HISTORY OF
Standard Schnauzers IN AMERICA
OUT OF THE MISTS OF THE PAST
BY SUZANNE T. SMITH, WÜSTEFUCHS STANDARD SCHNAUZERS SINCE 1967
T he bold, bewhiskered Standard Schnauzer is a high- spirited farm dog from the area around Bavaria and Württemberg in Germany. A breed of great antiq- uity, recognizable Standard Schnauzers appear in art as early as the 15th century. The Standard Schnauzer ( Mit- telschnauzer , or medium Schnauzer) is the prototype for two Schnauzer breeds developed much later—the late 19th century Miniature Schnauzer ( Zwergschnauzer ) and the mid-20th cen- tury Giant Schnauzer ( Riesenschnauzer ). Schnauz , the German word for “snout,” colloquially means “moustache” or “whiskered snout.” The correct pronunciation of the “z” is “ts” (as in “Mozart”), but rarely is it heard in the US. TYPE AND TEMPERAMENT Hallmarks of the breed (type) include a wiry, tight-fitting, pepper-and-salt or pure black coat with a soft, short undercoat of gray or fawn, or black for black coats; a robust, square-built frame; an elongated (rectangular) head furnished with arched eyebrows and bristly whiskers that frame oval, dark brown eyes gleaming with keen intelligence. A courageous “stand-firm- against-all-comers” attitude is part of Standard Schnauzer type as well—no wimps need apply here. Speculations from the breed’s distant past say that the Schnau- zer, then called the rough-coated Pinscher, originated by out- crossing the black German Poodle and the gray Wolfspitz with rough-coated Pinscher stock. The Pinscher element brings in the fawn-colored undercoats, and the Wolfspitz contributes the typi- cal pepper-and-salt coat color with its harsh, wiry character. Researchers at the University of California at Davis who have been studying the genetic inheritance of canine coats say that the arched eyebrows, bristly mustache and whiskers of the Schnau- zer come from a dominant variant of the R-spondin-2 gene.
Acceptable SS coat colors (salt-and-pepper or solid black) result from the Agouti Signaling Protein (ASIP) gene. Salt-and-pepper coats express the dominant allele of the agouti gene. The dark coat has eumelanin pigment bands (black/brown presented as black), and the lighter coat has pheomelanin pigment bands (red/ yellow faded to cream/white), both of which occur on the same hair shaft. These bands appear on the dog’s neck, shoulders, back, and rump, usually looking lighter on the chest, belly, and inside the legs. The recessive all-black Schnauzer coat originally resulted from mating two dogs carrying the ASIP gene’s recessive black allele; Schnauzers with this genotype will have a solid black base coat (no cream/white), which they pass on to all of their offspring. PURPOSE: THEN AND NOW In the Middle Ages, Schnauzers evolved in the fertile farm country of Bavaria when farmers and herders needed a reliable, fearless, all-purpose farm dog. Multitasking Schnauzers earned their keep as ratters, herders, guardians, and hunters: • protecting the farmer, his family, and farm workers; • herding livestock (and occasionally children); • protecting livestock from predators, both two-legged and four-legged; • hunting and ridding the farm of vermin; and • guarding people, property, and merchandise going to and from markets. The Schnauzer’s medium size fit perfectly into market carts without occupying space for wares. His over-large, sharp, gleam- ing teeth and his loud, deep, hearty bark—the bark of a much bigger dog—served as powerful deterrents to those who were up to no good. The Schnauzer is called “the dog with the human brain” by virtue of his intelligence and fearlessness.
SHOWSIGHT MAGAZINE, FEBRUARY 2022 | 253
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