Kennel Club Breed Standard for the Miniature Pinscher

GENERAL APPEARANCE

Well balanced, sturdy, compact, elegant, short-coupled, smooth-coated toy dog.  Naturally well groomed, proud, vigorous and alert

CHARACTERISTICS

Precise hackney gait, fearless animation, complete self-possession and spirited presence.

TEMPERAMENT

Fearless and alert.

HEAD AND SKULL

More elongated than short and round.  Narrow, without conspicuous cheek formation.  In proportion to body.  Skull flat when viewed from front.  Muzzle rather strong and proportionate to skull.  Nostrils well formed.  Nose black with the exception of chocolate and blue in which it may be self-coloured.

EYES

Fitting well into face.  Neither too full nor round, nor too small or slanting.   Black or nearly black.

Black & Tan

EARS

Set on high, as small as possible, erect or dropped.

MOUTH

Jaws strong, with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws.

NECK

Strong yet graceful, slightly arched.  Well fitted into shoulders.  Free from throatiness.

FOREQUARTERS

Forechest well developed and full, moderately broad; shoulders clean, sloping with moderate angulation.  Legs straight, medium bone, elbows close to body.

BODY

Square, back line straight, sloping towards rear.  Belly moderately tucked-up.  Ribs well sprung, deep rather than barrelled.  Viewed from top slightly wedge-shaped.

HINDQUARTERS

Parallel and wide enough apart to fit in with a properly built body.  Hindquarters well developed, muscular with good sweep of stifle, and hocks turning neither in nor out.  Legs straight, medium bone.

FEET

Cat-like; nails dark.

Chocolate & Tan

 

TAIL

Customarily docked. 

Docked: Short.  Continuation of topline.  Carried a little high.

Undocked: Continuation of topline.  Set and carried a little high.  Length to give an overall balanced appearance. ( As of April 2007 there is now a ban on docking in the UK)

 

 

GAIT/MOVEMENT

Co-ordinated to permit a true hackneyed action.

 

 

 

 

Undocked dog

COAT

Smooth, hard and short.  Straight and lustrous.  Closely adhering to and uniformly covering body.  Hair forming ridge on any part of head, body or legs highly undesirable.

COLOUR

Black, blue, chocolate with sharply defined tan markings on cheeks, lips, lower jaw, throat, twin spots above eyes and chest, lower half of forelegs, inside of hindlegs and vent region, lower portion of hocks and feet.  All above colours have black pencilling on toes without thumb marks except chocolates which have brown pencilling.  Solid red of various shades.  Slight white on chest permissible but undesirable.

 

Red

SIZE

Height from 25.5 – 30cm (10 – 12in) at withers.

FAULTS

Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the health and welfare of the dog.

NOTE

Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.

 

(reproduced by kind permission of the Kennel Club)