Its development as a breed dates from the 1880s, in southern Germany.[4]: 40 It is a robust and squarely-built dog of medium size, of workingorutility type; the coat may be salt-and-pepper or black. A dog of this type was exhibited in Hanover in 1879; another was "Best in Show" at the Westminster Kennel Club in the United States in 1997.[5]
The name of the breed derives from the German word schnauz, meaning 'snout',[citation needed] but how it came to be applied to the breed is unknown.[6]: 482 The word schnauzer appears in the Bilder und Sagen aus der SchweizofJeremias Gotthelf, published in 1842.[6]: 482 'Schnauz' was a common name for a dog – several dogs with this name were shown in Elberfeld in 1880.[7]: 149 At the third international dog show of the Verein zur Veredelung der HunderasseninHanover in 1879, a dog named 'Schnautzer' took first place in the Rauche Pinscher or Wire-haired Pinscher class.[7]: 149 The name of the breed was officially changed from Rauhaarige Pinscher to Schnauzer with the sixth edition of the stud-book in 1917.[6]: 482
The Schnauzer originated in southern Germany;[8] it shares a common history with the German Pinscher.[9] Dogs of this type, both rough-haired and smooth-haired, were traditionally kept as carriage dogs or as stable dogs, and so were sometimes known as Stallpinscher; they were capable ratters.[9] Both types were known as Deutscher Pinscher, and came from the same lineage; rough-haired and smooth-haired puppies could occur in the same litter.[9] The rough-haired type, which would later become the Schnauzer, was also known as the Rattler.[9][10]: 152
In 1880 the Pinscher was recorded in the Deutschen Hundestammbuch of the Verein zur Veredelung der Hunderassen,[11] and the first breed standard was drawn up.[6]: 482 Various colours were described for the rough-haired type, including iron-grey, silver-grey, grey-yellow, corn-yellow and rust-yellow.[6]: 482 In 1895 Ludwig Beckmann [de] described five varieties of Pinscher – the rough- and smooth-haired Pinscher, the rough- and smooth-haired Miniature Pinscher, and the Affenpinscher.[9][10]: 152 Also in 1895, a breed society, the Pinscherklub, was established for both types, both rough- and smooth-haired.[11][12] Another society, the Schnauzerklub München, was formed in Munich in 1907 by breeders of the Mittelschnauzer.[12] 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.[6]: 482 In 1918 the Pinscherklub and the Schnauzerklub München merged to form the Pinscher-Schnauzer-Verband, which in 1921 changed its name to the present Pinscher-Schnauzer-Klub 1895 e.V.[12]
In the interwar period the pepper-and-salt Schnauzer flourished, while the black was less often seen; after the end of the Second World War, the reverse was true.[12] The Schnauzer was definitively accepted by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale in 1955.[13] In the fifteen-year period from 2007 to 2021, annual registrations in Germany varied between 370 and 582, with an annual average of 464.[14]
A few Schnauzers were exported to the United States before the outbreak of the First World War. In 1925 the Wire-Haired Pinscher Club of America was started, covering both standard-sized and miniature Schnauzers; in 1933 it was divided into two separate clubs, one of them the Standard Schnauzer Club of America.[17]: 108
The Schnauzer is a robust and squarely-built dog of medium size, of workingorutility type. The coat is hard, wiry and dense, with a thick soft under-coat.[18] It may be salt-and-pepper or black; in the salt-and-pepper, the grey may vary from pale silver-grey to dark iron-grey.[12] Salt-and-pepper dogs have a black mask. The ears are set high and drooping; the eyes are dark.[12]
Overall, the Standard Schnauzer is a very healthy breed. The 2008 health survey done by the Standard Schnauzer Club of America revealed that roughly only 1% of dogs surveyed had serious health issues.[19]
^Mittelschnauzer (Pfeffer und Salz) (in German). Witzenhausen: Gesellschaft zur Erhaltung alter und gefährdeter Haustierrassen. Archived 20 October 2022.