Standard Schnauzer History

This article was originally published in Showsight Magazine, June 2014 issue.

Standard Schnauzer History

As with most breeds, the precise origin of the Standard Schnauzer is lost in time. We know that medium-sized, rough-coated dogs were widespread in Europe in the Middle Ages, as they were often depicted in art of the period, e.g., this 15th-century woodcut by Albrecht Dürer (see Figure 1). This ancestral schnauzer was large enough to protect the home and farm, take livestock to market, and dispatch vermin, but not so large as to consume scarce resources.

For hundreds of years, they were bred only for their utility to man. No one paid particular attention to a dog’s exact size or conformation as long as it could do its job. They were tough, wiry, hardy, biddable dogs tending to a medium size. Although a distinctive “type,” they were not yet a breed and were not “purebred” in any modern sense of the word.

In 1832, Johann Baumeister described the bentchur (pinscher) or rattenfänger (rat catcher) of southern Germany, the modern schnauzer’s immediate ancestor: “The dog has a rather round head with lively eyes, an excellent bite, and a snout covered with rough-haired whiskers. His legs are strongly muscled and equipped with strong nails. His body is short and his tail is usually docked. The topcoat is not too long, but wiry…” German dog books of the time also displayed illustrations of the rauhhaarige pinscher—Wire-haired Pinscher.

At first, the European leisure class had little interest in this rough, utilitarian dog of the countryside. But by the mid-1800s, they attracted the notice of German dog fanciers and became more systematically bred. Dogs of that era were initially quite variable in appearance, with rough and smooth coats in the same litter, a wide range of height and weight, odd colors, and so forth.

In the late 1870s, with the establishment of the German national kennel club, the two coat types were officially separated into wire and smooth pinschers, and the first Breed Standards were written. Color and size also began to be stabilized; crosses may have been made at this time with gray Wolfspitz and black German Poodle to produce the distinctive pepper/salt and black colors seen in today’s Schnauzers.

Wire-haired Pinschers were first exhibited at a Hamburg dog show in 1879. By the turn of the century, they had become almost universally known as Schnauzer; either a reference to the breed’s hallmark—a muzzle (schnauze) sporting a bristly beard and mustache—or to an early show winner of that name. Although recognizable as Schnauzers, they differed significantly in structure and appearance from what we would consider ideal today (see Figure 2). Most had rather short heads, long bodies with uncertain toplines, and possessed steep fronts and long hocks. Grooming was of the “rough and ready” sort, and coats ranged from very tight and hard to loose and tousled.

Standard Schnauzers from the 1920s still look old-fashioned, but by the 1930s, dogs of more modern type and structure began to appear, e.g., the German Seiger Dolf von Glockenspiel (see Figure 3). In this decade, the German Pinscher-Schnauzer Klub produced a figurine of the “ideal Standard Schnauzer” (see Figure 4) to guide judges and breeders. Fanciers today would agree that this square, robust, well-angulated dog with good forechest and arched neck displays desired features for Schnauzers of any era. The sparse furnishings (preferred in Germany at the time) only accentuate the dog’s correct structure and proportions.

Coming to America

The first importations of Standard Schnauzers to the United States occurred around 1900, but only after World War I did the breed reach this country in any significant number. These earliest imports were made by a small number of wealthy dog fanciers who recognized the worth of the wiry German breed and who laid the groundwork for the Standard Schnauzer in America.

Schnauzers (standard and miniature were then considered varieties) were first shown in the Working Group and quickly amassed enviable show records. Mrs. Nion Tucker imported the German Seiger Claus von Furstenwall for the then-unheard-of sum of $7000; Claus won ten Bests in Show from 1925 to 1929, a record unbroken for decades. Photos of Claus show a dog typical of the Twenties, but the next two decades would show tremendous evolution in breed quality and type.

