Miniature Schnauzer

thumb|alt=black-and-white drawing of two rough-haired dogs, a large one standing, a smaller one sitting|[[Jean Bungartz, , 1888]]

The Miniature Schnauzer is a German breed of small dog of Schnauzer type. It originated in Germany in the late nineteenth century. It may have been developed from the smallest specimens of the Standard Schnauzer, or crosses between the standard and one or more smaller breeds such as the Affenpinscher, Miniature Pinscher, and Poodles, as farmers bred a small dog that was an efficient ratting dog. They are described as "spunky" but aloof dogs, with good guarding tendencies without some guard dogs' predisposition to bite. Miniature Schnauzers are recognized in four colors internationally: solid black, black and silver, salt and pepper, and white.

It is the most popular Schnauzer breed,

History

Neither the origin of the breed name, nor when it came into use, is known. The German word means 'snout', while both and mean 'walrus moustache'. The word appears in the of Jeremias Gotthelf, published in 1842. 'Schnauz' was a common name for a dog – several dogs with this name were shown in Elberfeld in 1880. At the third international dog show of the Verein zur Veredelung der Hunderassen in Hanover in 1879, a dog named 'Schnautzer' took first place in the Rauche Pinscher or Wire-haired Pinscher class.

The Schnauzers – Miniature, Standard and Giant – originated in southern Germany; they share a common history with the Miniature and German Pinscher. Dogs of this type – both rough-haired and smooth-haired, and of various sizes – were traditionally kept as carriage dogs or as stable dogs, and so were sometimes known as ; they were capable ratters. Dogs of both coat types were known as "Pinscher", and came from the same lineage; rough-haired and smooth-haired puppies could occur in the same litter. The rough-haired type, which would later become the Schnauzer, was also known as the or .

In 1880 the Pinscher was recorded in the , the stud-book of the , and the first breed standard was drawn up. Various colours were described for the rough-haired type, including iron-grey, silver-grey, grey-yellow, corn-yellow and rust-yellow. An illustration by Jean Bungartz in , published in 1888, shows both standard- and miniature-sized rough-haired Pinschers (). In 1895 described five varieties of Pinscher – the rough- and smooth-haired Pinscher, the rough- and smooth-haired Miniature Pinscher, and the Affenpinscher. Also in 1895, a breed society, the , was established for both types, both rough- and smooth-haired. Another society, the , was formed in Munich in 1907 by breeders of the Mittelschnauzer. In 1917, with the sixth edition of the stud-book, the name of the rough-haired breed was officially changed from Rauhaarige Pinscher to Schnauzer. In 1918 the and the merged to form the , which in 1921 changed its name to the present

The Miniature Schnauzer was definitively accepted by the in 1955. In the fifteen-year period from 2010 to 2024, annual registrations in Germany varied between and – an annual average of – for a total of , or just under of the total of approximately dogs registered in the fifteen-year period. In a census published by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale in 2013, the Miniature Schnauzer was listed tenth of the most-registered breeds world-wide, with of a total of dogs; data was supplied by members of the federation and also by the kennel clubs of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United states.

A small number of Miniature Schnauzers were exported to the United States in 1924. In 1925 the Wire-Haired Pinscher Club of America was started, covering both Standard and Miniature Schnauzers; in 1933 it was divided into two separate clubs, one of them the American Miniature Schnauzer Club.

<!---The earliest records surrounding the development of the Standard Schnauzer in Germany come from the late 19th century. They were originally bred to be medium-sized farm dogs in Germany, equally suited to ratting, herding, and guarding property. As time passed, farmers bred the Standard Schnauzer into a smaller, more compact size for ratting by combining it, according to cynologist theorization, with one or more small breeds such as the Affenpinscher and Miniature Poodle, Miniature Pinscher, the KC, ANKC and NZKC include it in the Utility Group, while by the AKC, UKC and CKC the Miniature Schnauzer is classed in the Terrier Group.

The start of the modern Miniature Schnauzer in the United States is considered to have a beginning in 1924 when four dogs were imported from Germany. It is argued that almost all American-bred Miniatures partly descend from them, and between 1926 and 1936, 108 more dogs were imported. One of the most notable champions was Ch. Dorem Display, born in 1945 and lived to be nearly fourteen. Miniature Schnauzers are known for their signature bearded muzzle. Recognized coat colors are black, pepper and salt, black and silver, and pure white; pepper and salt coloration is where coat hairs have banded shades of black, gray and silver, fading to a gray or silver at the eyebrows, whiskers, underbody and legs.

Schnauzers are characterized by a rectangular head with bushy beard, mustache, and eyebrows; teeth that meet in a "scissor bite"; oval and dark colored eyes; and v-shaped, natural forward-folding ears (when cropped, the ears point straight upward and come to a sharp point). Their tails are naturally thin and short, and may be docked (where permitted). They will also have very straight, rigid front legs, and feet that are short and round (so-called "cat feet") with thick, black pads.

North American white coat controversy

White is one of four color varieties of the Miniature Schnauzer currently recognized by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale. However, they are not accepted for conformation showing by the American Kennel Club and Canadian Kennel Club. The controversy rests on the disputed origins of the white variation, namely whether it was contained within the genes of the originally recognized breed, or whether it was the result of subsequent modifications. Since the other two schnauzer types have never been available in a white variation, and the original German standard never included white as an acceptable color, the American Miniature Schnauzer Club chooses not to recognize white.

20080420 LunaHallett (cropped).jpg|The black

Питомник "Ассон Ари" Цвергшнауцеры белые и черные с серебром 14 (cropped).jpg|The black-and-silver

Miniature Schauzer (11120917415).jpg|The salt-and-pepper

White dog playing with a dusting broom.jpg|The white

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Temperament

The American Kennel Club breed standard describes temperament as "alert and spirited, yet obedient to command ... friendly, intelligent and willing to please... never overaggressive or timid". While the Miniature Schnauzer is included in the Terrier Group in North America (due to rat-catching background), it does not have common ancestry with Terriers from Great Britain,

Health

A UK study found a life expectancy of 13.3 years for the breed, higher than the 12 year average for crossbreeds. A study in Japan for pet cemetery data found a life expectancy of 13.4 years, below the overall average of 13.7 years and the 15.3 year average for crossbreeds below 10 kg.

A Japanese study found a significant predisposition to gall bladder mucoceles for the Miniature Schnauzer with a 5.23 odds ratio.

A North American study found the breed to be predisposed to congenital portosystemic shunts, with 1% of Miniature Schnauzers having the condition compared to 0.05% for mixed-breed dogs.

Miniature Schnauzers are also prone to von Willebrand disease (vWD). vWD in dogs is an inherited bleeding disorder that occurs due to qualitative or quantitative deficiency of von Willebrand factor (vWF), a multimeric protein that is required for platelet adhesion.

The breed is predisposed to atopic dermatitis.

Schnauzer comedo syndrome is a type of follicular keratinisation defect found exclusively in the Miniature Schnauzer that is similar to nevus comedonicus in humans. The condition is characterised by small comedones developing on the dorsal spine (back) of the dog. The condition is believed to be caused by an inherited developmental defect in hair follicles, causing abnormal keratinisation and subsequently comedo formation, follicular plugging, and secondary bacterial folliculitis which leads to alopecia and crusting.

<!---ref name=geh2>Die Rote Liste im Überblick (in German). Witzenhausen: Gesellschaft zur Erhaltung alter und gefährdeter Haustierrassen. Archived 16 October 2022.</ref>

de:Schnauzer#Zwergschnauzer