I can chime in with a recommendation for them allergy wise, and some stories, too.
My grandmothers's brother and his wife (does that make them greats or grands? I never can decide!) have both had very severe asthma and allergies since my mom was a little kid, but ALWAYS had Schnauzers--sometimes a standard, but usually Giants, for like, 50 odd years, ever since my uncle brought 2 boys home from Europe when he came back after WWII. IIRC, the story goes that he and 3 or 4 of his friends had started feedng a stray, who then had puppies, and everyone took one or two home with them.
My uncle's dogs not only always lived in the house, they slept in the bedrooms. I've known my aunt to have to pull out her inhaler when she's been dusting vigorously, or mowing the lawn; but when my uncle was on sales trips, one of the dogs almost always slept with her, and she never once had a problem. They're very, very low dander. (That's not to say that dander won't BUILD UP and cause a problem if you don't vaccuum a couple of times a week, etc., and keep your allergens under control!)
My favorite part of visiting them as a kid was playing with their big dogs. They were always bouncy and energetic and friendly and very playful, while being extremely watchful that we stayed in the yard, etc. When my sister was a toddler, she used to deliberately try to go out the back gate, just to get Noodle to come pick her up by her overalls and carry her back to the swing set, and she'd laugh her butt off, then do it again. Noodle was probably the best babysitter--I daresay she had to be, there were almost 30 of us 2nd generation cousins under 10 then!--but the thing that always struck me about their GS's was how unflappable they were. We just couldn't rile those dogs,and some of the boys really tried hard. It might just have been that my aunt always had a ton of kids running thru their house--she was a Den Mother until she was 83!--but in almost 40 years of knowing their dogs, I never heard of a single negative incident with a kid.
But Gunny chewed the living crap out of a burglar they surprised in their house, and cornered the jerk in the corner of the kitchen until the cops got there. Apparently those incisors can be very intimidating to evil-doers!
Another thing: if they're kept close clipped, their fur just has the most exquisite, irresistible texture--I've never been able to keep my hands off them. From the time I walk thru the door, right up to the minute I leave their house, I always make excuses to go back and give their dogs one more pet!
Very cool dogs. If I wanted a more exercise-y dog, they'd be WAY high on my list.