After the Great Depression, these earlier kennels were replaced by names that would come to dominate competition and breeding for several decades. Two imports arrived whose descendants had widespread influence in this country. In 1935, Seiger Nickel St. Gallus (see Figure 5) was imported by Mrs. Joseph Sailer. He was an outstanding show dog “in his coat of light gray,” winning groups on both coasts. The product of a brother-sister mating, he also proved a fabulously prepotent sire.

Nickel’s influence persists to this day, primarily through his linebred son Ch. Chief of Staff, owned by showman Bobby Burns Berman, and grandson Ch. Major Pfeffer (see Figure 6), owned by Mary Nelson Stephenson. Top kennels of the 50s and 60s in the West included Stone Pine (Aronstams) and RickNPat (Dankwerths), both based on Nickel’s lineage.

In the East, Seiger Arco v. Konigshof was imported by Winifrede Atkinson, and from him sprang the influential Winalesby line. Atkinson’s kennel dominated show competition of the era, with multiple BIS dogs and National wins. Her dogs formed the foundation of many famous kennels, primarily through Arco’s son Ch. Arno of Langhurst, grandson Ch. Winalesby Volsung, and his two sons Ch. Winalesby Reital (see Figure 7) and Ch. Winalesby Volzeck.

These bloodlines were the foundation for the very influential Von Volken line (Boynton) and other top Eastern kennels of the 50s and 60s. A Reital daughter, Ch. Pfeffer von Volken, made history when her owners, Virginia and Rudy Rothe, moved to Germany. Winner of the SSCA National in 1955, she topped the PSK National at the age of eight. So impressed were the German breed authorities that they persuaded the Rothes to breed her once more to a top German sire. From her litter came two dogs that would make major contributions to the breed, both here and in Europe: Int. Chs. Fürst and Flicka von Hahlweg.

Black Standard Schnauzers first arrived on this continent when Ch. Brock v. Lubich was imported in 1935. He became the first AKC black champion and was the sire of both black and pepper and salt champions, including several for Winalesby. Interestingly, Brock was, through a black daughter, the great-grandsire of Ch. Chief of Staff.

The breed was evolving quickly as breeders utilized these imports to develop distinct American lines. Dogs of the 1930s and 1940s were approaching modern type, and the best dogs of the 1950s, such as Ch. Roberto’s Conquistador, winner of the 1958 SSCA National, would hold their own today. Breeders were striving for shorter, more robust bodies with the angulation and movement correct for a working breed.

Modern Time

The final decades of the 20th century saw the emergence of new kennels, many still active today. Two imports and a home-bred were among the show stars of the period. Int. Ch. Pavo de la Steingasse, a Swiss black imported by Margaret Smith, won the SSCA National in 1970 and 1971 but topped that with a historic Group First at the 1971 Westminster. The Adel’s home-bred, Ch. Charisma Café Diable, was a multiple BIS winner of the late ’70s and early ’80s. He is a direct descendant of Ch. Pfeffer von Volken on both his sire and dam’s side.

The second import soared to even greater heights—Ch. Parsifal di Casa Netzer, an Italian dog bred by Gabrio Del Torre and owned by him and Rita Holloway, won Best in Show at Westminster in 1997. “Pa” amassed an enviable show record and is, in fact, one of the top Working Dog winners in AKC history.

In the decades following, a number of Standard Schnauzers have been consistent Group and Best in Show winners, all tracing their ancestry directly back to the top winners and producers of the last century.

While breeders continue to import dogs from abroad, American-breds have also gone back “across the pond” to make their mark as show dogs and producers. Fortunately, Standard Schnauzers have not evolved into distinct “American” and “European” types, although we do disagree on grooming! (What impact the tail-docking bans will have in the future is, at present, unknown.)

The annual AKC registration of Standard Schnauzers remains stable at about 600 a year, with active breeders throughout the country. The breed remains one dominated by the small owner-breeder-exhibitor, continuing the Standard Schnauzer’s role through the centuries as a hardy, reliable, affectionate, and trustworthy family dog.