Snorkie – is the Miniature Schnauzer Yorkie mix your ideal dog?

As cute as a button (even the name Snorkie is cute!), the Snorkie dog is a mixed breed: a Miniature Schnauzer Yorkie mix to be precise.

And not only are they cute little dogs but they’re full of character too. They love being the centre of attention and going out exploring and discovering new things.

Photo credit: Cricket via photopin (license)

The Snorkie at a glance

• Typical height: 7 – 14 inches.
• Typical weight: 5 – 15 pounds.
• Temperament: Friendly, stubborn, alert, protective, loves attention.
• Training: Clever, easy to train.
• Typical lifespan: 12 – 15 years.
• Grooming: Regular brushing required.
• Health: Prone to weight gain, generally few health problems.

Appearance

The height and weight of an individual Snorkie dog will depend on that of their parents. In general their height will fall somewhere in the range seven to fourteen inches. Their weight will be somewhere between five and fifteen pounds.

Temperament

A quick look at the temperaments of the parents will tell you what to expect the Snorkie temperament to be like! The Yorkie is playful and full of energy while the Miniature Schnauzer has a very mischievous nature. The Snorkie usually inherits both their personality traits. This makes for a fun-loving bundle of energy who makes a great friend. That said, they can be a little stubborn at times.

It should be said that it’s impossible to tell exactly what temperament an individual Snorkie dog will have. This is true of any mixed breed dog.

In general though, Snorkies are great family dogs who love company, including strangers, children and other pets. Because Snorkies are so sociable, they’re not really suitable pets if you’re going to be leaving them on their own for long periods. They’ll get bored and are likely to start barking and chewing.

Snorkies are also very alert and curious dogs, which makes them excellent watch dogs. Of course, due to their small size they don’t make very good guard dogs. Just don’t tell them that though – Snorkies tend to be completely unaware of their small stature!

One word of caution is that Snorkies can get a little snappy if things become too much for them. This means you need to watch them around young children.

And they can also start to bark and yap a lot to get attention, if you let them get into the habit. It’s important that this is stopped before it gets too much of a problem. Luckily, the Snorkie is an intelligent dog who responds well to training. So as long as you keep on top of it from an early stage, it shouldn’t be a particular problem for you.

Training

The Snorkie is a clever little dog which makes training straightforward. Snorkies will quickly pick up commands and learn tricks.

The Snorkie loves to be the centre of attention and also adores getting petted and praised. So you can use this to your advantage when training them. Indeed, positive reinforcement training is much more effective than scolding them.

It’s important to start training your Snorkie as early as possible so they don’t develop bad habits. Once they’ve developed a habit, it can be difficult to get them out of it.

Lifespan and health problems

It’s a common belief that mix breed dogs have more health problems than pure bred dogs. However, according to Carol Beuchat PhD at The Institute of Canine Biology, inbreeding of dogs causes more health problems than does cross breeding. And in general, the Snorkie is a little dog with few health problems.

Snorkies can sometimes suffer dental problems and are prone to putting on weight ; due in no small part to how hard it is to resist their cuteness when they’re begging for treats!

They can occasionally have fat-related issues such as pancreatitis. As long as you make sure you give your Snorkie only high-quality, low-fat dog food then this will rarely be a problem though.

The typical Snorkie lifespan is between twelve to fifteen years.

Grooming

Just as with the Snorkie temperament, a look at their parent’s coats will tell you what to expect when it comes to Snorkie grooming requirements.

Both the Yorkshire Terrier and Miniature Schnauzer have coats that need lots of grooming, and so too does the Snorkie. So if you’re looking for a dog with a low maintenance coat, then a Snorkie is not for you as they will need daily brushing.

Snorkie Puppies

As mentioned earlier, it’s important to start training a Snorkie puppy when young to prevent them developing bad habits.

It’s also important to start socializing them with other dogs and people from an early age too.

If there are young children in the house, make sure they’re gentle with Snorkie puppies and make sure you supervise them at all times.

And of course, Snorkie puppies are adorably cute and it can be hard to resist spoiling them. You must make sure you don’t give in to temptation though. You need to be consistent with them and lay the foundations for how you’ll expect them to behave when older.

Summary

The Snorkie dog breed is a hybrid dog – a Yorkie and Miniature Schnauzer mixed breed. They’re beautiful little dogs who are full of energy and love to play. They also love company and attention and get on well with everyone, making them great family dogs.