All Dog Breeds >>History of Miniature Pinscher
Although the Miniature Pinscher and the Doberman are similar in appearance, the Miniature Pinscher is not a "Miniature Doberman"; it predates the Doberman by at least 50 years (although both are likely descended from the German Pinscher,[3][4] but the relationship ends there). The Doberman Pinscher was bred by Karl Frederich Louis Dobermann in 1880, and Dobermann had noted that he was looking to create a dog resembling the Miniature "Zwergpinscher" Pinscher but 15 times larger.
In 1895, the Pinscher Schnauzer Club officially recognized Dobermann's Pinscher. At that time they also officially recognized the Deutscher Pinscher (German Pinscher) as a separate breed from the Standard Schnauzer as well as the Reh Pinscher giving it the official name Zwergpinscher.[citation needed] The misconception in the U.S. that the Miniature Pinscher is a "miniature doberman" occurred because the Doberman Pinscher was introduced to the US before the Miniature Pinscher. In 1919 the Miniature Pinscher was introduced to the AKC show ring.
At that time, not knowing that it was referred to officially in Germany as the Zwergpinscher (dwarfpinscher), the AKC referred to the breed as simply "Pinscher" and listed it in the miscellaneous category. By 1929 (the year of the breed's official introduction into the AKC), not noting it was a true Terrier breed, it was decided to officially place it in the Toy breed classification. Unfortunately the AKC's description, that the dog "must appear as a Doberman in miniature", led to the misconception common today that this breed is a "Miniature Doberman Pinscher".
The original name for this breed in the US was "Pinscher" until 1972 when the name was officially changed to Miniature Pinscher.