Skansen Kennel

We love our black & silver giant «Thor» now 1 year 3 months. He is absolutely gorgeous. I have to thank Sylvia for producing such an amazing dog with such an awesome temperament, intelligence & so loving. He is an awesome watch dog and also very gentle with my nephews and nieces ages range 3−12… He is raised like a member of the family, a wonderful companion and loyal friend. I can’t say enough about my experience with Sylivia & Skansen Kennels and the puppies they produce. I will forever be a Schnauzer lover thanks to them!

I would like to express my sincere appreciation and thanks to Sylvia and all the wonderful staff at Skansen Kennels, especially Maria, Lana and Carrie. We have been the recipient of years of joy with the many giant and mini schnauzers we’ve had from Skansen. We currently have a black giant schnauzer and a white mini, They are fast friends. As with all our Skansen schnauzers they are healthy, intelligent, playful and loving. We have them groomed regularly at Skansen. These are amazing animals and you couldn’t do better anywhere else

I have a 11 year old mini schnauzer who is the love of our family since he was 8 weeks old. He was not purchased from Skansen however, while visiting a Petco one of the employees had a badge on with a picture of her giant schnauzer which she purchased from Skansen Kennels. My neighbors who loved my schnauzer decided to purchase a schnauzer puppy and I recalled my Petco experience and happened somehow to remember the name Skansen, so our friends traveled to Skansen with the intent to purchase a 8 week old puppy only to leave with a 5 month old while female mini schnauzer they named Mia. Due to them being in their 70’s it was advised to get a dog a little older than 8 weeks… Needless to say they are over the moon in love with this dog. She is a active, beautiful, sweet dog! Thanks to Skansen they are happy seniors with their new baby girl!

I bought my beautiful Giant Schnauzer Skansens Luna De La Cruz-​Skloot just a couple of months ago. I got her at 13 weeks old, she has turned out to be a tremendously wonderful and no doubt very smart puppy, she came from skansen ch. French Connection and Skansens Jukebox.
Luna is 95% house broken. This is because of the time and effort I’ve dedicated to my puppy, i couldn’t afford classes so i had to do it all on my own which she has continued to prove it will all pay off.
Pricing and choice was absolutely reasonable. The drive was certainly worth it. She has doubled in size and weight since I got her, THANK YOU SYLVIA HAMMASTROM AND SKANSEN KENNEL!!!

My husband and I picked out a Giant Schnauzer from Skansen back in 2008. I was very excited about getting one of these dogs. However our experience with Skansen was a little bizarre. Just driving into the place you get the picture, signs telling you to turn around if you don’t have an appointment, fences galore with Llamas and lots and lots of dogs. Too many dogs to have been socialized and cared for properly. We fell in love with our pup and going on that emotion, purchased him and came back for him a week later in spite of the questionable feelings we had about the place.
He was terrified of EVERYTHING! Our other dog was a life saver as the pup would only ease into things very slowly if she guided him. Also his love of food was really helpful at lowering his fear of every basic thing in life. Watching Cesar Millan helped a lot too, «just being a leader.“I trained him very slowly to tolerate clippers using hotdogs. I don’t know how they got him clipped when he lived at the kennel. I speculate that the experience was traumatizing due to the enormous number of dogs they had to groom there.
We socialized the heck out of him and he’s come a long way but he still has fear issues. About a year after purchasing him, we received a notice from the AKC that the litter he came from did not have the father that was stated on his pedigree (found through genetic testing). He would be given only some kind of acknowledgement of the AKC and not a full pedigree. These last issues are not important to us but beware if you are a show person. Incidentally we were told differing things about the price and were ultimately charged a show quality price. The dog has a white marking on his chest well over their quarter sized limit. Again we don’t care about that but you do have to be assertive with them.
We love him very much, he’s a character and gets tons of complements. I have said many times that it is lucky that he is truly gorgeous as it has helped him to have numerous people come up and want to talk about him, get a photo with him and sometimes pet him. I just have to watch that he doesn’t lurch at people! Interestingly he is very gentle with children and very elderly people.
I have met several people that have gotten dogs from Skansen, some liked it and some felt like we did and some felt much worse about it. Unless they’ve severely reduced the number of dogs that they have at their ranch, I would not go there again. I believe it’s much better to purchase a dog from a home environment.

