Buyer Responsibilities

01Veterinary care

1. Have the puppy examined by a licensed veterinarian within 72 hours of handoff.
2. Continue the vaccination schedule as your veterinarian advises.
3. Maintain parasite prevention appropriate to your region.
4. Attend routine examinations for the life of the dog, and seek prompt attention when something is wrong.

The first obligation is a condition of the health guarantee. The others are conditions of it continuing to apply.

02Housing and welfare

1. The dog lives indoors as part of the household. It is not kept permanently outdoors, in a kennel run, in a garage, or chained.
2. Outdoor access is supervised and boundaries are secure. Miniature Schnauzers are small, fast and interested in things on the other side of fences.
3. The dog has constant access to fresh water, a clean sleeping place and appropriate shelter.
4. The dog is not left alone for periods that are unreasonable for its age.

03Diet and body condition

Feed a good-quality, measured, consistent diet appropriate to age. Transition gradually from the food the puppy arrives on.

This breed is predisposed to raised blood lipids and to pancreatitis. Fatty table scraps carry more risk here than in most breeds. Maintain a healthy body condition and take your veterinarian's advice on diet specifically.

04Training and socialisation

Continue socialisation after homecoming: new people, surfaces, sounds and calm dogs, through the first year. Use reward-based training methods. Physical punishment is a breach of this agreement.

A puppy class in the first months is strongly recommended — as much for the handler as for the dog.

05Grooming

Maintain the coat: brushing at home two to three times weekly and professional grooming every six to eight weeks. A matted coat is painful and is a welfare issue rather than a cosmetic one.

06Identification and registration

Ensure the dog is identifiable — microchip and a collar tag — and keep registered contact details current. Comply with any dog licensing or registration requirement applying where you live.

07Notification duties

Notify the seller:

1. immediately, of any condition that may be covered by the health guarantee;
2. promptly, of a change of address or contact details during the first year;
3. before any transfer of the dog to another person, at any point in its life;
4. in the sad event of the dog's death within the first year, so that the seller is aware of anything that may affect the breeding programme.

08Breeding

Puppies are sold as companions. The buyer agrees not to breed the dog without the seller's prior written agreement.

Whether the seller requires neutering, and at what age, must be stated — the timing question is one on which veterinary opinion has changed considerably, and it should be a conversation with your own veterinarian rather than a fixed number.

We do not impose a fixed neutering age. Veterinary opinion on timing has changed considerably and varies by size and sex, so this is a conversation to have with your own veterinarian rather than a number written into a contract.

09If you can no longer keep the dog

Contact the seller first. This obligation lasts for the dog's life and is set out in the return and rehoming policy.