Miniature Pinscher Facts You Should Know (with Pictures).

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Miniature Pinscher Breed Overview

The Miniature Pinscher is a tiny-sized dog.

The adult Miniature Pinscher stands 10 to 12 inches tall at the shoulder.

The Miniature Pinscher belongs to the Companion Dogs group.

Dogs in the Companion Dogs group, like the Miniature Pinscher, were bred to be companions for humans. Their main goal in life is to be with people, and they will be very sad if left to themselves for long hours day after day.

The fact that the Miniature Pinscher belongs to the Companion Dogs group is one of the reasons why Miniature Pinschers have the personality and temperament that they have.

The temperament of the Miniature Pinscher is generally described as:

  • Active
  • Assertive
  • Clever
  • Energetic
  • Friendly
  • Independent
  • Outgoing
  • Playful
  • Responsive

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

The Miniature Pinscher is not to be confused with the larger Doberman Pinscher breed, despite its appearance.

This breed is younger than the Doberman.

Unfortunately, the ancestry of the Min Pin is unknown.

Most people agree that this breed is very old, possibly dating back to 2,000 years ago, but detailed accounts of this breed were only kept beginning in the nineteenth century.

Most people believe they are descended from the German Pinscher family, with Pinscher being the German term for a biter or terrier.

Some believe the Italian Greyhound and the Dachshund influenced breed development.

The red coat variety of the dog was dubbed the Reh Pinscher due to its resemblance to small red deer found in Germany.

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What the Miniature Pinscher Looks Like

The Miniature Pinscher is a structurally well-balanced dog with poise and grace.

It has fearless animation, a high spirit, and self-possession.

Their heads are tapered and narrow, with dark eyes that are slightly oval-shaped.

The ears of the Min Pin are set high on the head and stand erect from the base.

Except for those with chocolate coats, whose noses are self-colored, the muzzle is strong and not delicate, and it ends in a black nose.

The Min Pin has tight lips, small cheeks, and a scissor bite.

The shoulders of the Miniature Pinscher are clean and moderately angled, with elbows set close to the body.

Their forelegs are straight and strong from the front, with small, catlike toes.

The hind legs are straight and well-angled, and the thighs are well-muscled.

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How Much is the Miniature Pinscher Puppy?

How Much Miniature Pinschers Cost

The average price of a Miniature Pinscher puppy is $1470. The price of a Miniature Pinscher puppy ranges from $825 to $1500.

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

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

Miniature Pinscher Breeders in the United States

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

Go to this page for our complete list of reputable Miniature 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. Carolina Pinschers

    Puppy Price: $1000

  2. Bon Ami Min Pins

    Puppy Price: Check with breeder

  3. Anna Gonzales

    Puppy Price: Check with breeder

  4. Richard Wang

    Puppy Price: Check with breeder

  5. cindy fortin

    Puppy Price: Check with breeder

Adopting or Rescuing the Miniature Pinscher

You may consider adopting a dog instead of buying a puppy. Many dogs, Miniature 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 Miniature Pinscher named Rico that is currently available for adoption on Petfinder.com. You can find other lovely Miniature Pinschers like Rico on pefinder.com.

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

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

Miniature Pinscher Growth

Miniature Pinscher Growth

New Miniature Pinscher owners need to know about the growth of their Miniature Pinschers. This will help them plan their living spaces accordingly.

Also, knowing the typical growth pattern of the Miniature Pinscher will help new owners catch the abnormal growth of their Miniature Pinscher early.

See our calculator for predicting how big your Miniature Pinscher puppy will get. You will also learn about the typical weight of the Miniature Pinscher at different ages and how to catch abnormal growth in your Miniature Pinscher

Miniature Pinscher

What Colors do Miniature Pinschers Have?

Miniature Pinschers come in the following beautiful primary colors:

  • Black
  • Brown / Chocolate
  • Tricolor (Brown, Black, & White)
  • Red / Chestnut / Orange
  • Bicolor
  • Gray / Blue / Silver
  • White / Cream
  • Apricot / Beige

Miniature Pinschers come in the following lovely secondary colors in addition to their primary colors:

  • Brown / Chocolate
  • Yellow / Tan / Blond / Fawn
  • Black
  • White / Cream
  • Red / Chestnut / Orange
  • Golden
  • Tricolor (Brown, Black, & White)

The Temperament of the Miniature Pinscher

The temperament of the Miniature Pinscher based can be summarized as in the table below.

The table shows the scores of the Miniature Pinscher for 13 important dog behavioral factors.

We obtained these scores by analyzing raw data from the C-BARQ dog personality survey tool. The higher the score of a dog for a factor, the worse the temperament of the dog regarding that factor.

The C-BARQ tool was developed by researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, and it is a scientific tool that is used worldwide for reliably measuring the temperament of dog breeds.

See our complete analysis of the temperament of the Miniature Pinscher here.

Factor Score
Stranger Directed Aggression 90.7 percent
Separation Related Behavior 87.8 percent
Touch Sensitivity 82.6 percent
Attachment Attention Seeking 78.6 percent
Stranger Directed Fear 75.6 percent
Dog Directed Fear 71.9 percent
Dog Directed Aggression 69.3 percent
Energy Level 67.4 percent
Stubbornness 63.3 percent
Excitability 62.3 percent
Nonsocial Fear 50.5 percent
Prey Drive 45.8 percent
Owner Directed Aggression 27.4 percent
Dog Rivalry 100.0 percent

How Long Miniature Pinschers Live

The lifespan of the Miniature Pinscher is typically from 10 to 14 years.

Moreover, a few years back, veterinarian researchers performed a scientific study to determine the lifespan of the Miniature Pinscher. In this study, the scientists collected data on how long 27 pet Miniature Pinschers lived.

From the study, it was found that Miniature Pinschers have an average lifespan of 13 years. Furthermore, the study found that it is not uncommon for Miniature Pinschers to live as long as 17.9 years.

Note that you need to put in some effort if you want your Miniature Pinscher to live long.

Miniature Pinschers live long if they eat well, drink well, exercise well, and visit the veterinarian regularly.

There are also dog supplements that you can give your Miniature Pinscher to improve your Miniature Pinscher`s quality of their life.

Click here to learn more about how to make your Miniature Pinscher live long.

Miniature Pinscher Litter Size

Researchers from the Norwegian School of Veterinary Science did a study where they counted the numbers of puppies in 76 different Miniature Pinscher birth litters.

From this study, the researchers found that the average number of puppies that Miniature Pinschers can have is 4 puppies. Also, the Miniature Pinscher can have as few as 1 puppies per litter and as many as 7 puppies per litter.

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

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

How Fast Miniature 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 47 different Miniature Pinschers, the average speed of the Miniature Pinscher is 19.2 mph (30.9 kmph).

The fastest speed on AKC record that the Miniature Pinscher ran in a race is 25.54 mph (41.1 kmph) and the minimum speed on record in a race for a Miniature Pinscher is 9.11 mph (14.7 kmph).

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

How fast Miniature Pinscher can run compared to other mammals

Good Names for Miniature Pinschers

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

  • Zeus
  • Vance
  • Charlie
  • Jax
  • Roscoe
  • Chester
  • Buddy
  • King
  • Sid
  • Rocket

How Intelligent are Miniature Pinschers?

Miniature Pinscher
Intelligence Rank 37 out of 130 dog breeds
Trainability Tend To Learn New Commands After 15 To 25 Repetitions

According to Prof. Stanley Coren, a Canadian psychology professor/dog trainer, the total intelligence that a dog demonstrates is the addition of three types of intelligence. These intelligence types are:

  1. Instinctive Intelligence: This is the natural intelligence that comes from instinct. For example, dog breeds that have been historically bred to be guard dogs will have a high `guarding` intelligence compared to dogs that were not bred for guarding.

  2. Adaptive Intelligence (learning and problem-solving ability): This indicates what a dog can learn to do for himself or herself. Adaptive intelligence is specific to each dog, and not breed specific. You can improve your dog`s adaptive intelligence by investing time to train your dog.

  3. Working/Obedience Intelligence: This type of intelligence is breed-specific. Certain dog breeds tend to have higher working/obedience intelligence than some other breeds. This intelligence is the closest to what we might call school-learning ability and it is based upon what the dog can learn to do when instructed by humans. This type of intelligence can be measured for each dog breed and compared to that of other dog breeds.

