Giant Schnauzer

Temperament: The temperament of the Giant Schnauzer should be sound and reliable, and according to the AKC breed standard, should combine "spirit and alertness with intelligence and reliability" and be "composed, watchful, courageous, easily trained, deeply loyal to family, playful, amiable in repose, and a commanding figure when aroused."

Height: 60 to 70 cm/ 23 to 28 in

Weight: 35 to 47 kg./ 75 to 105 lbs

Life Span: 12-15 years

Breed Average Outlier Index: 0.27

Breed Average Genetic Relatedness: 0.00

Breed Average Internal Relatedness: 0.04

Last 10 Recently Added Public Dogs!

No.NameGenderOutlier IndexAverage Genetic RelatednessInternal Relatedness
1 Celestial Exquisite Effervescence F0.48-0.190.09
2 Braveheart's Close to My Heart M0.260.01-0.07
3 Firezone's Setting The Stage On FIre F0.27-0.010.14
4 Carolina's Here We Go Again F0.230.000.04
5 Grande Giant Strides Angel of Mercy F0.210.08-0.02
6CH Giant Strides Grande Angel Spread Your Wings F0.140.070.05
7 Firezone's Take a Dance with Me M0.250.04-0.12
8 Spicerack's & Ramahill's Comin In Hot F0.240.05-0.18
9 Kiraly's Covina California F0.160.020.14
10 Schutzengel's Khaos By Karma M0.210.060.04

The first breed standard for the Schnauzer was written in 1907 and the first Giant Schnauzer, "Roland Rolandsheim", was exhibited at an official show in Munich in 1909. The exact makeup of the breed today is still unknown but it is speculated that Standard Schnauzer, an extinct dog called the Oberlander, various farm dogs, and possibly Bouvier de Flanders are all possible ancestors. It wasn't until about 1914 that the modern Giant Schnauzer was developed by a man named C. Calaminus who never revealed the breeds he used. We do know that he used the black Oberlander dogs, and possibly some Great Dane, but there is no actual evidence. Some early notable giants with photographic evidence are Bazi v Wetterstein and Felz v Kinzigtal. In 1923 the PSK (Pinscher Schnauzer Klub) in Germany, the breed's country of origin, published the first standard for the Giant Schnauzer. It said “The Giant Schnauzer will be the best possible, considerably enlarged and strengthened copy of the Standard Schnauzer.” The height was fixed at 21.5 to 25.5 inches. Mental characteristics, along with size and structure were described as such: “All these allow the Giant Schnauzer to perform the hard and strenuous life of a working dog.” From 1923 to around 1938 the Giant thrived, and in 1927, the PSK had the first "Bundesliestungsiegerprufung" (national championship, working trials.) This national competition was annual until 1938 and cancelled in 1939. World War II then wiped out many Giant Schnauzers, but the Germans started again in 1945 to rebuild the breed with dogs remaining from around the world. This was also complicated by the Berlin Wall which separated East and West Germany and therefore the breeding pool as well between 1961 to 1989. After the unification of Germany, the bloodlines were crossed and our modern day gene pool consists of everything that survived these historical events.

The community of owners of Giant Schnauzers reports concern for the following illnesses: squamous celll carcinoma, toe cancer, and melanoma, autoimmune diseases including thyroiditis, epilepsy, cadiac diseases SAS and dialated cardiomyelopathy, lyphomas, hip dyplasia, eye disorders (cataracts and PRA), AIHA, IMTP, SLO, and cobalamin malabsorption.

Giant Schnauzer breeders have clearly made an effort to keep inbreeding low in a small gene pool. Dr. Pedersen's report says "“IR scores ranged from a low of -0.181 (parents least related) to a high of 0.486 (parents most related), with a mean (average) value of 0.047. Therefore, one fourth of the population had IR scores from -0.041 to -0.181, and one fourth +0.139 to 0.486. …… IR values show that there are three populations among the 133 Giant Schnauzers, one quarter containing individuals from very unrelated parents, one half with parents of average relatedness, and one fourth with parents that are quite related.”

There is clearly a genetic split in the breed between black Giant Schnauzers and Pepper Salt Giant Schnauzers. Each of these populations are more related among themselves than with each other. The Average Genetic Relatedness (AGR), which is the genetic equivalent of the pedigree based calculation "mean kinship," show that overall relatedness is close. This means breeders must make a specific effort to breed to the least related quality dogs they can find, in addition to prioritizing genetic outliers, in order to maximize retention of existing diversity in the breed.

Giant Schnauzer breeders have clearly made an effort to keep inbreeding low in a small gene pool. Dr. Pedersen's report says "“IR scores ranged from a low of -0.181 (parents least related) to a high of 0.486 (parents most related), with a mean (average) value of 0.047. Therefore, one fourth of the population had IR scores from -0.041 to -0.181, and one fourth +0.139 to 0.486. …… IR values show that there are three populations among the 133 Giant Schnauzers, one quarter containing individuals from very unrelated parents, one half with parents of average relatedness, and one fourth with parents that are quite related.”

