[New and Revised Edition]

BOOK TWO, PURE BRED DOGS:

THE RECOGNIZED BREEDS AND STANDARDS

COPYRIGHT 1935, 1938, BY THE AMERICAN KENNEL CLUB

BREED STANDARDS

CORRECTED TO

SEPTEMBER 1, 1951

Group V

PINSCHERS (MINIATURE)

(By Courtesy of The Miniature Pinscher Club of America, Inc.)

DESCRIPTION AND STANDARD OF POINTS

(Adopted by The Miniature Pinscher Club of America, Inc and

Approved by The American Kennel Club February 11, 1950)

     General Appearance. – The Miniature Pinscher was originated in Germany and named the “Reh Pinscher” due to his resemblance in structure and animation to a very small specie of deer found in the forests.  This breed is structurally a well-balanced, sturdy, compact, short-coupled, smooth-coated toy dog.  He is naturally well groomed, proud, vigorous and alert.  The natural characteristic traits which identify him from other toy dogs are his precise Hackney gait, his fearless animation, complete self-possession, and his spirited presence.

     Faults: Structurally lacking in balance, too long or short-coupled, too coarse or too refined (lacking in bone development causing poor feet and legs), too large or too small, lethargic, timid or dull, shy or vicious, low in tail placement and poor in action (action not typical of the breed requirements).  Knotty over-developed muscles.

     Head. – In correct proportion with the body.

From Top:  Tapering, narrow with well-fitted but not too prominent foreface which should balance with the skull.  No indication of coarseness.

From Front:  Skull appears flat, tapering forward toward the muzzle.  Muzzle itself strong rather than fine and delicate, and in proportion to the head as a whole; cheeks and lips small, taut and closely adherent to each other.  Teeth in perfect alignment and apposition.

From Side:  Well-balanced with only a slight drop to the muzzle, which should be parallel to the top of the skull.

Eyes:  Full, slightly oval, almost round, clear, bright and dark to a true black; set wide apart and fitted well into the sockets.

Ears:  Well-set and firmly placed, upstanding (when cropped, pointed and carried erect in balance with the head).

Nose:  Black only (with the exception of chocolates which may have a self-colored nose.

     Faults. – Too large or too small for the body, too coarse or too refined, pinched and weak in foreface, domed in skull, too flat and lacking in chiseling giving a vapid expression.  Jaws and teeth overshot of undershot.  Eyes too round and full, too large, bulging, too deep-set or set too far apart; or too small, set too close (pig eyes).  Light colored eyes not desirable.  Ears poorly placed, low-set hanging ears (lacking in cartilage) which detract from head conformation.  (Poorly cropped ears if set on the head properly and having sufficient cartilage should not detract from head points, as this would be a man-made fault and automatically would detract from general appearance.)  Nose any color other than black (with the exception of chocolates which may have a self-colored nose).

     Neck. – Proportioned to head and body.  Slightly arched, gracefully curved, clean and firm, blending into shoulders, length well-balanced, muscular and free from a suggestion of dewlap or throatiness.

     Faults: Too straight or too curved; too thick or too thin; too long or short; knotty muscles; loose, flabby or wrinkled skin.

     Body.

From the Top:  Compact, slightly wedge-shaped, muscular with well-sprung ribs.

From Side:  Depth of brisket, the base line of which is level with the points of the elbows; short and strong in loin with belly moderately tucked up to denote grace in structural form.  Back level or slightly sloping toward the rear.  Length of males equals height at withers.  Females may be slightly longer.

From Rear:  High tail-set; strong, sturdy upper shanks, with croup slope at about 30 degrees; vent opening not barreled.

Fore Quarters:  Forechest well-developed and full, moderately broad, shoulders clean, sloping with moderate angulation, coordinated to permit the true action of the Hackney pony.

Hind Quarters:  Well-knit muscular quarters set wide enough apart to fit into a properly balanced body.

     Faults:  From Top – too long, too short, too barreled, lacking in body development.  From side – too long, too short, too thin or too fat, hips higher or considerable lower than the withers, lacking depth of chest, too full in loin, sway back, roach back or wry back.  From rear – quarters too wide or too close to each other, overdeveloped, barreled vent, under-developed vent, too sloping croup, tail set low.  Fore quarters – forechest and spring of rib too narrow (or too shallow and under-developed), shoulders too straight, too loose, or too short and overloaded with muscles.  Hind quarters – too narrow, under- or over-muscled, too steep in croup.

     Head. – The head should be in correct proportion to the body.  As viewed from the side – elongated and tapering, with only a slight drop to the muzzle, which should be parallel to the top of the skull.  As viewed from the top – narrow with well fitted but not too prominent foreface.  As viewed from the front – the skull appears flat, tapering forward to the muzzle.  Muzzle itself strong rather than fine and delicate and in proportion to the head as a whole’ cheeks and lips small, taut and closely adherent to each other.  Teeth in perfect alignment and apposition.

