THE KING OF THE SMALL BREEDS
The breed of Miniature Pinschers (Zwergpinscher) was first
developed in Germany in the begining of 1800's. They were bred
with German Pinschers, Manchester Terriers, and Dachshunds
in order to give them specific characteristics as a working dog as
well as companion. Some sources claim they also added a bit of
an Italian greyhound .They became too popular very quickly and
they were known as the king of the small breeds. It is
noteworthy that as early as 1640 a small cat sized red dog, fine
boned and with prick ears, is depicted in a painting of a peasant
family. Later, paintings from the 1800's include dogs of distinctly
Miniature Pinscher type. In the same way, intellectuals have
noted the stark resemblance of the Miniature Pinscher to the
Egyptian paintings and statues of Annubis, a god who guarded
the temples of dead pharaohs. This is speculation, but it makes
you wonder if the Miniature Pinscher didn't actually descend
from the Egyptian dog.
The idea behind Min Pins started when in Germany , the sailors
wanted to create a smaller breed to be used on ships to catch
vermin. In the past they tried to use cats but they not able to go
onto the ships because of the way the wood from the decks
affected them. The best solution was to breed a smaller type of
dog that could replace cats. When the changes in the dogs began
to be made the breeders went after two things: a smaller size and
a high amount of energy to help out on the boats.
The Miniature Pinscher quickly grew into a companion dog as
well as a hunter of vermin. The size of the Min Pins became
attractive to the women in Germany, as most saw them as good
house companions as well as hunters. Because of this secondary
thought, the dogs quickly moved into being bred even smaller in
size. This is where the dogs were bred with Dachshunds in order
to create a red color and small structure to the Min Pins. A
Miniature Pinscher is known to have the characteristics of a
more fearless and energetic dog, something that a lot of people
might like in a smaller dog.
These are the origins which have allowed Miniature Pinscher to
gain some of their major attributes that some may see in to the
breed until today. The first of these attributes is that Min Pins
are loyal companions to their owners, even more so than some
other dogs. Secondly Miniature Pinscher has a high amount of
energy and will most likely need something to do even beyond
the walks that you want to take them on. Thirdly a min pin is a
perfect alert dog .It is so devoted to its master that would do
anything to protect him/her even by risking its own life.
As a lot of cynologist would affirm, that a Miniature Pinscher
was created by a combination of quite compatible breeds .
So if you like a n energetic and possibly loud but loyal animal
then a Min Pin is the right choice.
According to the Zuchtbuch first edition of the registration of
Pinschers and Schnauzers in Germany, in 1924 there were
registered in 1505 Mini Schnauzers, min pinschers 3970,
standard schnauzers 7037, Giant schnauzers 567, German
pinschers 185 and finally affenpinschers 210.