Miniature Pinscher - The Doberman Lookalike

Most people think that Miniature Pinschers are a miniature version of the Doberman. Well, they certainly look like it, but they aren't related, at all. In fact Miniature Pinschers are the result of a cross between Dachshunds and Italian Greyhounds. Now that we're over the nostalgia of a small Doberman let's talk about the Miniature Pinscher. He is a very small dog, he weighs 10 pounds at his best and stands at roughly 10 inches.

They have this interesting greeting where they stand up on their hind legs in order to make themselves look more imposing. They tend to use this whenever they're trying to look afar or when greeting people. Their skull is flat, and they have a sturdy, strong muzzle. Their coat is smooth and short haired. It's easy to groom yet they already keep themselves quite clean. It can come in red, black or chocolate colors with tan markings.

Miniature Pinscher behavior

They are energetic little canines. They love to play, run and interact with anything they can get their muzzle on. They are quite curious and it's safe to assume they're going to try to eat their way through socks, pens and other small objects.

Now obviously, the less you exercise the little beast the more destructive and preoccupied with your shoes, socks and what-not he will be. You can limit his access by not leaving pens and other chewable object lying around. You can also direct his energy into the proper places by assigning specific toys for him to crunch on.

Miniature Pinschers are small dogs with big personalities. They are prideful and always on awareness mode. They like to bark to signal the approach or onset of pretty much anything. Whether it's a stranger walking by, some footstep sounds in the building, a microwave alarm and so on. You can expect them to take it upon themselves to be your watch dog that signals the onset of every event around the house.

Miniature Pinscher disorders

These canines tend to become more territorial as they grow older. They are defensive in nature and will become suspicious of outsiders. Proper socialization allthroughout the dogs life can alleviate such problems, but probably not completely.

They also tend to develop small dog syndrome since many owners mistaken them for baby dogs. If they have a firm, strong leader they won't regress to such behavior.

Walking your dog should be done by making the dog heel. He should walk either at your side or slightly behind you. This makes the dog feel relaxed since he isn't busy worrying about where to go. A daily walk is necessary as well as some more complementary exercises to keep him content.

Miniature Pinschers have a great personality that makes them good family dogs despite their reputation as one-man dogs. They are highly adaptable to a variety of environments and live long lives of more than 15 years. Although not related to the Doberman in any way besides relative appearance they are still in the same league in the view of many pet owners.

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 Daniel is passionate about dogs and he writes for AllTypesOfDogs.org, which covers topics like what are good apartment dog breeds and companion dogs.