Miniature Pinscher

AKC Group: Toy

Club: Miniature Pinscher Club of America, Inc.

Secretary : Christine Filler
Address: 35038 N. 10th St., Desert Hills, AZ , 85086
Website: www.minpin.org
Email: mpcasecretary@minpin.org
Club Type: Specialty

General Apperance:

The Miniature Pinscher is structurally a well balanced, sturdy, compact, short-coupled, smooth-coated dog. He naturally is well groomed, proud, vigorous and alert. Characteristic traits are his hackney-like action, fearless animation, complete self-possession, and his spirited presence.

Size:

Size -10 inches to 12½ inches in height allowed, with desired height 11 inches to 11½ inches measured at highest point of the shoulder blades. Disqualification -Under 10 inches or over 12½ inches in height. Length of males equals height at withers. Females may be slightly longer.

Coat:

Smooth, hard and short, straight and lustrous, closely adhering to and uniformly covering the body.

Temperament:

Fearless animation, complete self-possession, and spirited presence.

History:

The Miniature Pinscher is not a scaled-down, version of anything, especially the much larger Doberman Pinscher, although both are likely descended from the German Standard Pinscher. It is a distinctly German breed often referred to as the Zwerg or Dwarf Pincher in historical documents. German Kennel Club documents also refer to the Miniature Pinscher as the "reh" Pinscher, but this term is only used for a dog of stag-red color, "reh" referring to a small red deer found in German forests years ago. The one fact remains that the Miniature Pinscher originated several centuries ago as an efficient barnyard ratter, with no relation to the Doberman or the Manchester Terrier.

Historical artifacts and paintings place the Min Pin as a very old breed, but factual documentation began less than 200 years ago, leaving his actual origins to debate. The Miniature Pinscher is reported to include the Dachshund and Italian Greyhound among its ancestors. Many historians and those who have researched the background of the breed agree that this heritage is most likely, adding the shorthaired German Pinscher to the family tree.

Until the early 1900's Miniature Pinscher popularity was primarily contained in Germany and the Scandinavian countries but has gained great popularity in the US since the first one was registered with the AKC in 1925. Originally in the Terrier Group and reclassified as a Toy in 1930, the official name was changed from Pinscher (Toy) to Miniature Pinscher in 1972.

Interesting Facts:

• The Miniature Pinscher is native to Germany.
  
  
• There were few of the breed in America prior to 1928, the impetus to breed advancement dating from 1929 when the Miniature Pinscher Club of America, Inc. was formed.
  
  
• The Miniature Pinscher is valuable as a watchdog, despite its diminutive size.
  
  
• Real development of the Miniature Pinscher breed abroad began in 1895 when Germany's Pinscher Klub was formed and gave the breed its initial standard.
  
  
• The "Min Pin," as it is called among fanciers, is noted for its intelligence and pep.
  
  
• The Miniature Pinscher has been bred extensively in Scandinavia in addition to Germany.