About Us
MiriCol Paws began with the two of us—Miri and Col Smout—and a shared love of dogs, family and raising beautiful Schnoodle puppies with purpose.
For us, breeding is personal. Our dogs are part of our family, and every puppy is raised in our home with love, care, attention and plenty of cuddles. Our goal is to give each puppy the strongest possible foundation before they become part of your family.
Our passion for early socialisation came from our own experience. We had welcomed puppies into our lives that we loved dearly but found challenging to raise. We later came to understand just how important those early weeks can be in shaping a puppy’s confidence, behaviour and ability to adapt to new experiences.
That changed the way we wanted to breed.
Today, we intentionally use those precious first weeks to nurture confidence, encourage positive behaviours and expose our puppies to everyday family life, helping prepare them for the transition from our home to yours.
Because we don’t simply want to breed adorable, fluffy Schnoodles.
We want to raise confident, loving companions who are ready to become cherished members of your family—and support you throughout their lifetime.
Training Starts On Day Three!
At MiriCol Paws, preparing your puppy for life doesn’t begin at eight weeks. It begins on Day 3.
From Day 3 to Day 16, we introduce our puppies to Early Neurological Stimulation (ENS)—a carefully structured series of brief handling, movement and sensory exercises designed for this very early stage of development. You can watch this here.
Each puppy receives a few minutes of individual attention each day. The exercises include briefly holding the puppy in different positions, gently stimulating their paws and introducing them to a cool surface.
It may only take a few minutes, but it’s one of the ways we begin intentionally preparing our puppies for the world around them.
You can learn more about ENS here: Early Neurological Stimulation – Breeding Better Dogs
Building Confidence From the Beginning
As our puppies grow, so does their world.
Those early weeks are an incredibly important time for introducing puppies to positive new experiences. We use this opportunity to gently expose them to different sights, sounds, surfaces, people, handling and everyday family life.
Our own experience has reinforced why we value this approach. We’ve seen our puppies approach new experiences with curiosity and confidence, which is exactly the foundation we want to nurture before they leave us.
From 4–6 Weeks
The learning really begins!
Our puppies are introduced to the doggy door, toileting on grass and their crates. They begin having an afternoon sleep independently in their crates, helping them gradually become comfortable spending short periods on their own.
From 6–8 Weeks
Now we start building practical skills that can make life easier when your puppy comes home.
We introduce sit, come and collar-grab, an important skill that teaches your puppy to be comfortable being gently held by the collar when it’s time to attach their lead.
They’re also introduced to leads and confidence-building activities such as our wobble board and gym-ball games—making learning positive, playful and fun.
And You Get to Watch It Happen!
We love taking our future puppy families on the journey with us.
Follow MiriCol Paws Schnoodles on Facebook to see our puppies growing, learning and discovering their world through our daily Facebook Live videos.
By the time your Schnoodle leaves our home, they’ve already begun learning how to confidently live in yours.
Three Essentials Every Dog Needs
We believe a happy, confident and well-balanced dog thrives when three important needs are met:
Training & clear boundaries — helping your dog understand what’s expected and feel secure.
Exercise & stimulation — keeping their body active and their mind engaged.
Love & connection — building the trust and lifelong bond that makes them part of your family.
Give them guidance. Give them adventure. Give them love.
More Than Love
Did you notice which one came last?
Love.
There is certainly no shortage of love and cuddles at MiriCol Paws! But we believe loving a puppy also means giving them guidance, boundaries, training and the confidence to understand what is expected of them.
That’s why training begins with us.
When your Schnoodle comes home, learning and boundaries won’t be something completely new. They’ve already discovered that listening, learning and making good choices can be rewarding—and usually comes with plenty of praise, treats and affection!
Training also provides valuable mental stimulation. Short, positive training sessions throughout the day can challenge a puppy’s mind and help them settle afterwards. Even three five-minute sessions can make a wonderful addition to their daily routine.
A stimulated mind is just as important as an exercised body.
We Go the Extra Mile
Our responsibility isn’t simply to breed beautiful Schnoodles. It’s to raise them well and find the family where they have the best opportunity to thrive.
That’s why we don’t believe in simply choosing a puppy because of colour, size or appearance.
We match puppies with people.
When you join our waitlist, we ask you to complete our Owner’s Questionnaire so we can understand your family, lifestyle, experience and what you’re looking for in your Schnoodle.
