German Pinscher Facts You Should Know (with Pictures).

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German Pinscher Breed Overview

The German Pinscher is a medium-sized dog.

The adult German Pinscher stands 17 to 20 inches tall at the shoulder.

The German Pinscher belongs to the Working Dogs group.

Dogs in the Working Dogs group, like the German Pinscher, were developed to assist humans in some capacity – including pulling sleds and carts, guarding flocks, guarding homes, and protecting their families.

Breeds in the Working Group are known for their imposing stature, strength, intelligence, and fearless.

Because of their size and strength, working dogs require a structured home life and firm, fair, consistent training by someone who can provide leadership without resorting to anger or physical force.

The fact that German Pinschers belong to the Working Dogs group is one of the reasons why German Pinschers have the personality and temperament that they have.

The temperament of the German Pinscher is generally described as:

  • Even Tempered
  • Familial
  • Intelligent
  • Lively
  • Loving
  • Spirited

History of the German Pinscher Breed. Where German Pinschers came from

The name German Pinscher comes from Germany and refers to the Fox Terrier breed.

The term “pinscher” is thought to have been derived from the English word “pinch,” which refers to ear cropping.

The German Pinscher`s ancestors were bred with the Rattenfanger in the 1600s.

The Rattenfanger was an adequate watchdog and ratter, capable of hunting and catching rodents.

The Rattenfanger was first bred with Black and Tan Terriers to produce the early German Pinscher.

The Rattenfanger was an effective breed used as a working dog around the stables.

The first Pinscher standard was created in 1884, but it did not become popular due to the outbreak of the World Wars.

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What the German Pinscher Looks Like

The German Pinscher is a medium-sized breed with a fine, short coat.

its stance, like its appearance, is elegant.

its shoulders are well-muscled and properly sloped.

When viewed from other angles, the front legs are straight and appear to be vertical.

its hindquarters have powerful thighs and are balanced with its forequarters.

its symmetrical ears are set high on its skull.

its muzzle is long and sharp at the end.

its neck is thick and strong, and its gait is well-balanced with excellent reach.

The coat of the German Pinscher is smooth, short, and dense.

Numerous color combinations are available, including “black, blue, brown, fawn, and red.

” The German Pinscher may have markings as well.

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How Much is the German Pinscher Puppy?

How Much German Pinschers Cost

The average price of a German Pinscher puppy is $2690. The price of a German Pinscher puppy ranges from $2500 to $2825.

A lot of factors determine the price of the German Pinscher. These factors include what health records the German Pinscher puppy has, the lineage of the German Pinscher puppy, the US state the breeder is located in, etc.

To estimate how much you can expect to pay for a puppy German Pinscher based on the many factors that determine the price of the German Pinscher puppy, check out our calculator that lets you estimate how much you should expect to pay for the German Pinscher puppy based on what you want in the puppy.

When looking to buy a puppy, look at buying a puppy only from well-established breeders that breed puppies primarily for the love of the German Pinscher breed, and secondarily for profit. Do not buy a puppy from a puppy mill. Puppy mills mass-produce puppies in bad living conditions for maximum profit.

You may also consider adopting instead of buying a puppy. Adoption costs are very low compared to the price of a puppy.

Best German Pinscher Breeders

German Pinscher Breeders in the United States

We have researched reputable German Pinscher breeders that you can buy a puppy.

Go to this page for our complete list of reputable German Pinscher breeders in various states in the United States.

On this page, you will see how much these breeders sell their puppies for, and how many puppies they have available.

A few of these breeders are listed below.

  1. Black Forest German Pinschers

    Puppy Price: $4000

  2. Nina coppinger

    Puppy Price: Check with breeder

  3. Daveren German Pinschers

    Puppy Price: $3500

  4. Oakwood German Pinschers

    Puppy Price: Check with breeder

  5. Rhapsody German Pinschers

    Puppy Price: Check with breeder

Adopting or Rescuing the German Pinscher

You may consider adopting a dog instead of buying a puppy. Many dogs, German Pinschers included, are currently available for adoption in your local dog shelters.

These helpless but adorable dogs are waiting in dog shelters hoping that someday someone will rescue them. Dog adoption costs are lesser than the cost of a new puppy. Dog adoption costs are usually around $300 or even less.

In addition to your local dog shelter, another good place to find dogs that are available for adoption is petfinder.com.

Below is an adorable Male German Pinscher named Fritz that is currently available for adoption on Petfinder.com. You can find other lovely German Pinschers like Fritz on pefinder.com.

German Pinschers like Fritz are available for Adoption! It is cheaper to adopt. Image from petfinder.com

You can find more German Pinschers that are available for adoption on petfinder.

German Pinscher

What Colors do German Pinschers Have?

German Pinschers come in the following beautiful primary colors:

  • Yellow / Tan / Blond / Fawn
  • Black
  • Brown / Chocolate
  • Bicolor
German Pinscher
German Pinscher
German Pinscher

German Pinscher Litter Size

Researchers from the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science did a study where they counted the numbers of puppies in 6 different German Pinscher birth litters.

