BREED STANDARD

of
the Federation Cynologique Internationale (F.C.I.)

Giant Schnauzer (181 c)

Country of Origin: Germany

Effective Date: 06 april 2000

Giant Schnauzer

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 realised 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 already the Giant Schnauzer has 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).

Behaviour/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

Skull

Strong, long without markedly protudring occiput. The head should be in keeping with the dog’s force. The forehead is flat, without wrinkling and parallel to the bridge of nose.

Stop

Appears well defined due to the brows.

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 fromula), 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 temples. Folds parallel, should not be above the top of 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

Flanks not too tucked up, forming a well curved line with the underside of the ribcage.

Tail

Natural (undocked).

Limbs

Forequarters

Seen from the front, the front legs are strong, straight and not close together. Seen from the side, the forearms are straight.

Shoulders

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.

Upperarm

Lying close to the body, strong and well musculed, 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 fore arm.

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.

Hindquaters

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/movements

Flexible, elegant, agile, free and ground covering. The front legs swinging as far forward as possible, the hind legs, ground covering and springy, provide 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 top coat, lying close to the body.
The top coat 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 and Salt.
When breeding Pepper and Salt, the aim is a medium shading with evenly distributed, well pigmented, pepper colouring and grey undercoat. The shades from dark iron grey to silver grey are all permitted. In all colour variations there must be a dark mask, which should adapt harmoniously to the respective colour, emphasizing the expression. Distinct light markings on head, chest and limbs are undesirable.

Size/weight

Height at withers

Dogs and bitches: 60 to 70 cm.

Weight

Dogs and bitches: 35 to 45 kg.

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.
Head altogether too small or too short.
Heavy or round skull.
Wrinkles on forehead.

Severe Faults
Clumsy or light build. Too low or too high on leg.
Inverse sexual type (i.e. doggy bitch).
Elbows turning out.
Straight or open hocked hindlegs.
Hocks turned inwards.
Over- or undersize by more than 2 cm but less than 4 cm

Disqulifying Faults

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 colour.
Over- or undersize by more than 4 cm.
Shy, aggressive,vicious, exaggeratedly suspicious or nervous behaviour.

Nota bene

Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum.