Paging MericoX

What do you like better, your schnauzers or poodles?

I love my poodle, but I've been really interested in standard schnauzers lately.
My first puppy as a puppy raiser was a mini schnauzer and he was awesome and so loving with me and my family, but he was very standoff-ish with strangers and other dogs. Other schnauzers I have met had have similar temperaments.

I want a dog that is "particular" about who they are friendly with, but I want a dog that will be receptive to strangers that want to greet them. I know poodles are like this, but are schnauzers like that at all?

I think a Standard Schnauzer would fit best if you are looking for a schnauzer. I have found that general Standards are more owner-orientated and could give a rats ass about other people (meaning they won't just run up to anyone for attention), but will also greet people just fine if they feel so inclined. I have a friend with a Standard that for the longest time coule care less about me, but would accept petting. Though now that I have found her kryptonite is baby carrots she'll get excited to see me and doesn't blow me off like she used to.

Miniatures I find can be territorial little bastards, but also people whores. Kiba loves other people, and will demand you come pet if she thinks you're headed in her direction. Other dogs (except for mine) she could care less about and rarely offers to play/interact, but is not DR or DA. Stryder could care less about people. If you called him to you he'd probably blow you off, unless food was offered. He will let people pet him, and even hold him, but it's not something he seeks out. He is on the otherhand, a dog *****. He likes other dogs and plays nicely with bigger dogs and is awesome with my little ones.

The poodles, love everyone and everything (for the most part). Aloof is not in their vocabulary.

Thanks so much.
My poodles have been slightly aloof but friendly. Just not "take me home!!" friendly.

There are a few standard schnauzer breeders where I live that are active in agility, which is something I'm really wanting to explore. I was set on another standard poodle, but I really want a medium sized dog that is in the 30lb range and very few poodles are that size, so standard schnauzers seemed like the next best choice.

Both of my poodles have been very "human-like", do schnauzers have that quality as well?

What about a kleinpudel? They are in between the Miniature and Standard Poodle in size (not sure how they are in temperament though). Ironically the few Standards I know do both (or did at some point) obedience and agility.

Not quite sure what you mean by "human-like" though...

A klein COULD be a good size, but I find they are often longer than they are tall, and I really prefer square dogs. I also find myself straying from poodles because of the multitude of health issues that plague the breed. My first poodle I adopted has HD and epilepsy, and the second poodle I adopted passed away at age 4 from kidney disease. I want a healthy dog, and from what I understand, Schnauzers are a relatively healthy breed in terms of few genetic diseases.

It's hard to describe the "human-like" quality of poodles (I've found its more a trait of the standards than minis or toys), but once you experience it, it's a trait that I really value in dogs. They just seem to understand human emotions and queues on another level than some other dogs I've met. I'm sure it's not a quality restricted to poodles, but it's something I've heard over and over again from poodle owners.