Breed Standard PSK/FCI

ORIGIN:  Germany

UTILIZATION:  Utility and Companion Dog

FCI-CLASSIFICATION:  

Group 2:

Pinscher and Schnauzer-Molossoid breeds - Swiss Mountain and Cattle Dogs

Section 1:

Pinscher and Schnauzer type

With working trial

BRIEF HISTORICAL SUMMARY:

Originally the Giant Schnauzer was used in the region of Southern Germany to drive cattle.  Around the turn of the century, determined breeders ralised that he had outstanding working capabilities and particularly valuable traits in character.  Since 1913, the breed has been registered in a stud book, and in 1925 the Giant Schnauzer has already officially been recognised as a working dog.

GENERAL APPEARANCE:

Large, powerful, stocky rather than slim.  An enlarged, powerful image of the Schnauzer.  An imperturbable dog, prepared for defense, whose appearance fills with respect.

IMPORTANT PROPORTIONS:

• Square build in which height at the withers is nearly equal to the body length.
• The length of the head (measured from the tip of the nose to the occiput) corresponds to half the length of the topline (measured from the withers to the set on of the tail)

BEHAVIOR / TEMPERAMENT:

Typical characteristics of this dog are his good natured even temperament and his incorruptible loyalty towards his master.  He has highly developed sense organs, intelligence, trainability, strength, endurance, speed, resistance to weather and diseases.  His inborn ability to bear strain and his self-assurance make him best suited for being a companion, sporting, utility and working dog.

HEAD

CRANIAL REGION

• Skull:  Strong, long without markedly protruding occiput.  The head should be in keeping with the dogÄs force.  The forehead is flat, without wrinkling and parallel to the bridge of nose.
• Stop:  Appears well defined due to the brows.

FACIAL REGION

• Nose:  Well developed nose leather with large nostrils, always black.
• Muzzle:  Ending in a blunt wedge.  Bridge of nose straight. 
• Lips:  Black, smooth and tight-fitting to the jaws.  Corners of lips closed.
• Jaws/Teeth:  Strong upper and lower jaw.  The complete scissor bite (42 pure white teeth, according to the dentition formula), is strongly developed and firmly closing.  The chewing muscles are strongly developed but the cheeks must not interfere with the rectangular shape of the head (with the beard).

EYES

Medium sized, oval, facing forward, dark with lively expression.  Eyelids close fitting.

EARS

Drop ears, set high.  V-shaped with inner edges lying close to the cheeks, evenly carried, turned forward towards tremples.  Folds parallel, should not be above the top fo the skull.

NECK

The strong, muscular neck is nobly arched, blending smoothly into the withers.  Strongly set on, slim, noble curved, corresponding to the dog's force.  Throat skin-tight fitting without folds.

BODY

• Topline:  Slightly sloping from withers towards rear.
• Withers:  Forming the highest point in topline.
• Back:  Strong, short, and taut.
• Loins:  Short, strong, and deep.  The distance from the last rib to the hip is short to make the dog appear compact.
• Croup:  Slightly rounded, imperceptibly blending into tail set on.
• Chest:  Moderately broad, oval in diameter, reaching to the elbows.  The forechest is distinctly marked by the point of the sternum.
• Underline/Belly:  Flanks not too tucked up, forming a well curved line with the underside of the ribcage.

TAIL

Natural; a sabre or sickle carriage is sought after.

LIMBS

FOREQUARTERS

• General appearance:  Seen from the front, the front legs are strong, straight, and not close together.  Seen from the side, the forearms are straight.
• Shoulder:  The shoulder blade lies close against the rib cage and is well muscled on both sides of shoulder bone, protruding over the points of thoracic vertebrae.  As sloping as possible and well laid back, forming an angle of appr. 50° to the horizontal.
• Upper arm:  Lying close to the body, strong and well-muscled forming an angle of 95° to 105° to the shoulder blade.
• Elbows:  Close fitting, turning neither in nor out.
• Forearm:  Viewed from all sides completely straight, strongly developed and well-muscled.
• Carpal joint:  Strong, firm, barely standing out against the structure of the forearm.
• Pastern:  Seen from the front, vertical.  Seen from the side, slightly sloping towards the ground, strong and slightly springy.
• Forefeet:  Short and round, toes well-knit and arched (cat foot) with short dark nails and resistant pads.

