Miniature Pinscher

The Miniature Pinscher is a small German terrier-type dog with a high-stepping hackney gait — and, despite the name and the resemblance, not a scaled-down Dobermann.

History

It is the older of the two: German pinschers of this size were killing rats in stables long before the Dobermann was created in the 1890s. The English name has caused the confusion ever since; in German it is the Zwergpinscher, the dwarf pinscher.

Temperament

The breed is known for being fearless, energetic and self-assured — a small dog with a great deal of opinion, quick to sound an alarm and quick to escape a garden it finds boring.

Care and training

It needs more exercise than its size suggests and secure fencing, since it climbs and digs. Training benefits from consistency and from starting early; the short coat needs almost nothing, but a small thin-coated dog feels the cold.

Health

Known tendencies include patellar luxation, Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease and inherited eye conditions. These are patterns for the breed rather than a forecast for one dog; the measured facts are in the panel.