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The Miniature Schnauzer is a breed of small dog of the Schnauzer type that originated in Germany in the mid-to-late 19th century. Miniature Schnauzers developed from crosses between the Standard Schnauzer and one or more smaller breeds such as the Poodle, Miniature Pinscher, or Affenpinscher.
Appearance: Miniature Schnauzers are quite distinctive
in appearance. They should be compact, muscular, and be
"square" in build (the height at the withers should
be the same as the length of the body). They have long beards,
eye-brows, and feathering on the legs.
Ears are sometimes cropped to stand upright, and the tail
is often docked short. Their coats are wiry, and do not shed,
which adds to their appeal as house pets. The AKC recognizes
only three colors: black, salt and pepper, and black and
silver. Height is 12 to 15 inches (30.5 to 38 cm) at the
withers, and they generally weigh 10 to 15 pounds (4.5 to 7
kg).
Temperament: Miniature Schnauzers are known for
their friendly personality and mischievous sense of humor, as
well as intelligence and energy. They are very loyal and
protective of their owners.
While very good with children and most other pets, the
Miniature Schnauzer does best when growing up with them. Owing
to their use as ratters, they should not be trusted around
small pets, as they will often attack and possibly kill them.
The Miniature Schnauzer makes an excellent watch dog, barking
at visitors to its home. However, it does not normally make a
very good guard dog because of its friendliness.
History: The earliest records surrounding
development of the Miniature Schnauzer in Germany come from
the late 1800s. In the breed's earliest stages, several small
breeds were employed in crosses to bring down the size of the
well-established Standard Schnauzer, with the goal of creating
a duplicate in miniature.
Crossing to other breeds, such as the Affenpinscher and
Miniature Pinscher, had the side effect of introducing colors
that were not considered acceptable to the ultimate goal and
as breeders worked towards the stabilization of the gene pool,
mismarked particolors and white puppies were removed from
breeding programs.
As puppy mills commonly trade breeding stock back and
forth, the gene is introduced into other mills (in exchange
with Fox Terrier or Poodle infused particolors, etc.) and so
the white gene becomes firmly established in that population.
Commercial breeders sell to pet stores, and these form the
genetic basis of the vast majority of "backyard
breeder" dogs. As none of these animals are bred for the
show ring, the fact that they do not exhibit quality in type
is irrelevant. Crossbred animals would have very great
difficulty surviving in the show-breeding gene pool they would
find it difficult to win or produce offspring who could. It
does not however, lend any credibility to the argument that
white schnauzers are purebred and should be perpetuated as
such.
The earliest recorded Miniature Schnauzer was in 1888, and
the first exhibition was in 1899. With their bold courage the
Miniature Schnauzer was originally used for guarding herds,
small farms and families. As time passed they were also used
to hunt rats, because they appeared to have a knack for it,
and its small size was perfect to get into tight places to
catch them. The AKC accepted registration of the new breed in
1926, two years after they were introduced to the United
States.
Health: Miniature Schnauzers are prone to diabetes,
bladder stones and pancreatitis. With proper care, without
feeding the dog sweet or fattening food, it can often be
avoided. Miniature Schnauzers with uncropped ears are prone to
ear infections and deafness later in life if the ears are not
checked regularly or dried out after swimming. Perfect weight
varies on what size the dog is; if the dog is 14 inches high,
then the perfect weight would be 14 lbs. They should not be
overfed since they gain weight easily.
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