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History: | The Miniature Pinscher originated in Germany where terrier-like breeds known as "pinschers" have been used as ratters for at least 300 years. It is thought that the Miniature Pinscher evolved from breeding small specimens of the German Pinscher possibly crossed with the Italian Greyhound and Smooth Dachshund. It is not, as some believe, the miniature version of the Doberman Pinscher although its clean lines, colouring, and general activity are remarkably similar. The Miniature Pinscher was a recognized breed in Germany many years before the Doberman was developed. In Germany the breed is often called the Reh Pinscher because of its resemblenance to the Roe deer, a small deer that is said to abound in the forests of the Rhineland. The breed standard was first recorded in the German Stud Book in 1880 and was officially recognized by the Pinscher-Schnauzer Klub in Germany in 1895. Undoubtedly the little dog was very popular in its country of origin; when it was first shown at the Stuttgart show in 1900, there were 93 Miniature Pinschers in competition. The Miniature Pinscher was first brought to the United States in 1920, and that country credited with much of the breed's development. Since the organization of the Miniature Pinscher Club of America in 1929, the breed has become extremely popular on this continent both in the United States and Canada. One of the Miniature Pinscher's most attractive characteristics is its high-stepping hackney gait, which would seem to verify the fact that somewhere in its ancestry the Italian Greyhound can be found. In Canada the first Miniature Pinschers were registered in the Canadian Kennel Club Stud Book for the years 1937-1938. General Appearance: This breed is structurally a well balanced, sturdy, compact, short coupled,smooth-coated toy dog. He is naturally well groomed,proud,vigorous, and alert.The natural characteristic traits which identify him from other toy dogs are his precise Hackney gait, his fearless animation, complete self possession, and his spirited presence. Faults: Structurally lacking in balance, too long or too short coupled, too coarse or too refined (lacking in bone development causing poor feet and legs), too large or too small, lethargic,timid or dull, shy or vicious, low in tail placement and poor in action (action not typical of the breed requirements). Knotty overdeveloped muscles. Size: Desired height 11-11.5 inches at the withers. A dog of either sex measuring under 10 or over 12.5 inches shall be disqualified. Coat and Colour: Coat smooth,hard,short,straight and lustrous, closely adhering to and uniformly covering the body.Colour: a) Solid red or Stag red (red with intermingling black hairs). b)Black or Chocolate with sharply defined rust-red markings on cheeks,lips,lower jaw,throat,twin spots above eyes, and chest,lower half of forelegs,inside of hind legs and vent region, lower portion of hocks and feet. With black pencil stripes on toes in black dogs and chocolate pencil stripes on toes of chocolate dogs. Faults: Thin,too long, dull coat; upstanding coat; curly coat; dry coat; area of various thickness or bald spots. Any colour other than listed; very dark or sooty spots. Head: In correct proportion with the body. From top: Tapering,narrow with well-fitted but not too prominent foreface which should balance with the skull. No indication of coarseness. From front: Skull appears flat, tapering forward towards the muzzle. Muzzle itself strong rather than fine and delicate, and in proportion to the head as a whole; cheeks and lips small, taut and closely adherent to each other. Teeth in perfect alignment and apposition. From side: Well balanced with only a slight drop to the muzzle, which should be parallel to the top of the skull. Nose black only (with the exception of chocolates, which may have a self coloured nose). Eyes full, slightly oval, almost round, clear, bright and dark, even to a true black; set wide apart and fitted well into the sockets. Ears well set and firmly placed, upstanding and when cropped,pointed, and carried erect in balance with the head. Faults: Too large or too small for the body, too coarse or too refined, pinched and weak in foreface, domed in skull, too flat and lacking in chiselling, giving a vapid expression. Nose any colour other than black (with the exception of chocolates which may have a self coloured nose). Jaws and teeth overshot or undershot. Eyes too round and full, too large, bulging, too deep set or too far apart; or too small, set too close together (pig eyes). Light coloured eyes not desireable. Ears poorly placed, low-set hanging ears (lacking cartilage) which detract from the head conformation. (poorly cropped ears if set on the head properly and having sufficient cartilage should not detract from head points, as this is a man made fault and automatically would detract from general appearance.) Neck: Proportioned to head and body. Slightly arched, gracefully curved, clean and firm, blending into the shoulders, length well balanced, muscular and free from suggestion of dewlap and throatiness. Faults: Too straight or too curved; too thick or too thin; too long or short; knotty muscles; loose, flabby or wrinkled skin. Forequarters: Shoulders clean, sloping with moderate angulation, co-ordinated to permit the true action of the Hackney pony. Strong bone development and small clean joints. As viewed from the front, straight and upstanding; elbows close to body, well knit, flexible yet strong with perpendicular pasterns. Faults: Shoulders too straight, too loose, or too short and overloaded with muscles. Forelegs bowed or crooked, weak pasterns, feet turning either in or out, loose elbows. Body: From top: Compact, slightly wedge shaped, muscular with well sprung ribs. From side: Back level or slightly sloping towards rear. Length of males equal to height at withers. Females may be slightly longer. Forechest well developed and full, moderately broad. Depth of brisket, the base line of which is level with the points of the elbows; short and strong in loin with belly moderately tucked up to denote grace in structural form. From rear: High tail set; strong, sturdy upper shanks, with croup slope at about 30 degrees; vent opening not barrelled. Faults: From top: too long, too short, too barrelled, lacking in body development. From side: too long, too short, too thin or too fat, hips higher or considerably lower than the withers, lacking depth of chest, too full in loin, sway back, roach back or wry back. Forechest and ribspring to narrow (or too shallow and underdeveloped). From rear: quarters too wide or too close to each other, overdeveloped, barrelled vent, underdeveloped vent, too sloping croup, low tail set. Hindquarters: Well knit muscular quarters set wide enough apart to fit into the properly balanced body. All adjacent bones should appear well angulated with well-muscled thighs or upper shanks, with clearly well-defined stifles, hocks short, set well apart turning neither in nor out, while at rest should stand perpendicular to the ground and upper shanks, lower shanks and hocks parallel to each other. Feet cat like, toes strong, well arched and closely knit with deep thick pads and blunt nails. Faults: Too narrow, undermuscled or overmuscled, too steep in croup. Too thick or too thin bone development, large joints, spreading flat feet. Thin underdeveloped stifles, large or crooked hocks, loose stifle joints. Tail: Set high, held erect, docked to 1/2 to 1 inch. Faults: Set too low,too thin, drooping, hanging or poorly docked. Disqualifications: Thumb marks or any area of white on feet or forechest exceeding half inch in its longest dimension. A dog of either sex measuring under 10 or over 12.5 inches shall be disqualified. |