HINDQUARTERS

• General appearance:  Standing obliquely when seen from the side, standing parallel but not close together when seen from the rear.
• Upper thigh:  Moderately long, broad, and strongly muscled.
• Stifle:  Turning neither in nor out.
• Lower thigh:  Long and strong, sinewy, running into a strong hock.
• Hocks:  Very well angulated, strong, firm, turning neither in nor out.
• Metatarsus:  Short, vertical to ground.
• Hind feet:  Toes short, arched, and well-knit.  Nails short and black.

GAIT / MOVEMENT

Flexible, elegant, agile, free and ground covering.  The front legs swinging as far forward as possible, the hind legs, ground covering and springy, providing the necessary drive.  The front leg of one side and the hind leg on the other side move forward at the same time.  The back, the ligaments and the joints are firm.

SKIN

Tight fitting over the whole body.

COAT

• Hair:  The coat should be wiry, harsh, and dense.  It consists of a dense undercoat and a not too short topcoat, lying close to the body.  The topcoat is rough and sufficiently long to allow the checking of its texture; it is neither bristly nor wavy.  Hair on the limbs tends to be less harsh.  Coat short on forehead and ears.  Typical characteristics are the not too soft beard on the muzzle and the bushy eyebrows which slightly shade the eyes.
• Color:
• • Pure black with black undercoat.
  • Pepper & Salt:  When breeding Pepper and Salt, the aim is a medium shading with evenly distributed, well pigmented, pepper coloring and gray undercoat.  The shades from dark iron gray to silver gray are all permitted.  In all color variations there must be a dark mask, which should adapt harmoniously to the respective color, emphasizing the expression.  Distinct light markings on head, chest, and limbs are undesirable.
  • Black/Silver:  For the Black/Silver color, the aim in breeding is a black topcoat with black undercoat, white markings over the eyes, on the cheeks, at the beard, at the throat, in two divided triangles at the front of the chest, on the front pasterns, on the feet, on the inside of the hind legs, and around the anus.  The forehead, the neck and the outer sides of the ears should be black like the topcoat.

SIZE & WEIGHT

• Height at the withers:  Dogs and bitches: 
• • 60 - 70 cm
  • 23. 6 - 27.56 inches
• Weight:  Dogs and bitches:
• • 35 - 47 kg
  • 77 - 103.4 lbs

FAULTS

Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree and its effect upon the healths and welfare of the dog.

Particularly:

• Head altogether too small or too short
• Heavy or round skull
• Wrinkles on forehead
• Short, pointed, or narrow muzzle
• Pincer bite
• Strongly protruding cheeks or cheekbones
• Light, too large or round eyes
• Low set, too long, or unevenly carried ears
• Throatiness
• Dewlap, narrow crest of neck
• Too long, tucked up or soft back
• Roach back
• Croup falling away
• Tail set inclined towards head
• Long feet
• Pacing movement
• Too short, too long, soft, wavy, shaggy, silky, white or spotted coat, or other mixed colors
• Brown undercoat
• In pepper-salt:  a black trace on the back or black saddle
• In black-silver: not clearly separated triangles on the chest
• Over- or undersize up to 2cm

SEVERE FAULTS

• Clumsy or light build.  Too low or too high on legs.
• Inverse sexual type (doggy bitch or bitchy dog)
• Elbows turning out
• Straight or open hocked hindlegs
• Hocks turned inwards
• in black-silver:  patchy coat
• Over or undersize by more than 2cm but less than 4cm

DISQUALIFYING FAULTS

• Aggressive or overly shy dogs
• Any dog clearly showing physical or behavioral abnormalities
• Malformation of any kind
• Lack of breed type
• Faulty mouth, such as over or undershot or wry mouth
• Severe faults in individual parts, such as faults in structure, coat and color
• Over- or undersize by more than 4 cm

Males should have 2 apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.

Only functionally and clinically healthy dogs, with breed typical conformation should be used for breeding.

FCI-Standard Nr. 181 /10.06.2021 / EN