The German Pinscher or is a German

breed A breed is a specific group of breedable domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist seve ...

terrier Terrier () is a Dog type, type of dog originally bred to hunt vermin. A terrier is a dog of any one of many Dog breed, breeds or landraces of the terrier Dog type, type, which are typically small, wiry, Gameness, game, and fearless. There are fi ...

in the

Pinscher The Pinscher is a group of German dog breeds, developed originally as ratters on farms or as guard dogs. In the twenty-first century they are commonly kept as companion animals. Origins It is considered that the German Pinscher is a proto ...

and

Schnauzer A Schnauzer ( , ; plural , ; ) is a dog breed type that originated in Germany from the 14th to 16th centuries. The term comes from the German word for "snout" and means colloquially "moustache",

group. It shares common origins with the Schnauzer, of which it is essentially a short-haired equivalent. It is seen in two colours, either black-and-tan or self-coloured red, this varying from deer-red to a dark reddish brown. It is an

endangered breed An endangered species is a species that is very likely to become extinct in the near future, either worldwide or in a particular political jurisdiction. Endangered species may be at risk due to factors such as habitat loss, poaching, invasiv ...

, and is listed in category III of the

Rote Liste The , full name , is a red list of threatened breeds of domestic animal published annually by the Gesellschaft zur Erhaltung alter und gefährdeter Haustierrassen, the German national association for the conservation of historic and endangere ...

of the

Gesellschaft zur Erhaltung alter und gefährdeter Haustierrassen The or GEH is a German national association for the conservation of historic and endangered domestic animal breeds. History The GEH was founded on 5 December 1981 in the Rottal, in Lower Bavaria in southern Germany. It has about 2100 membe ...

. It is a distinct and separate breed from the

Affenpinscher The Affenpinscher () is a German list of dog breeds, breed of small toy dog of Pinscher type. Originally developed as a Ratter (dog), mouser, the Affenpinscher is now commonly found as a Companion dog, companion worldwide. History The word '' ...

, the

Austrian Pinscher The Austrian Pinscher (Österreichischer Pinscher) is a medium-sized breed of pinscher-type dog from Austria, where dogs of the type were originally farm dogs, keeping barns free of rats and acting as home guards, livestock guardians, and drov ...

and the

Miniature Pinscher The Miniature Pinscher, also known as the Zwergpinscher, Mini Pin and Min Pin for short, is a small breed of dog of the pinscher type originating in Germany. While the breed's visual similarities to the Toy Manchester Terrier, which somewhat resem ...

or Zwergpinscher.

History

The origins of the German Pinscher are unknown. Dogs of this type, both rough-haired and smooth-haired, were traditionally kept as carriage dogs or as stable dogs, and so were sometimes known as ; they were capable

ratter A rat-catcher is a person who kills or captures rats as a professional form of pest control. Keeping the rat population under control was practiced in Europe to prevent the spread of diseases, most notoriously the Black Death, and to prevent dam ...

s. Both types were known as Deutscher Pinscher, and came from the same lineage; rough-haired and smooth-haired puppies could occur in the same litter. The rough-haired Pinscher, which would later become the

Standard Schnauzer The Schnauzer or Mittelschnauzer is a German dog breed, breed of dog in the Pinscher and Schnauzer group. It is characterised by an abundant bristly beard and whiskers, usually lighter than the coat. It is one of three Schnauzer breeds, the other ...

, was also known as the . The "smooth Pinscher" is mentioned by

Heinrich Gottlieb Ludwig Reichenbach Heinrich Gottlieb Ludwig Reichenbach (8 January 1793 – 17 March 1879) was a German botanist, ornithologist and illustrator. It was he who first requested Leopold Blaschka to make a set of glass marine invertebrate models for scientific educatio ...

in 1836. In 1880 the Pinscher was recorded in the ''Deutschen Hundestammbuch'' of the Verein zur Veredelung der Hunderassen. In 1895 described five varieties of Pinscher – the rough- and smooth-haired Pinscher, the rough- and smooth-haired Miniature Pinscher, and the Affenpinscher; of the smooth-haired Pinscher he says that it is becoming less common, and is not often seen at dog shows. In 1895 a

breed society Breed clubs are associations or clubs with activities centered on a single, specific breed of a particular species of domesticated animal. The purpose of the association will vary with the species of animal and the goals and needs of the members ...

, the Pinscher-Schnauzer-Klub, was established for both types, both rough- and smooth-haired. The Pinscher almost disappeared in the years after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. It was reconstructed by Werner Jung from a single standard-sized animal and four unusually large Miniature Pinschers. After eight years in which no births were recorded, a litter was whelped in 1958. The Pinscher was definitively accepted by the

Fédération Cynologique Internationale The (; FCI; ) is the largest international federation of national kennel clubs and purebred registries. The FCI is based in Thuin, Belgium and has 98 members and contract partners (one from each country). History The FCI was founded in 1911 un ...

in 1955. The Deutscher Pinscher is an

. In 2003 it was, with the Großspitz and the Mittelspitz, the 'endangered breed of the year' of the

; there were at that time 40 breeding bitches. In 2022 it was listed in category III, ('endangered'), of the

of that organisation. In each of the ten years from 2008 to 2017 the number of puppies whelped was between 350 and 450; in 2016 and 2017 there were just over 50 litters per year.

Characteristics

The German Pinscher is of medium size, with weights for both dogs and bitches in the range and a height at the

withers Withers are the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal, typically a quadruped. In many species, this ridge is the tallest point of the body. In horses and dogs, it is the standard place to measure the animal's height. In contrast, catt ...

between 45 and The coat is dense, short and smooth; it may be either black-and-tan or self-coloured red, this varying from a light stag-red to a dark reddish brown.

References

Animal breeds on the GEH Red List Dog breeds originating in Germany FCI breeds {{bots, deny=Citation bot