Well our beautiful black standard Elke will be 11 years old on June 15 2014. We bought her from Skansen as a pup. She is hands down the most sweet tempered animal and gorgeous still No one believes that she is almost 11. She has been perfect for us as she was our first Standard which is quite different than a Mini.
We would go back to Skansen again and we hope they will still be breeding dogs when we are ready. So far Elke is happy to be an only dog. I know the next pup will have a good temperment as that is KeY for us. Elke had her right kidney removed last December. A very aggressive cancer removed and she is still going strong! Thank God

Just to update how great of a dog I got! He is great with my five year old and has been a great addition to our family.

After much research of Schnauzer breeders we bought our first Schnauzer from Skansen after checking out the kennel. She is such a wonderful dog we bought another so she would have a companion. Both dogs are wonderful pets. They are also the most handsome Schnauzers that we have seen. My mother loved them so much she traveled up here and bought one as well. I would totally recommend Sylvia and Skansen Kennels to anyone wanting to add a true family member to their pack.

We are in love with our beautiful black standard schnauzer, Binky. She is now 8 months old. She is athletic and smart and sweet. My 3 year old daughter and I enjoyed our experience at Skansens with all the sweet giant pups there to greet us by the office. At any rate, we get compliments on the beautiful Binky all the time. Now, about those people who think she’s a Scottie on steroids…

My fiancé grew up with a giant schnauzer. He was insistent that when we got a dog it would have to be a giant. I did much research and found Skansen Kennels. I was even directed back to Skansen on my search from other breeders! Our dog Millie was born on my fiances birthday. They are soul-​mates. People are constantly stopping us on the street saying «What a beautiful dog! Where did you get that dog!?» Millie is string but very sweet .She has such a great personality. We love her so much! We will probably making a visit to Skansen Kennels soon to get her a brother!

We just got our standard puppy from Skansen a month ago and we are the happiest people on planet Earth. People at Skansen, know how to prepare a puppy to meet new owner.

I have had a Giant and Standard from Skansen and I have nothing but good things to say. I maintain the raw meat diet and I am very happy with this breeder. I love how the dogs are bred for quality and character and she produces some of the best show dogs available yet the dogs are still free to actually «be dogs» and play in the dirt and outdoors as dogs should be! If you appreciate these things you will surely not be disappointed. Also I can trace the bloodlines of my dog for 5+ generations! Keep up the great work Skansen!

We got our pup, Black Standard Schnauzer, Haddy 10 mo. ago from Skansens. Sylvia and her staff are great. Our pup did have her beginning puppy shots and we were also provided a record of the shots. Sylvia does encourage feeding a Raw Diet which we have found to be amazing. Haddy is a healthy happy girl. I would recommend Skansen Kennel hands down! They are very helpful even now when I have called to ask advise.

I am giving Skansen Kennels a 5 star rating for the overall expertise and advise they have given our family in rehabilitating a pup we purchased sight unseen from a different breeder. The pup that exited the crate looked nothing like the picture emailed to us. The pup was skin and bones, and it’s teeth were rotting. We were told the pup was crate trained, but it only used the crate as it’s bathroom. The breeder was not going to refund our money, so before trying to figure out what to do, I decided to give Skansen Kennels a call. Within that wonderful phonecall, I was educated as to how to rehabilitate and help this pup. (For the first month this pup just lied on the floor half dead.) After taking Sylvia’s advice we now have a happy little sweetheart. I highly recommend Skansen’s and look forward to doing business with them in the future. Sylvia really cares about her dogs!

I grew up with Standards and Giants from Skansen Kennel, and currently have a 2 year old Giant from them… that’s over 30 years of experience with Skansen bred Schnauzers. I remember fondly going to her ranch as a young child, and it hasn’t changed a bit… it’s puppy /​dog heaven! The dogs are allowed to live outside to get plenty of exercise and fresh air.
ALL the dogs have been wonderful, excellent temperament and health! Sylvia breeds quality dogs that make excellent family pets! Her team is wonderful, and truly are interested in matching the dogs with the right situation. Laina is great and honest!
I will continue to return to Skansen as long as I can when I want to add to my family. The dogs are kind, smart, loyal and beautiful.

