Frequently Asked Questions
1. How much are puppies?
Our prices range depending on several factors--i.e. titles and pedigrees of parents, cost of stud/bitch fees, plans for the litter, etc. Our prices are set to help offset the cost of various essential purchases that go into producing and raising puppies and are in-line with average costs for Standard Schnauzer puppies in our region that are from fully health-tested, well-balanced, and proven parents. Our current range for 2024 will be between $2400-3200, regardless of registration type or contract terms. All prices will be discussed and clarified before any deposits are made.
2. Where are you located, and do you ship?
We are located in upstate SC, in Greenville County. We do not have a kennel or breeding business; we are hobby breeders only and raise all litters in our home.
We do NOT ship puppies under any circumstances. All puppies must be picked up in-person at our home, and their contracts signed in-person by the prospective owner. Depending on the contract, we may or may not have a notary present. We have no problems with future owners who want to fly-in and fly their puppy home with them in cabin, but such pick-ups will still be done by the prospective owner only, not a puppy nanny or transport service.
3. When is your next litter?
Our breeding plans can typically be found on our PUPPY NEWS! page. Breeding is an unpredictable venture, though. We often have "plans" for litters, but sometimes Mother Nature has other ideas, and either our girls don't cycle on time or a breeding simply doesn't produce a pregnancy. If we intend to breed, have bred, have confirmed a pregnancy, or have puppies available, it will be noted on the PUPPY NEWS! page.
4. How do you choose homes for your puppies?
We do not place puppies in a "first-come, first-serve" manner. We seek to place all puppies into homes they are most likely to thrive in, with individuals or families who understand the unique needs of the breed, where they are a good match for the expectations of the family they are joining, and where we feel they have the best chance of remaining throughout the entirety of their lives.
With that said, we do prioritize our placements based on the interests of our breeding program as follows:
1) Local prospective show/performance homes. In order to maintain our breeding program and continue to produce quality SS, we must first do our due diligence to prove our dogs worthy of breeding (in both health and ability). This requires homes willing to either partner with us to have a dog shown in conformation, allow us access to the dog to have it shown ourselves, or commitment to advanced/championship titling in any performance field. This also includes a willingness to keep the dog intact for future breeding in our program--a condition for which we do offer monetary or tangible incentives (ex. stud/bitch fees, free puppy, puppy cost repaid, etc.). A majority of this effort is done at our cost and with little to no additional expense for the buyer. For more information on being a show home candidate, please view our S&G Homes page.
2) Non-local prospective show/performance homes. All condition as stated above apply, though we limit this availability currently to homes in the southeast and mid-Atlantic region.
3) Prospective guardian homes. These are homes committed to titling MMSS dogs in a variety of other performance or competition fields (i.e. rally, obedience, agility, herding, therapy, etc.), willing to be held contractually obligated to completion of such titles, and willing to leave their dogs intact for future breeding in our program--a condition for which we offer monetary incentives in return. For more information on being a guardian home candidate, please view our S&G Homes page.
4) Current MMSS owners. Those who own an MMSS dog, or an immediate family member of our owners, will always be placed with a puppy sooner than any applicant listed hereafter. We love our owners, and their coming back for a 2nd (or 3rd or 4th) puppy from us shows their commitment to our lines and our breeding practices.
5) Previous or current SS owners. Those applicants with proven experience owning a Standard Schnauzer will get priority placement on a litter over those who have no experienced with the breed. Proof of prior/current ownership is required by either providing the official registration, the breeder's name, or outside DNA test results. Photo evidence not acceptable as proof.
6) Pet/companion homes. About 99% of our applicants and 80% of our placements are to those interested in "just a pet." EVERY litter produces pet-quality SS who need loving homes where they will be cherished as an integrated member of the family. Because our breeding goal is "quality over quantity," this means only 1-3 puppies per litter (if any!) will be set aside for placements 1-3, leaving the remaining majority of puppies available for companion only homes.
5. What is your placement process?
Our complete process is best explained on our Puppy Process page.
6. Are there other costs/fees?
There is a $100 fee to be added to our wait list, which is credited to the cost of your puppy and subtracted from the initial puppy deposit once puppies are born. This fee does not apply if applying for a puppy that has currently available. There is a $500 initial deposit due to hold your spot on a litter once puppies are born ($400 for those on our wait list prior to birth). There is a $300 spay/neuter deposit in addition to final cost due at pickup that will be refunded in total as long as our spay/neuter guidelines are followed.
7. Do I get to choose my own puppy?
This varies. If you are interested in being a show or guardian home, you will be placed with the breeder's pick(s) of the litter, since only those puppies are candidates for potential future breeding material. All other puppies in the litter will be placed with a consensus of the breeder's input and buyer's preference. This mean, we reserve the right to eliminate a particular puppy from a buyer's options if we do not feel the placement will be a good fit for either the buyer or the puppy.
8. What would disqualify me for ownership of an MMSS puppy?
We do not place puppies for breeding (purebred or otherwise). We do not place puppies outside of the US. We do not place puppies west of the Mississippi unless with an owner who is in a recognized canine profession (vet, trainer, etc.) or has SS ownership experience. Other than that, beyond having unrealistic expectations for the breed, not much would disqualify someone for ownership. We try not to limit placements on factors that deter other breeders, such as age, family dynamics, rent/own, fenced yard, etc. Those are all factors we consider, but not necessarily ones that will automatically disqualify anyone from ownership. This is partially why we follow up every application with a phone interview, to better help us determine of one or more of these factors would result in a potentially poor match with one of our puppies.
9. How do I go about getting a puppy or getting on your wait list?
First and foremost, REVIEW THE WEBSITE! We spent a lot of time putting this site together, trying to include as much pertinent information as possible--on US, the breed, and our dogs. We strongly advise reviewing our Puppy Process page, our Breed Info page, then our Policies page, in that order. If you are still interested in an MMSS puppy after reviewing those, the link to the application is at the bottom of the Policies page. Do NOT just skip to the application! There are specific questions on the application that will tell me whether or not you've reviewed our process and policies, as requested.
If there are any other questions, please refer to our Contact page for how to reach out to us.