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Bauzer the Miniboz

Bauzer the Miniboz is an absolutely wonderful dog. She is incredibly smart--at 10 weeks (her age at the time the enclosed picture was taken), she already knew all of the basic commands (sit, down, come, stay, off, drop it, leave it, look at me) and learned to ring bells on the door when she needs to go outside to piddle. She's extremely friendly with people and dogs alike, and is especially popular with people (everyone in the apartment complex and local PetCo knows her by name).

She is eager to please and loves to curl up with her pack leaders. She gets a lot of walks every day--probably around an hour total over the course of 3 to 4 walks. Each day, she goes through "Bauzerker" mode for 5 to 30 minutes, where she likes to run around the apartment as fast as she can, grabbing toys along the way. It's cute and non-destructive, though not always desirable if you're trying to relax at the time.

Bauzer is left alone in a crate sometimes during the day, even when we're around, to help her with separation anxiety (she had it when we got her, but doesn't usually whine at all when we leave anymore). Now at 13 weeks, she's perfectly fine in a crate all night long for 8 hours, rarely ever whining to let us know she has to go potty.

As for barking, she does it very rarely. Her bark is not at all squeaky. In fact, she sounds like a much bigger dog than she is (currently 8 pounds), with a deeper, throatier bark similar to a mastiff breed. If she barks at all during the course of the day, it's only during playtime.

Bauzer is a very balanced dog. My wife and I have both watched almost all of the Dog Whisperer series, and I've read all of his books. We apply Exercise, Discipline, and Affection in that order. It has allowed us to integrate this strong-willed little pup into our pack without any issues, and has lead her to become almost perfect!

Food and treats: We feed Bauzer dry food only. She is currently getting an organic dry food and loves it. Her treats are also usually her normal kibble, especially during training, to keep nutrition consistent. Sometimes, she'll get one of a couple special types of treats that are equally nutritious, and on heartworm medication day she gets wet food wrapped around the meds. She gets no scraps from the table, and therefore never begs.

Quirks! All dogs have them. Her main little quirk now is that she gets carsick. If we feed her within an hour of driving and drive on the terrible Massachusetts backroads, she gets sick to her stomach and sometimes throws up. We're trying to take her a little every day or two to help her get used to it. She also loves socks and shoes and is very persistent about it (she's never destroyed anything, but we don't want to encourage it), so we've taken to putting both beyond her reach.

All in all, Bauzer is honestly the best dog I've ever come across at this age. She's still a puppy, yet is a better, more balanced dog than almost any we meet in our walks or at the local pet stores. She's already been through puppy training, and was the best-in-class (and was even used as the example for other dogs by the trainer!). If you're willing to be consistent and can handle an intelligent, willful dog, the Miniboz is a perfect hybrid breed. They're hard to find, but if you can find someone breeding purebred Miniature Schnauzers with purebred Boston Terriers, you're in for a real treat.