Professor Stanley Coren measured and ranked the working intelligence of about 130 different dog breeds.

Prof. Coren found that the Miniature Pinscher has an obedience intelligence rank of 37 out of 130 dog breeds. Thus, Prof. Coren put Miniature Pinschers in the `Above Average Working Dogs` category.

This means that Miniature Pinschers tend to learn new commands after 15 to 25 repetitions.

However, we should mention that a dog should not be judged based on its intelligence alone. There are other important factors you need to consider when deciding on which dog breed to get. These other factors include sociability, adorability, and compatibility of the dog breed with your lifestyle.

See the intelligence ranking of some other dog breeds below:

Breed Intelligence Rank
Miniature Schnauzer 12
Belgian Malinois 22
Pomeranian 23
Irish Water Spaniel 24
Cardigan Welsh Corgi 26
Samoyed 33
Norwich Terrier 38
Dalmatian 39
Bedlington Terrier 40
Kuvasz 42
Boxer 48
Rhodesian Ridgeback 52
French Bulldog 58
Dandie Dinmont Terrier 62
Old English Sheepdog 63
Great Pyrenees 64
Chihuahua 67
Bullmastiff 69
Pekingese 73
Chow Chow 76

How Popular are Miniature 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 Miniature Pinscher.

The popularity of the Miniature Pinscher averaged over the years is Number 68 out of about 200 dog breeds.

Popularity of Miniature 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 Miniature 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 Miniature 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 Miniature Pinscher puppy that will grow up to be healthy, make sure that your Miniature 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 Miniature Pinschers for:

  1. Clear By Parentage
  2. Patellar Luxation
  3. PENNGEN

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

How to Take Care of Miniature Pinscher

How to feed your Miniature Pinscher.

To take good care of your Miniature Pinscher, you need to make sure that you groom your Miniature Pinscher regularly.

Secondly, you need to find a veterinarian in your area that will routinely check the health status of your Miniature Pinscher regularly, and give you appropriate recommendations on your Miniature Pinscher`s preventative care.

Thirdly, you need to commit some time to exercise your Miniature Pinscher daily. Regular exercise helps improve the health and quality of life of your Miniature Pinscher.

Also, you need to feed your Miniature Pinscher high-quality dog food, and the food should be of the right amount to prevent your Miniature Pinscher from getting overweight or underweight.

See our recommendations on what to feed the Miniature Pinscher and how much food to feed the Miniature Pinscher at different life stages.

Finally, you need to make sure that your Miniature Pinscher has access to clean water all the time. See our recommendations on how much water your Miniature Pinscher needs to drink at different ages.

How much water your Miniature Pinscher needs.

Dog Breeds That Are Similar to Miniature 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 Miniature Pinscher.

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

Other Things to Know About Miniature Pinschers

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

  • Miniature Pinschers cannot tolerate cold weather. They are vulnerable to the cold.
  • Miniature Pinschers do not have the tendency to drool.
  • Miniature Pinschers do not like to be left alone.
  • Miniature Pinschers do not get along well with other dogs.
  • Miniature Pinschers do not shed a lot. They are good for people with dog allergies.
  • Miniature Pinschers are not prone to nip and chew at things.
  • Miniature Pinschers have very high energy levels. They need a lot of exercise time to release their high energy.
  • Miniature Pinschers require a lot of exercise. They are good for owners who like to exercise.
  • Miniature Pinschers adapt well to apartment living.
  • Miniature 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.
  • Miniature Pinschers are great family dogs. They are very affectionate with family.
  • Miniature Pinschers are very easy to groom.
  • Miniature Pinschers gain weight easily. You need to pay careful attention to what you feed them.
  • Miniature Pinschers are highly vocal. They have the tendency to bark and howl.
  • Miniature Pinschers have a high tendency to wander. They are easily distracted by other animals or objects.
  • Miniature Pinschers are very playful.
  • Miniature Pinschers weigh 8 to 11 pounds when fully grown.
  • Miniature Pinschers are 10 to 12 inches tall at the shoulder when fully grown.
  • Miniature Pinschers have a lifespan of 10 to 14 years.