The Miniature Schnauzer is a charming looking little dog with their bushy eyebrows and whiskers.
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Height at the withers: Males 30 – 36 cm, Females 30 – 36 cm
Average weight: Males 5.4 – 9.1 kg, Females 5.4 – 8.2 kg
The Miniature Schnauzer is a charming looking little dog with their bushy eyebrows and whiskers. They boast a compact, athletic appearance with nicely proportioned heads which are a good length and quite broad between a dog’s ears. Their foreheads are flat with Minis having well-muscled cheeks and a medium stop that accentuates their eyebrows. Muzzles are powerful and blunt with lots of bristly hair that forms their charming moustaches and whiskers. Noses are black with nice open nostrils and lips are tight.
Their eyes are dark and oval-shaped being medium in size with dogs having lovely bushy, arched eyebrows which adds to their charming appeal. Their ears are V-shaped being set high on a dog’s head and dropping forward. The Miniature Schnauzer has a strong jaw with a perfect scissor bite where their upper teeth neatly overlap their lower ones. Necks are strong, slightly arched and moderately long before merging cleanly into a dog’s shoulders.
Minis have strong forequarters with well laid back, flat shoulders and they have nice straight, well-muscled front legs. Chests are deep and moderately broad with dogs having a quite noticeable breastbone that reaches as far down as the elbow. Their backs are straight and strong being slightly higher at the shoulder than over a dog’s hindquarters. Loins are short and well developed with dogs having well-sprung ribs.
Their hindquarters are powerful with dogs having well-muscled thighs and strong back legs with both upper and lower thighs being well developed. Feet are round and very cat-like being compact with nicely closed, arched toes, strong dark nails and firm black coloured pads. Their tails are set high being thicker at the base before tapering to a tip and which dogs carry straight.
When it comes to their coat, the Miniature Schnauzer boasts having a harsh, wiry, short coat with a dense, softer undercoat. The outer coat being short adds to the smart look of a Mini. The hair on a dog’s neck, shoulders, ears and skull is clean, but harsher on their legs with furnishings being thick but never silky to the touch. The accepted breed colours for registration with the Kennel Club are as follows:
- Black
- Black & Silver
- Pepper & Salt
- White
Miniature Schnauzers should always have a nice pigmentation no matter what colour coat they happen to have.
Gait/movement
When a Miniature Schnauzer moves they do so with a vigorous, balanced and free-moving gait covering a lot of ground with their front legs and having excellent drive from their hindquarters. A Miniature Schnauzer always keeps a nice level back when they move.
Faults
The Kennel Club frowns on any departures or exaggerations in the breed standard and would judge any faults on how much they affect a Miniature Schnauzer’s overall health and wellbeing as well as their ability to perform.
Male Miniature Schnauzers should have both testicles fully descended into their scrotums. It is also worth noting that a dog might be slightly taller or shorter and that they can be a little lighter or heavier than stated in their breed standard which is issued by the Kennel Club as a guideline only.