Original Works of art

The three Schnauzers, Giant, Standard and Miniature, are three separate and distinct breeds, the Standard being the original. It is a very old German breed that appears in many paintings from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. Albrecht Dürer is known to have owned one, and it is depicted several times in his works between the years 1492 and 1504. Rembrandt and Reynolds also painted Schnauzers, and one appears in a tapestry by Lucas Cranach the Elder dated 1501. As far as can be determined, the Standard Schnauzer originated from the crossing of black German Poodles, the gray Wolfspitz and wire-haired Pinscher stock. It was used mainly as a rat catcher, and as guard dog.

The Miniature Schnauzer is a smaller version of the Standard Schnauzer. It is thought to have been developed by breeding German Affenpinschers, Miniature Pinschers and Poodles with small Standard Schnauzers. It was established as a distinct breed in 1899.

Developed for use as a cattle and driver dog, the Giant Schnauzer principally descends from rough- and smooth-haired German sheep and cattle dogs. Much later, there were crossings with the black Great Dane. It is also believed that the breed is closely related to the Bouvier des Flandres. Once known as the "Munchener," in 1909 a club to further the interests of the breed was formed in Munich. About thirty black dogs had been shown during the same year under the name Russian Bear Schnauzers. They came from the Bavarian Highlands where they had been bred for generations by farmers and cattle dealers. The breed was later adopted by the Pinscher Club and given the name Giant Schnauzer. The breed was classified as a working dog in 1925.

Pinschers and Schnauzers are two distinctly German types, but the families have many traits in common. Although the Pinscher group has existed for many centuries, its exact origins are controversial; even as late as 1890 the great fancier of both Pinschers and Schnauzers, Bertya described the breed as a confused mixture of types, colours, hair textures and sizes. The first Pinscher Club was founded in 1895 in Cologne and the Bayerische Schnauzer Club, an organization to further the interests of the Munich Schnauzer (now known as the Giant Schnauzer) was formed in Munich in 1907. In 1923 these two clubs amalgamated to form the present Pinscher-Schnauzer Club.