     Faults. – Too big or too small for body, too short or coarse, too long or fine or distorted, top too broad, foreface too prominent, skull too round or hollow with too much stop, poor teeth, jaws undershot or overshot.

     Eyes. – Full, slightly oval, almost round, clear and bright, dark, even to a true black, set wide apart and fitted well into the sockets.

     Faults. – Too round and full, too small or large, too bulging or deep-set, too close or far apart.

     Ears. – Well set, and placed, firm, upstanding (or when legal, cropped short, pointed and upstanding).

     Faults. – Poorly set, placed low, weak or hanging, or poorly cropped.

     Nose. – Black in black and tan, red or stag red.

     Faults. – Brown or spotted in black and tan, red or stag red.

     Neck. – Slightly arched, and gracefully curved, blending into the shoulders, relatively short, muscular, and free from throatiness.  Length from occiput to withers equal distance from nose to occiput.

     Faults. – Too straight or too curved.  Too thick or too thin.  Too long or short, knotty muscles, loose, flabby or wrinkled skin.

     Body. – Compact, wedge shaped, muscular with well spring ribs, the base line of which is level with the points of the elbows; well knit muscular quarters set wide apart, with back level or slightly sloping towards the rear.  Length of males equals height, females may be slightly longer.

     Faults. – Chest too narrow or barrel shaped, quarters too wide or too close to each other, too thin or too fat, sloping rump, swayback, roachback, wryback, hips higher or considerable lower than shoulders.

     Legs and Feet. – Straight and upstanding as viewed from the front or rear with strong bone development and small joints; viewed from side – all adjacent bones should appear well angulated with well muscled stifles, short well developed hocks, well-knit flexible pasterns, strong, well-arched and closely knit toes with thick blunt nails.

     Faults. – Bow or X-legs – too thick or too thin bone development, large joints, thin stifles, large or crooked hocks, floating knee caps, weak pasterns, spreading flat feet, feet turning in or out..

     Tail. – Set high, broad, held erect and cropped 1 to 2 inches.

     Faults. – Set too low, too thin, drooping, hanging or poorly cropped.

     Legs and Feet. – Strong bone development and small clean joints; fett catlike, toes strong, well-arched and closely-knit with deep pads and thick, blunt nails.

            Fore Legs and Feet:  As viewed from the front straight and upstanding, elbows close to body, well-knit, flexible yet strong with perpendicular pasterns.

            Hind Legs:  All adjacent bones should appear well-angulated with well-muscled thighs or upper shanks, with clearly well-defined stifles, hocks short, set well apart turning neither in nor out, while at reat should stand perpendicular to the ground and upper shanks, lower shanks and hocks parallel to each other.

     Faults: Too thick or think bone development, large joints, spreading flat feet.  Fore legs and feet – bowed or crooked, weak pasterns, feet turning in or out, loose elbows.  Hind legs – think undeveloped stifles, large or crooked hocks, loose stifle joints.

     Tail. – Set high, held erect, docked to ½ to 1 inch.

     Faults:  Set too low, too thin, drooping, hanging or poorly docked.

     Coat. – Smooth, hard and short, straight and lustrous, closely adhering to and uniformly coving the body.

     Faults:  Thin, too long, dull; upstanding; curly; dry; area of various thickness or bald spots.

     Color

1.      Solid red or stag red.

2.      Lustrous black with sharply defined tan, rust-red markings on cheeks, lips, lower jaw, throat, twin spots above eyes and chest, lower half of fore legs, inside of hind legs and vent region, lower portion of hocks and feet.  Black pencil striped on toes.

3.      Solid brown or chocolate with rust or yellow markings.

Faults: Any color other than listed; very dark or sooty spots.

                 Disqualifications—thumb marks or any area of white on feet or forechest exceeding one-half (½) inch in its longest dimension.

     Size and Weight. – Size to range from 10 inches to 12½ inches at the withers, with a preference of 11 inches to 11½ inches, weight to be governed by size and condition ranging from 6 to 9 lbs. for males and 6½ to 10 lbs. for females. A squarely built specimen within the size limit, in condition, will conform to weight range.  It is recommended that at all dog shows prescribed size and weight will be governed by condition.

Faults: Over-size; under-size; too fat; too lean.

SCALE OF POINTS

                                                                          Points

General Appearance and Movement—(very important

                      ……..……..……………     30

Skull …………………………………       5

Muzzle  ..…………………………….        5

Mouth .……………………………….       5

Eyes ………………………………….       5

Ears ………………………………….       5

Neck …………………………………       5

Body …………………………………     15

Feet ……………………………….….       5

Legs ………………………………….       5

Color ……….…………………………      5

Coat ………..………………………….     5

Tail …………………………………..       5

                                                                             -------

            Total number of points …….     100

DISQUALIFICATIONS

     Color. – Thumb marks or any area of white on feet or forechest exceeding one-half (½) inch in its longest dimension.