS, GCH CH Blackhawk Finnegan’s Wake RATN. Better known as Finn. Finn finished his 2014 show career as Number 1 Standard Schnauzer, Number 4 working dog, and Number 12 All-Breed in the country. You can read more about Finn through this URL: http://www.hanlonstandardschnauzers.com/hanlonstandardschnauzers/Finn/Finn.html For those of you who would like to be considered as a new puppy parent for one of Zoey’s pups, on our website, please look under the Litters dropdown and you will find an application for a puppy. Please understand that first and foremost we are looking for wonderful homes for our puppies. We take finding the right home for our puppies very seriously as you will see during the interview process. I would encourage you to be forthcoming and be thorough when filling out your application. We insist on staying connected after you get your puppy. Under the Pictures and Videos drop down, you can see pics and videos of our 2018 litter. That litter produced two pups that have achieved AKC Champion titles and a third pup is well on his way to achieving same. One of the pups – like her mama – is an AKC Grand Champion. Representing the breed’s versatility, the pups now hold titles in Coursing, Dock Diving, and as Trick Dogs. They’re also certified Farm Dogs, Canine Good Citizens, Temperament Tested, and Therapy Dogs serving the elderly. They love to perform, so some of them also train in Agility, Nosework, and Barn Hunt. All our pups from the Flag Day litter found wonderful homes; of which that is the most important thing to us. To find out more about us and our dogs, please feel free to join Steadfast’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/steadfaststandards/. If you’ll go there, you’ll see where we’ve been spending most of our time as opposed to our website. But I’m going to work on keeping it more active and up to date moving forward. In addition, you can catch up on all of our dogs videos on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDURgN4VZ1xT94EN8mf-OQQ Darcy and I look forward to our new litter of puppies, and ultimately expanding the Steadfast family. Thank you for reading my first posting here on our website. We’re looking forward to hearing from you and getting to know some of you.