"Small dogs, such as
the miniature pinscher existed as far back as the stone ages,
according to archaeological studies. At that time dogs where bred
and classified according to the work that they did. After many
generations, dogs from a certain area of a country that were bred
for the same functions began to resemble each other and share
similar characteristics. That is how the foundation of today’s
multitude of breeds was established. Today, dogs are still divided
by functions when it comes to the American Kennel Club’s seven
groups: Sporting, Hound, Working, Terrier, Toy, Non-Sporting, and
Herding.
The miniature
pinscher has been pictured in old paintings and sculptures that
unmistakably places them as a very old breed, but because no factual
documents surfaced until about 200 years ago, their actual origin
can not be stated in fact.
The miniature
pinscher is not a scaled down version of anything, especially not
the much larger Doberman Pinscher. The miniature pinscher was
mentioned in late documents that prove that the miniature pinscher
existed well before the much larger Doberman Pinscher. Part of the
confusion in origin comes from the word “Pinscher”, which is a
description term like “Settler” or “Terrier” that denotes the dogs
method of work, not it’s heritage.
The miniature
pinscher was first recognized as an official breed in Germany in the
1800’s. It wasn’t until the 1900’s
that the Doberman Pinscher was recognized as an official breed by
it’s native land, Germany. For the sake of argument, it wasn’t until
1890 that Louis Doberman bred his first real Doberman Pinscher. The
miniature pinscher is part of the larger German Pinscher family,
which contained both large and small varieties as well as two
distinct coat types. Efforts began to define and separate the
varieties in the mid 1800’s.
The serious pinscher
breeders established The Pinscher-Schnauzer Klub
(PSK) in 1895. They recognized six varieties of
pinschers for registration and demanded that the varieties not be
cross bred. Recognized breeds were the Giant Schnauzer, Standard
Schnauzer, Miniature Schnauzer, Affenpinscher,
and, of course, the Miniature Pinscher.
The Miniature
Pinscher’s popularity started toward the end of the
1800’s in Germany and was particularly in that country
between 1905 to 1914. 1910 was considered to be the “Golden Years”.
During that era, as many as 60 splendid and fit Miniature Pinschers
could be found competing at any show. First exhibited at the
Stuttgart Dog Show in Germany in 1900, miniature pinscher were
almost unknown outside of Germany. They were not extensively bred
outside of Germany, except in the Scandinavian countries after
around 1918.
The breed was
imported into the United States about 1919, with the first one being
registered with the American Kennel Club (AKC) on March 31, 1925. A
female dog by the name of Asta Von
Sandreuth. She was whelped in Germany on June 5, 1924 and was
imported here, to the United States by her American owner; Mrs.
B. Seyschab. Registered under
the breed name, Pinscher (Toy). Prior to 1928 there were few
Miniature Pinschers seen at shows in America. During the year of
1945, only 76 Miniature Pinschers were accepted for registration.
World War I had it’s
affects on the breed. The breed was in high demand. They were easier
to house, breed, and make a profit from, at this time many Germans
bred this breed for quantity rather focusing on it’s quality, for
profit-resulting in poor specimens of the breed. A sign of the
breeds quick recovery from the affects of World War I was in 1947
when 705 Miniature Pinschers were added to the registry records.
At first entries at
dog shows were made into the miscellaneous class for this breed. The
Miniature Pinscher Club of America (MPCA), a national breed club was
established in 1929 and the Miniature Pinscher was then shown in the
terrier group. In 1930, it was reclassified as a toy breed under the
name Pinscher (miniature). Later changed to Miniature Pinscher in
1972.
In the month of March
2005, there were 1,204 dogs registered and 673 litters in the USA
alone."