Orgin of the Giant Schnauzer

The Pinscher-Schnauzer-Klub is the German registry for the pinscher breeds. All of these breeds are related and came from common ancestors. There are other pinscher breeds in other countries -- e.g.. Austrian Pinscher -- but these are not PSK breeds. All the breeds originated from medium-sized active dogs of general spitz type in the middle ages, and early on came in rough and smooth-coated versions. The breeds were standardized in the mid-19th century. Even then, smooth and rough pinschers would occur in the same litter but eventually separated into Pinscher and Schnauzer breeds. The Schnauzer was known alternatively as Wire-haired Pinscher well into the beginning of the 20th century. Smaller versions of the rough-haired pinschers developed into the Affenpinscher with some probable crosses with toy breeds, and the Miniature Schnauzer from smaller schnauzers (American texts say crossed with Affens, but German texts say both small breeds developed independently). The history of the Giant is not clear -- it was the breed of the Bavarian royalty and apparently large schnauzers appeared in portraits of dukes etc. in the late 19th century. Werner Jung, the guru of the PSK in the mid-20th century, writes that perfectly former Giant Schnauzers appeared at dog shows around the turn of the century and essentially blew everyone away. Their development was apparently somewhat "behind closed doors" but obviously medium schnauzers plus probable crosses to larger herding breeds or even black Deutsche Dogge (Great Dane) were made. The smooth pinschers developed into Miniature Pinschers and German or Standard Pinschers. The latter had salt and pepper individuals until about WW II, but that variety is now extinct. The GP itself almost went extinct after WWII but Jung and others went around to villages and found excellent albeit unregistered specimens to breed to the few registered dogs to revive the breed. Supposedly Louis Dobermann used a smooth pinscher bitch from the pound (he was a dog warden) as one of the foundations of the Dobermann Pinscher. Jung considers the Dobermann the smooth-coated equivalent of the Giant but it is registered separately and in Germany they no longer even use the "pinscher" name. (It is the Dobermann).