What are the Best Dog Foods for Miniature Schnauzers?
The dignified Miniature Schnauzer is a feisty little character, full of attitude and fun. An active breed, the Miniature Schnauzer enjoys the limelight and is a natural showman. Keeping your Miniature Schnauzer in excellent condition will be one of your top priorities as a dog owner. Whether you share your home with a puppy, a mature adult, or a senior, our list of top quality diets will help you select the right food to fuel your Miniature Schnauzer’s health and lifestyle.
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Breed Info
Breed Group:Terrier | AKC Miniature Schnauzer Profile
Ideal Weight:Female Adult: 14 to 17 pounds
Male Adult: 14 to 17 pounds
Exercise Need:45 to 75 minutes per day
Breed Summary
The Miniature Schnauzer may be small of size, but big of personality.
A true people dog, the Miniature Schnauzer bonds deeply with its human families and loves to be active, enjoying pretty much any activity you choose. The Miniature Schnauzer does not like to be ignored, so it can be a challenge to handle if you like to be a couch potato. They also like to get into mischief, so make sure to puppy-proof your home (and hide the human treats!).
If you’re out on a walk, keep in mind the Miniature Schnauzer moves with a confidence that can inspire irritation in other dog breeds. Though the Miniature Schnauzer will not start a fight, it will not back down if challenged. The breed naturally protects its family and is wary of strangers, and the sharp bark makes it an excellent watchdog. However, this barking can easily cross the line into nuisance behavior if not kept in check.
As a highly intelligent breed, the Miniature Schnauzer picks up new skills with ease. That said, the breed can be prone to extreme stubbornness, so training can be a little challenging at times. Stay patient!
Physical Traits
Sturdy, athletic, strong, energetic, double coated
Personality Traits
Intense, feisty, stubborn, happy, loyal
Health Considerations
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The Miniature Schnauzers requires a high quality, well-balanced diet to keep healthy and well. In order to select the right food for this breed, it is a good idea to first consider what conditions the Miniature Schnauzers may be predisposed to since the correct diet can help slow the development these issues, or at least minimize discomfort.
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Urinary Stones
The Miniature Schnauzers is one of the handful of breeds susceptible to urinary stones. When urination becomes difficult or painful, owners may note their dogs straining during bathroom breaks. The urine may appear cloudy and contain an unpleasant odor.
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Are Fresh Food Diets Good for Miniature Schnauzers?
Only if they’re properly balanced.
Many well-intentioned Miniature Schnauzers parents spend a lot of time preparing meals at home, but health benefits are lost if meals aren’t properly portioned and balanced with all the nutrients dogs need. Recently, a few companies have done an excellent job ensuring accurate portions and nutrient balance by delivering pre-prepped fresh meals customized to the size and needs of your dog. Farmer’s Dog, Ollie and Nom Nom have each been approved by our nutrition team as delivering truly quality and well-balanced meals. They can be a little expensive (usually 3-4x more per day than kibble), but many find the added health benefits worth the cost. They do offer discounts to new customers, though, if you’d like to try one out.
Pros and Cons of Fresh Food Diets
✓ Diets balanced by Nutritionists・ ✓ Customized portions for weight control・ ✓ Superior digestive and immune health ・✕ More expensive than standard dog food
Foods We Recommend for Miniature Schnauzers Puppies
How long do Miniature Schnauzerss need puppy food?
Until they're 10 to 12 months old.
Miniature Schnauzers are very focused on growing, and how we feed them should help them do just that. Since they have so much growing to do, they need higher amounts of nutrients than adult dogs, especially proteins, fats, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals and — don’t forget — water. It’s still important to not overfeed puppies, so make sure to portion food and keep treats to no more than 10% of their caloric intake. Since balance is so important, we recommend that your young Miniature Schnauzers is eating food that is made just for puppies from a reputable brand.
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Our recommendation tool evaluates your puppy’s breed, age, growth stage, lifestyle, and health needs to identify a scientifically appropriate diet from over 10,000 options. Obtain personalized guidance to help support healthy development and lifelong wellness.
Foods We Recommend for Miniature Schnauzers Adults
When should Miniature Schnauzers start transitioning to adult food?
When they're 10 to 12 months old
From a nutrition standpoint, Miniature Schnauzers become adults once they reach about 90% of their expected weight. Once adults, our two key nutrition goals are balance and maintenance. We want balance because a dog’s body is responsible for a lot of things, like digestion, fighting infection, keeping muscles strong, and chasing squirrels. These are all important tasks, so we want to make sure each body function gets its share of nutrients. We also need to maintain a healthy weight. Underfed dogs are at risk for malnourishment, and overfed dogs can become obese — both of which lead to even worse problems for a Miniature Schnauzer
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Our assessment analyzes your dog’s breed, age, lifestyle, and health considerations to recommend a scientifically selected diet from over 10,000 options. Personalized insights to help your dog thrive through adulthood.
Foods We Recommend for Miniature Schnauzers Seniors
When should Miniature Schnauzers start transitioning to senior food?
All dogs can age differently, but small dogs like Miniature Schnauzers can start to benefit from senior food around 8 to 10 years old
Ever watch kids running around the playground and wish you had that energy again? Yeah. Dogs get there, too. The metabolic processes in senior Miniature Schnauzers slow down as they age, which often means they aren’t needing quite as many calories as they did in their prime. Smart dog food companies have formulated senior diets to ease up on calories but still help them feel full and give them adequate maintenance protein. Still, like humans, everybody is different. Sometimes older dogs need just as many calories, or more, depending on how their bodies progress. So keep a close eye on their body condition, and look for dog foods made for seniors.
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Our assessment analyzes your dog’s breed, age, and health considerations to recommend a science-based diet from over 10,000 options. Help maintain mobility, cognitive health, and quality of life.
Affiliate Disclosure:
We do not accept money to recommend pet foods. However, we do receive referral fees from online retailers (such as Chewy or Amazon) on qualifying purchases. Our recommendations are neutral, and diet recommendations are made without considering whether we will receive a referral fee.