Almost two years ago, I brought home my beautful black giant schnauzer from Skansen Kennel — his name is Zorro, the love of my life. Skansen does an excellent job raising the pups until they are ready to go home. I was given plenty of DVDs and other information complete with the care and feeding of schnauzers — a full operating manual. I wish I could give zorro a companion, but there’s not enough room for 2 in my san francisco north beach flat. Zorro is so well-​tempered and gets along with all the other «regulars» in the park. If you want a well-​bred dog who will always stick by your side and protect you and your home, visit Skansen.

I got my second salt ‘n pepper giant last week. These are beautiful animals. I haven’t seen any better elsewhere. I hope she never quits. The farm staff are knowledgable & friendly. If you want a smart dog that doesn’t shed, this is it.

Skansen Kennel provides a wonderful dog loving service
When I set off to purchase a Giant Schnauzer (my first one) I looked high and low for a good breeder and one that would stand behind the purchase. When I contacted Sylvia at SKansen Kennel she was wonderful. I told her what I wanted and the personality I was looking for. She reserved the Top Show Dog for me and the next thing I knew my little bundle of love was on a airplane headed to Texas.
I named my new dog Maxine. Max had the most loving personality that I have ever seen in a dog. She was beautiful as a puppy and grew to be even more elegant of a dog. Throughout my dogs life I would contact Sylvia for advise and she was always helpful and full of very good suggestions. If Sylvia was not available her staff was also helpful and caring. As I got to know the breed through the years I had less reason to call her. Max was an amazing animal friend and EVERYONE that met her LOVED her. She was like a princess everyone wanted to know her, touch her, hug her or just gaze at her. Her personality and beauty was like a magnet we got to know more people because of her. Max past away this year and although I know I will not find another exactly the same I would never even think of purchasing from any other breeder than Skansen Kennel.
Sylvia has selected my next dog and it will be here soon. I am certain my experience will be a good one… Thanks so much Sylvia!!!

I decided on Skansen’s based on several great recommendations and after months of research. I went with a clear idea of what I thought I wanted. And this is why they say you can’t help who you fall in love with… because I visited that cold New Year’s Day in ’09 for a black mini male and somehow ended up cuddling a white mini female the whole drive back from the ranch… and I’ve never looked back.
What was most impressive was the wealth of information you get with your pup. It’s incredible.
I got an entire health, vaccination and family history on my pup, nutrition guidebook, training, grooming, and socializing manuals, DVDs, audio CDs and advice tapes along with a small supply of dog supplements to start out. Not only that, but my pup came fully vaccinated, bathed and groomed, and most importantly, happy and healthy.
It’s clear how much they care about their dogs and customer service is excellent. Sylvia takes special care in ensuring the health, beauty, intelligence and good personality of every litter… raising them on a natural diet and with plenty of fresh air. Skansen’s beautiful schnauzers are a testament to their responsible breeding. I wholeheartedly recommend them if you’re looking for a purebred schnauzer.
Whenever I’m asked about my pup and if she’s a «show dog,» there is always a smile of recognition on their faces when I say, «Nope, she’s a Skansen’s pup.»

When we started looking for a puppy, I knew I wanted a Schnauzer. Specifically, I wanted a black Giant Schnauzer, but I knew it was impractical for our schedule and living in a house with barely any yard in the city. So we decided on a black mini schnauzer.
Sylvia and Laina at Skansen had other ideas however. They work very hard to ensure that you are matched with the best puppy possible to fit your home. So while I wanted a black mini female, we left Skansen with a white mini male, who’s submissive nature made him more compatible with our bossy female Chihuahua. For a mere $ 650, we brought home a fully vaccinated puppy with ears and tail done, as well as 3 gigantic envelopes full of videos, audio manuals, and booklets of natural health, feeding, training, and grooming videos.
Sylvia has been breeding Schnauzers for 50 years and has bred over 1000 champions. Her ranch is beautiful, the dogs are all gorgeous and clearly enjoying their lives, and a full staff is ever present tending to every doggie need. It is a very impressive set up.
We chose Skansen because of their great reputation and the satisfaction of others who have purchased their dogs from her. Additionally, she has the only kennel I know of with 10 generations of completely naturally raised dogs, and that was pretty important to us. I can not recommend this kennel enough if you are in the market for a purebred puppy. They have all 3 sizes of Schnauzer in AKC accepted colors only, in show and pet quality.