German Pinscher AKC Breed Standard

Official Standard of the German Pinscher

 General Appearance: The German Pinscher is a medium size, short coated dog, elegant in

appearance with a strong square build and moderate body structure, muscular and powerful for

endurance and agility. Energetic, watchful, alert, agile, fearless, determined, intelligent and loyal,

the German Pinscher has the prerequisites to be an excellent watchdog and companion.

Size, Proportion, Substance: Size – the ideal height at the highest point of the withers for a dog

or bitch is 17 to 20 inches. Size should be penalized in accordance with the degree it deviates

from the ideal. Quality should always take precedence over size. Faults – under 17 inches or over

20 inches. Proportion – squarely built in proportion of body length to height. The height at the

highest point of the withers equals the length of the body from the prosternum to the rump.

Substance – muscular with moderate bone.

Head and Skull: Powerful, elongated without the occiput being too pronounced and resembles a

blunt wedge in both frontal and profile views. The total length of the head from the tip of the

nose to the occiput is one half the length from the withers to the base of the tail resulting in a

ratio of approximately 1:2. Expression – sharp, alert and responsive. Eyes -medium size, dark,

oval in shape without appearance of bulging. The eyelid should be tight and the eyeball

nonprotruding. Ears – set high, symmetrical, and carried erect when cropped. If uncropped, they

are V-shaped with a folding pleat, or small standing ears carried evenly upright. Skull – flat,

unwrinkled from occiput to stop when in repose. The stop is slight but distinct. Muzzle – parallel

and equal in length to the topskull and ends in a blunt wedge. The cheeks are muscled and flat.

Nose – full, and black. Lips – black, close fitting. Bite – strong, scissors bite with complete

dentition and white teeth. Faults – overshot or undershot bites, absence of primary molars.

Neck, Topline, Body: Neck – elegant and strong, of moderate thickness and length, nape

elegantly arched. The skin is tight, closely fitting to the dry throat without wrinkles, sagging, or

dewlaps. Topline – the withers form the highest point of the topline, which slopes slightly toward

the rear, extending in a straight line from behind the withers, through the well-muscled loin to

the faintly curved croup. Back- short, firm, and level, muscular at the loins. Faults – long back,

not giving the appearance of squarely built, roach back, sway back. Body – compact and strong,

so as to permit greater flexibility and agility, with the length of leg being equal to the depth of

body. Loin – is well muscled. The distance from the last rib to the hip is short. Chest –

moderately wide with well-sprung ribs, and when viewed from the front, appears to be oval. The

forechest is distinctly marked by the prosternum. The brisket descends to the elbows and ascends

gradually to the rear with the belly moderately drawn up. Fault – excessive tuck up. Tail –

moderately set and carried above the horizontal. Customarily docked between the second and

third joints.

Forequarters: The sloping shoulder blades are strongly muscled, yet flat and well laid back,

forming an angle of approximately 45 degrees to the horizontal. They are well angled and slope

forward, forming an approximately 90 degree angle to the upper arm, which is equal in length to

the shoulder blade. Such angulation permits the maximum forward extension of the forelegs

without binding or effort. Forelegs – straight and well boned, perfectly vertical when viewed

from all sides, set moderately apart with elbows set close to the body. Dewclaws on the forelegs

may be removed. Pasterns – firm and almost perpendicular to the ground. Feet – short, round,

compact with firm dark pads and dark nails. The toes are well closed and arched like cat feet.

Hindquarters: The thighs are strongly muscled and in balance with the forequarters. The stifles

are well bent and well boned, with good angulation. When viewed from the rear, the hocks are

parallel to each other.

Coat: Short and dense, smooth and close lying. Shiny and covers the body without bald spots. A

hard coat should not be penalized.

Color: Isabella (fawn), to red in various shades to stag red (red with intermingling of black

hairs), black and blues with red/tan markings. In the reds, a rich vibrant medium to dark shade is

preferred. In bi-colored dogs, sharply marked dark and rich red/tan markings are desirable.

Markings distributed as follows: at cheeks, lips, lower jaw, above eyes, at throat, on forechest as

two triangles distinctly separated from each other, at metatarsus or pasterns, forelegs, feet, inner

side of hind legs and below tail. Pencil marks on the toes are acceptable. Any white markings on

the dog are undesirable. A few white hairs do not constitute a marking. Disqualification – Dogs

not of an allowable color.

Gait: The ground covering trot is relaxed, well balanced, powerful and uninhibited with good

length of stride, strong drive and free front extension. At the trot the back remains firm and level,

without swaying, rolling or roaching. When viewed from the front and rear, the feet must not

cross or strike each other. Fault- hackney gait.

Temperament: The German Pinscher has highly developed senses, intelligence, aptitude for

training, fearlessness, and endurance. He is alert, vigilant, deliberate and watchful of strangers.

He has fearless courage and tenacity if threatened. A very vivacious dog, but not an excessive

barker. He should not show viciousness by unwarranted or unprovoked attacks. *Note – Great

consideration should be given to a dog giving the desired alert, highly intelligent, vivacious

character of the German Pinscher. Aggressive behavior towards another dog is not deemed

viciousness. Fault – shy. The foregoing description is that of the ideal German Pinscher. Any

deviation from this is to be penalized to the extent of deviation.

Disqualification:

Dogs not of an allowable color.

Approved May 10, 2022

Effective August 8, 2022