The Austrian Pinscher (Österreichischer Pinscher) is a medium-sized

breed A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...

pinscher Pinscher is a type of dog developed originally as ratters on farms and for fighting or guarding, although today they are most often kept as pets. Origins It is considered that the German Pinscher is a prototypical Pinscher and one of the oldest ...

- type

dog The dog (''Canis familiaris'' or ''Canis lupus familiaris'') is a domesticated descendant of the wolf. Also called the domestic dog, it is derived from the extinct Pleistocene wolf, and the modern wolf is the dog's nearest living relative. Do ...

from

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

, where dogs of the type were originally farm dogs, keeping barns free of

rat Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents. Species of rats are found throughout the order Rodentia, but stereotypical rats are found in the genus ''Rattus''. Other rat genera include ''Neotoma'' ( pack rats), ''Bandicota'' (bandicoot ...

s and acting as home guards, livestock guardians, and drovers. The name originally given to the breed in 1928 was the ''Österreichischer Kurzhaarpinscher'' (''Austrian Shorthaired Pinscher'') to differentiate it from similarly named breeds, but today in its country of origin the breed is officially called the Österreichischer Pinscher, or Austrian Pinscher in English.

Appearance

Like other farm dogs raised for work rather than for pets or show, the appearance can vary a great deal, although there is a definite

breed standard In animal husbandry or animal fancy, a breed standard is a description of the characteristics of a hypothetical or ideal example of a breed. The description may include physical or morphological detail, genetic criteria, or criteria of athletic ...

.The Look
Austrian Pinscher Club (in German) In general, the Austrian Pinscher is a normally proportioned strong and sturdy dog, at the

withers The withers is the ridge between the shoulder blades of an animal, typically a quadruped. In many species, it is the tallest point of the body. In horses and dogs, it is the standard place to measure the animal's height. In contrast, cattle ar ...

. The breed has button ears and a head described as being shaped like a pear. The double

coat A coat typically is an outer garment for the upper body as worn by either gender for warmth or fashion. Coats typically have long sleeves and are open down the front and closing by means of buttons, zippers, hook-and-loop fasteners, toggles, a ...

is short to medium long, in a variety of yellow, red or black and tan colours, usually with white markings on the face, chest, feet and tip of the tail. The long tail is held high, and dogs of this breed should look lively and alert.Breed Standard
They are heavier, more rugged and rectangular in appearance than the

German Pinscher The German Pinscher or is a German breed of terrier in the Pinscher and Schnauzer group. It shares common origins with the Schnauzer, of which it is essentially a short-haired equivalent. It is seen in two colours, either black-and-tan or self ...

History

The Austrian Shorthaired Pinscher was recognised as a breed for the first time in 1928, but the breed was developed from an old type of

found on farms in the Austrian countryside, a mixture of German Pinschers and the local dogs. At the end of the 19th century, the farm dogs began to die out when the work they did was no longer needed. In the early 20th century Emil Hauck, looking for an aboriginal dog type identified in 1843 by H. von Meyer as ''Canis palustris'' or ''dog of the marshes''The History of the Geological Society of London, by Horace Bolingbroke Woodward, pg 79 Longmans, Green and Co publishers, New York, 1908
Note: the ''C. palustris'' idea came from the early days of scientific thinking about animals, and is not and has never been an actual species. All dogs are ''Canis lupus familiaris''. (a type of dog, not an actual species), found what he believed were some examples of similar dogs in the Austrian countryside.Breed History
In 1921 he began serious breeding to revive and define the type of the breed, to separate them from other

landrace A landrace is a domesticated, locally adapted, often traditional variety of a species of animal or plant that has developed over time, through adaptation to its natural and cultural environment of agriculture and pastoralism, and due to isolation ...

pinschers of the area. The Austrian Kennel Club (Österreicher Kynologenverband) first recognised the breed as the'' Österreichischer Kurzhaarpinscher'' (translates in English as Austrian Shorthaired Pinscher) in 1928. The name was given to the breed to identify its place of origin as Austria (Österreich), and to differentiate it from the

Schnauzer A Schnauzer (), plural ''Schnauzer'', lit. translation "snouter") is a dog breed type that originated in Germany from the 14th to 16th centuries. The term comes from the German word for "snout" and means colloquially "moustache", Ark Austria (Arche Austria), an association for the preservation of endangered indigenous breeds, lists the Austrian Pinscher and states that it is highly vulnerable, with only 6 to 12 breeding animals, who are being carefully bred to preserve health and

breed type In animal husbandry or animal fancy, a breed standard is a description of the characteristics of a hypothetical or ideal example of a breed. The description may include physical or morphological detail, genetic criteria, or criteria of athletic ...

.Österreichischer Pinscher, Arche Austria
(in German) The breed is recognised in its country of origin by the Österreischer Kynologenverband (ÖKV, Austrian Kennel Club) and internationally by the

Fédération Cynologique Internationale The Fédération cynologique internationale (FCI) (English: International Canine Federation) is the largest international federation of national kennel clubs. It is based in Thuin, Belgium. History The FCI was founded in 1911 under the auspices ...

in the Pinscher section of Group 2. It is also recognised by the United Kennel Club in the United States as the Austrian Pinscher as of 2006, in the

Terrier Group Terrier (from Latin ''terra'', 'earth') is a type of dog originally bred to hunt vermin. A terrier is a dog of any one of many breeds or landraces of the terrier type, which are typically small, wiry, game, and fearless. Terrier breeds vary gr ...

, for its background as a rat hunter. In addition it is recognised by a number of minor kennel clubs and internet based dog registry businesses under a variety of translations of the name, who may rewrite the standard to suit producers of dogs for the

rare breed In modern agriculture, a rare breed is a breed of poultry or livestock that has a very small breeding population, usually from a few hundred to a few thousand. Because of their small numbers, rare breeds may have a threatened conservation statu ...

pet market. Purchasers of puppies and dogs from groups outside the Austrian breed restoration program should read the original standard (obtainable in translation from the FCI) and their dog's pedigree to make sure they are buying an Austrian Pinscher and not an excessively inbred or a random-bred dog.

Health

No data have been collected on the breed's health, but good health is a stated objective of the breed restoration breeding in Austria.

Temperament

The breed is described as "a pleasant companion" for rural and suburban areas. The breed standard describes the ideal Austrian Pinscher's temperament and character as playful, not inclined to be a hunter, and being an "incorruptible guard".

References

External links