7d • Breed of the Week
Schnauzer
Lo and behold we have ourselves another German dog: the Schnauzer aka the Wire-Coated German Schnauzer. The breed comes in three sizes: the miniature, the standard and the giant. The standard is the original size and was used for guarding their owners when going to the market, ridding the property of vermin and were known to be tough and reliable. The “schnauze” part of the breeds name is German for “snout” or “muzzle” which is most likely in reference to their bearded faces.
As with most breeds the exact origin of the Standard Schnauzer is lost to history but we do know that the Standard Schnauzers of the Middle Ages did not look like the Schnauzers of today. During their early years a breed standard, as we know it today, did not exist at this time for the Schnauzer. As long as the dog was tough, wiry, hardy, biddable, of medium size and could do his job then that was the dog the family wanted. This is what the people cared about.
It wasn’t until the mid 1800s that German dog enthusiasts noticed rough and capable breed and decided to have it more systematically bred. Much like with the spaniels there was much variety per litter of coat type, color, size and weight of the dogs. Something to note is the Schnauzer appearance that we are familiar with today does have a known predecessor: the wire and smooth coated pinschers. These dogs were crossbred with gray Wolfspitz and a black German Poodle to generate the salt/pepper coat we see and recognize today.
Developed in the late 19th Century the Miniature Schnauzer came to be by crossing a standard with Affenpinschers and poodles and even though they were smaller the Miniature Schnauzer still had skills that they were excellent at. This included rat hunting, guarding and herding. I have met many Miniature Schnauzers both in and out of the vet field and as a household pet they can come across as “too big for their britches” and this could very well be why!
Lastly, the Giant Schnauzer was developed by crossing a standard with various large working dogs such as Bouviers des Flandres and later a black Great Dane according to one source. This was done by the Bavarian cattlemen who wanted a cattle dog like the Standard Schnauzer but bigger. Their original purpose was cattle driving dogs but later became guard dogs then police dogs.
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Schnauzer
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