From this study, the researchers found that the average number of puppies that German Pinschers can have is 5 puppies. Also, the German Pinscher can have as few as 1 puppies per litter and as many as 8 puppies per litter.

The number of puppies that the German Pinscher will have depends on factors such as the age of the German Pinscher, the method of pregnancy, etc.

Click here to see our calculator for predicting how many puppies your German Pinscher will have and how the litter size of the German Pinscher compares to the litter size of other dog breeds.

How Fast German Pinschers Can Run

How fast a dog breed can run is a good measure of how athletic the dog breed is.

The American Kennel Club (AKC) regularly conducts dog running competitions. The AKC records the running speed of competing dogs in these competitions. These competitions are open to all dog breeds.

Based on our analysis of the speeds of 35 different German Pinschers, the average speed of the German Pinscher is 24.1 mph (38.7 kmph).

The fastest speed on AKC record that the German Pinscher ran in a race is 33.95 mph (54.6 kmph) and the minimum speed on record in a race for a German Pinscher is 12.31 mph (19.8 kmph).

Click here to see how the speed of the German Pinscher compares to the speed of other dogs and other mammals such as cats, horses, humans, etc.

How fast German Pinscher can run compared to other mammals

Good Names for German Pinschers

Here are some really good names that are typical for the German Pinscher ranked by popularity:

  • Lucas
  • Pops
  • Remi
  • Skeeter
  • Fritz
  • Rulio
German Pinscher
German Pinscher

How Popular are German Pinschers with New Dog Owners?

Every year, the American Kennel Club (AKC) publishes information on how popular a dog breed is in that particular year. The AKC gets the popularity information of a breed from how many dogs of that breed the owners register with the AKC every year. The AKC collects this data for about 200 dog breeds.

The graph below shows the popularity trend of the German Pinscher.

The popularity of the German Pinscher averaged over the years is Number 137 out of about 200 dog breeds.

Popularity of German Pinscher

Do not get a dog breed just because it is a popular dog breed. And do not reject a dog breed just because it is an unpopular breed.

Health Problems in German Pinschers and How to Prevent Them

Every dog breed has its own set of health problems that it tends to develop. There is nothing like a perfect dog breed.

The German Pinscher is prone to certain genetic health conditions. The Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) is an organization that keeps track of genetic health problems in dog breeds.

From the extensive records that the OFA keeps, the OFA knows what health problems each dog breed is naturally prone to develop.

Hence, the OFA recommends which health screening breeders should perform on a dog breed to make sure that the breeders won`t breed `defective` dog parents that can pass down defective genes to their puppy offspring.

If you want a German Pinscher puppy that will grow up to be healthy, make sure that your German Pinscher breeder screens your puppy or your puppy`s parents for the health problems that the OFA recommends for your puppy`s breed. This will increase the chances that your puppy is free from genetic defects.

The following are the health tests that Orthopedic Foundation for Animals (OFA) recommends that breeders should screen German Pinschers for:

  1. Cardiac Evaluation
  2. Eye Examination
  3. Hip Dysplasia
  4. von Willebrand`s Disease

You can find out more about OFA`s recommended tests for German Pinschers here.

Dog Breeds That Are Similar to German Pinschers

If you have not made up your mind on which dog breed to get, you may also want to consider some other dogs similar to the German Pinscher.

We crunched the numbers and found that the following dog breeds that have similar behavior and temperament as the German Pinscher:

Other Things to Know About German Pinschers

Here are some of the very important characteristics of the German Pinscher that you need to know about the German Pinscher breed:

  • German Pinschers do not have the tendency to drool.
  • German Pinschers do not get along well with other dogs.
  • German Pinschers are not very friendly towards strangers.
  • German Pinschers are easily disturbed by noise in their environments. They are sensitive to human tone. They will understand the tone of your voice when you try to correct their behaviors with a firm tone.
  • German Pinschers can tolerate hot weather.
  • German Pinschers are very healthy. They do not suffer from a lot of health problems compared to other dog breeds
  • German Pinschers are very easy to train.
  • German Pinschers have a high tendency to wander. They are easily distracted by other animals or objects.
  • German Pinschers are great family dogs. They are very affectionate with family.
  • German Pinschers are very easy to groom.
  • German Pinschers are highly intelligent.
  • German Pinschers have a high prey drive. They do not get along well with other pets.
  • German Pinschers have very high energy levels. They need a lot of exercise time to release their high energy.
  • German Pinschers require a lot of exercise. They are good for owners who like to exercise.
  • German Pinschers are very playful.
  • German Pinschers weigh 25 to 45 pounds when fully grown.
  • German Pinschers are 17 to 20 inches tall at the shoulder when fully grown.
  • German Pinschers have a lifespan of 12 to 14 years.