At around seven weeks, each puppy undergoes a personality assessment, giving us valuable insight into their individual temperament, confidence and needs.
We then use everything we’ve learned about you and your puppy to help make the best possible match.
Because finding your Schnoodle isn’t just about choosing the puppy you love.
It’s about finding the puppy who will fit beautifully into your life—and helping create a bond that can last a lifetime.
Finding Your Perfect Match
We’ll always consider your preferences for colour and sex, but when it comes to creating a lasting match, personality comes first.
Our goal is to match you with the Schnoodle whose temperament, personality and needs best complement your family, lifestyle and expectations. As puppies are allocated, we’ll talk you through the process and explain why we believe your puppy could be a wonderful fit for you.
Then Comes the Exciting Part — Meeting Your Puppy!
At around seven weeks, we hold our Puppy Open Day, where you can meet your allocated puppy, spend time together, play, cuddle and begin that very special bond.
Our Puppy Open Days are held on Sundays and are also open to people interested in learning more about MiriCol Paws and meeting our Schnoodles.
Follow MiriCol Paws Schnoodles on Facebook for upcoming Puppy Open Day announcements and registration details.
Because we’re not simply finding homes for our puppies—we’re bringing puppies and families together.
Watch Our Puppies Grow 🐾
Come behind the scenes and experience the joy of MiriCol Paws for yourself!
Follow us on Facebook and YouTube to watch our puppies grow, learn and flourish—from their earliest milestones to their hilarious puppy antics, first adventures and growing personalities.
At 🐾 MiriCol Paws 🐾, we believe raising an exceptional Schnoodle is about so much more than breeding.
Every puppy is raised in our home with love, thoughtful socialisation, early training and individual care, helping them grow into healthy, confident and well-adjusted little companions ready for family life.
Raised with purpose. Prepared with care. Loved from the very beginning.
And when your puppy leaves our home, our commitment doesn’t end.
You become part of the MiriCol Paws family—with our support for the life of your Schnoodle.
🐾 MiriCol Paws 🐾
Schnoodle puppies raised with oodles of love.
Testimonials
Luna Pup ~ Lulu x Rey Litter
From the moment we met Miriam and Col we knew they were the right breeders for us. They were caring, warm, and knowledgeable and Col even shed a little tear when the pups left their home. Luna has crept so deeply into our hearts, she is the most patient, sweet, friendly, and social little pup to our three children, she is simply perfect. Luna came already toilet trained which was a huge benefit to us with our busy household. We cannot thank Col and Miriam enough for the extraordinary hard work they have put into raising Luna, their work has set us up for a positive puppy experience. We will most certainly recommend them and use them for our next addition to our family. Five stars from us.
Ziggy Pup ~ Lulu x Rey Litter
It was so much fun watching your daily Facebook live videos of the puppies. We looked forward to seeing Ziggy and through the videos we also learnt tips and tricks from you about rearing and training puppies which we could apply when Ziggy came home to us.
Ziggy has settled into our home beautifully. He is calm and well-adjusted and goes with the flow. He was pretty much toilet trained when we got him, and he knew how to use the dog door – amazing. Ziggy responds very well to other people and isn’t fazed by noises or other dogs. His first lesson at puppy school was a great experience. He is a quick learner – after one week with us he knows his name, come, sit, and places. I know you put in a lot of effort to start to teach all the puppies these skills and it has paid off for us.
You said that when you give the puppies to their owners a little piece of your heart goes with them. I can’t thank you enough for the fabulous start to life these puppies had.
Ellie Pup – Monti x Rey Litter
We had been thinking of getting a puppy for a few months, and when we found out that MiriCol Paws was expecting some puppies, we put our name down and the rest is history. MiriCol Paws have communicated so well with us since the day our Ellie was born. Daily updates on Facebook showed us how she was growing, and we couldn’t wait to meet her. MirCol Paws puppies are so well cared for, they have small amounts of training and socialising each day, to prepare them for life in their “furever” home. We’ve had Ellie now for 3 weeks, MiriCol Paws gave us enough food for over a week, so we could settle her into our routine. She’s a delight, so responsive to training, sleeping well at night, and able to be left alone from time to time without crying, she’s a special member of our home. Highly recommend MiriCol Paws to anyone interested in purchasing a puppy to add to their family.