Miniature Pinscher

A Miniature Pinscher is a small breed of dog, often called a Min Pin or "King of Toys". Owners and enthusiasts describe them as adorable and sweet, but also bold and fearless.

Although many assume they are miniature Doberman Pinschers, the Dobermans are a much newer breed. The Min Pins are instead thought to have been bred from German Pinschers, a couple different Terrier breeds, and probably the Dachshund, and Italian Greyhound.

Anatomy
The Miniature Pinscher has a very compact, sleek, sturdy look. They have a very short, smooth coat, which makes them look very well groomed. Miniature Pinschers come in a lot of different colors; the colors accepted by the American Kennel Club are solid red, stag red, black and tan, and chocolate and tan. Min Pins that are blue, dilute red, and dilute chocolate, aren’t allowed to be in the AKC confirmation ring, but they’re allowed to be in obedience or agility competitions. If a Min Pin is backyard bred dog, (when the breeder of the dog doesn’t know much about the dog, and may just be breeding the dog once, for a little extra money) or from a puppy mill, (the dogs are treated horribly and aren’t cared for, and really unhealthy, just there for making money) it might have white hair. 

A Min Pin is small, it’s height usually about ten to twelve and a half inches, for both male and female, and usually about 8-10 pounds when their around that height. Their small size and short fur makes them cold easily, so they need to be kept warm in cold weather. 

Between the middle of a Min Pin’s eyes and nose is called it’s foreface or muzzle. Just barely above it’s eyes is called it’s stop. Inside a Miniature Pinscher's head is it's skull, which is what makes heads hard, and at the very top left and right sides of the head are it’s ears; their ears are usually cropped. Along it’s neck is the neckline, and it’s withers are right at the bottom of a Min Pin’s neck. The Min Pin’s shoulders are right at the top of their legs. Their neck blends into their shoulders and goes up to their ears, and their forechest starts at the very bottom of their neck. Their upper arm is the rounded part at the top of their front two legs, and their loin is right before their thighs, the rounded part on the top of their back legs. The croup is at the back of the Miniature Pinscher, right before their tail, and their tail is almost always docked. Their elbows are at the bottom of their upper arms, and their pastern is down farther, the joint between their two bones. A Miniature Pinscher’s rib cage is where the dog’s ribs are, and their knees are right under the thighs on their back legs. The hock is in the middle of a Min Pin’s back leg bones. 

Reproduction
All dogs reproduce the same way. When a female Miniature Pinscher is spayed, then she won’t go into a heat cycle. A heat cycle lasts around three weeks, and has three very different parts, four if the dog gets pregnant. It can be a little more often, or a little less often that every 7 months. A dog can also get a fake pregnancy, where she looks and acts pregnant, but isn’t.

The first part of the heat cycle is called proestrus. During the proestrus process, the female bleeds, and may be moody, and would not want to mate with the male dog. If they did mate, it would be very rare if the female dog got pregnant. A male dog knows a female dog is in heat by hormones. The second part is called estrus. The female dog will usually stop bleeding by then, and will be very interested in mating. If copulation happens, the female dog would most likely get pregnant. The third part of the cycle is known as diestrus, the female dog doesn’t want to mate anymore, but the male is still interested. There’s only a tiny chance that the dog could get pregnant during that time.  

If the female Miniature Pinscher gets pregnant, the diestrus stage is longer. A dog is usually pregnant somewhere around 2 months. Diagnosing the pregnancy can usually be reliable around eighteen or nineteen days after the dog gets pregnant, and heartbeat can usually be recognized around twenty-three to twenty-five days after the dog gets pregnant.  

Almost always, dogs will give birth to puppies without needing help. When born, each puppy is born in a placental membrane, and the mother will usually either tear it off, or occasionally even eat it, and then break the umbilical cord. The mother dog will lick the baby to encourage breathing. Milk from the mother dog helps fight infection in the puppies. The mother dog has a lot of jobs to do to take care of the puppies. 

Domestic living


Miniature Pinschers most often now live with people in their homes, and are fed dog food, which most people will buy at stores. Miniature Pinschers can sometimes have really crazy eating habits. Sometimes a Min Pin will try to eat all of the food in the bowl as fast as possible, which makes it a lot easier for the dog to choke, so it’s important to make the dog slow down. Occasionally they will try and take food to different places around the house, and then it’s important to find out why. Some Miniature Pinschers will eat way too often, and then it’s best to set feeding times for them. The last part about how Min Pins act weird about their food is when they ignore their food. A lot of people will think that when the dog ignores their food, that the Miniature Pinscher isn’t hungry, but sometimes it’s just because of a change, or dislikes the taste, or it could be a bad health problem. 

They’re really loyal dogs, who are really protective and love to show off. They love being the center of attention, and are great in families. Socializing Miniature Pinschers is really important, especially from when they’re 8 to 12 weeks old. After they’re fourteen weeks old, it’s a lot harder to get them used to new and different things if they’re not used to meeting new and different things. They can be socialized when they’re an adult dog, too, but it would be a lot harder to get them used to new things. If not trained not to, they will bark, for as long as they think necessary at anything that seems at all different than what it’s supposed to be. Socializing a Min Pin is the difference between having a sweet and outgoing friendly Min Pin, who will play with all the big dogs, or a scared Min Pin who barks at strangers. 

They’re really smart dogs, and can learn really quickly, but that doesn’t mean they’ll listen. It can be really hard to train them if there’s something else they want to do right then. Min Pins need training, even if it’s just basic. When they learn something, they never forget it, especially if they get rewarded for it. It’s best to keep training sessions for Miniature Pinschers often, but very short, like around five to ten minutes. They really love treats, so if trained using treats they’re very motivated to listen. They will try to rule their owner’s home easily if they’re spoiled, so spoiling a Min Pin is a very bad idea.  

Miniature Pinschers have a lot of energy, so they love to be active, and will be very energetic inside if not able to go outdoors. They’re escape artists, and will be able to escape a seemingly secure backyard. If they want to, they will climb a fence to explore the rest of the neighborhood. Min Pins are really curious, and will chase cats to squirrels, and even chew anything that looks interesting or fun and small.

Breed History
Miniature Pinschers were first recorded as a breed in writing around two hundred years ago, but are thought to have first been bred much longer ago than that. A dog looking like the Miniature Pinscher is shown in old paintings and sculptures from as far back as the seventeenth century. Miniature Pinschers were first bred in Germany, and were really clever rat catchers when they lived on farms and ranches. When they were recorded in writing, they were often called Zwerg Pinchers or Dwarf Pinschers, which points out it the Miniature Pinschers were mostly German. In the German Kennel Club the Miniature Pinscher is also sometimes called the “reh Pinscher,” when talking about the red Miniature Pinschers. “Reh” was after a little red deer that used to live in forests in Germany. The Miniature Pinscher is thought to be bred from German Pinschers, a couple different Terrier breeds, and probably the Dachshund, and Italian Greyhound.

Miniature Pinschers aren’t descended at all from Doberman Pinschers, even though they’re sometimes thought to be mini Dobermans. Actually, Dobermans were bred to look like Miniature Pinschers, and were first bred in 1890, way after Miniature Pinschers were around. People in the United States sometimes think Miniature Pinschers came from Dobermans mostly because Dobermans were in the USA before Miniature Pinschers were; the first Miniature Pinschers came in 1919, and weren’t registered with the AKC until 1925. Miniature Pinschers were first in the Terrier Group with the official name of Pinscher (Toy), but were moved to the Toy group in 1930 and were renamed the Miniature Pinscher in 1972.