The Giant Schnauzer has retained a broad range of diversity in the DLA haplotypes, which means they have kept much of the early diversity of the founders of the breed. The initial study of 146 dogs revealed 14 Class I individial DLA haplotypes and 15 individual Class II haplotypes. This is promising for the future of the breed, since some breeds have very few left. It is possible to retain that diversity and this may indicate that there is more overall diversity still to be found in the world. Nevertheless, there seems to be a significant concern with autoimmune disease in the breed, which tends to be more attributable to low overall diversity, not only homozygous DLA haplotypes.

The follow includes dogs with birthdates listed in the database.

DLA Haplotypes in the Breed

The Dog Leukocyte Antigen or DLA is the region in the canine genome that controls the immune system, among other things. There are three classes or areas, and the VGL Canine Diversity Test genotypes or records the two regions with the most variation. Because it is an area that mutates more rapidly than others, the method VGL uses is ideal for identifying specific combinations of DNA, and not merely showing whether a dog inherited two of the same sets of genetics from its parents or two different ones.

"Haplotype" is a generic name for a set of genes that are bound together and inherited as a set. The DLA Class I and Class II haplotypes are very tightly bound and represent about 2 million base pairs of DNA - a sizeable chunk. These two haplotypes together make an extended haplotype that is nearly always passed from parent to puppies as a pair. We therefore have two tables below showing both the combinations of DLA found in this breed and how often they appear, and also how often they appear individually.

Remember that frequency percentages do not show how many dogs carry them, but rather how many of these haplotypes exist in the breed as a whole. Every dog has two sets of DLA haplotypes, one inherited from dam, and one inherited from sire. These almost never recombine in new generations.

DLA Class I/Class II Combinations :

Class I HaplotypeClass II HaplotypeFrequency in the Breed
1092203728.54%
1159200614.37%
1014205013.41%
101720909.00%
101420377.09%
106820535.94%
100620075.36%
101620314.41%
100820033.83%
109120332.87%
101120120.96%
115920530.96%
100820050.77%
101620140.57%
115920010.57%
106520330.38%
118120600.38%
105420220.19%
106720170.19%
126320760.19%


DLA Frequencies :

ClassHaplotypeFrequency in the Breed
Class I10065.36%
Class I10084.60%
Class I10110.96%
Class I101420.50%
Class I10164.98%
Class I10179.00%
Class I10540.19%
Class I10650.38%
Class I10670.19%
Class I10685.94%
Class I10912.87%
Class I109228.54%
Class I115915.90%
Class I11810.38%
Class I12630.19%
Class II20010.57%
Class II20033.83%
Class II20050.77%
Class II200614.37%
Class II20075.36%
Class II20120.96%
Class II20140.57%
Class II20170.19%
Class II20220.19%
Class II20314.41%
Class II20333.26%
Class II203735.63%
Class II205013.41%
Class II20536.90%
Class II20600.38%
Class II20760.19%
Class II20909.00%


Search For a Giant Schnauzer

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List of Public Dogs

No.NameGenderOutlier IndexAverage Genetic RelatednessInternal Relatedness
1Ain't she a Duesy von FurstenhausF0.24-0.01-0.03
2Amazing Alfa at FigoskyF0.220.030.14
3Apffel Bach's California CruzinF0.26-0.050.14
4Apffel Bach's DirkM0.26-0.090.30
5Apffell Bach's Covert OperativeM0.31-0.050.07
6Apffell Bach's Delta ForceF0.34-0.060.08
7Ashton vom WasserlaufM0.27-0.03-0.02
8Aspen Leaf's Bear Creek Elsa QueenF0.250.04-0.04
9Aspen Leaf's Stablemasters Private PleasureM0.26-0.090.31
10Austin von Elberfeld M0.240.05-0.17
11Avada Kedavra vom WasserlaufF0.21-0.020.03
12Azzuma's Daredevil of WetbeardM0.210.020.10
13Bear Creek Grande LillyF0.200.08-0.13
14Bear Creek Hinda v Clear DaysF0.190.06-0.06
15Bigfoot's Aspen Leaf RevancheF0.250.04-0.07
16Black Magic's WomanF0.160.020.22
17Bluechip Smash HitF0.200.010.03
18Boston Blackstone NM0.230.04-0.17
19Braveheart's Close to My HeartM0.260.01-0.07
20Brix In Spite Of AllM0.350.00-0.02
21Carolina's HaHa Fooled YaF0.190.010.16
22Carolina's Here We Go AgainF0.230.000.04
23Carolina's Million Dollar BabyF0.170.020.20
24Carolina's The Jig Is UpM0.140.060.18
25Celestial Exquisite EffervescenceF0.48-0.190.09
26CH Firezone's Mayberry Let Time Go Lightly At Paisley F0.240.08-0.11
27CH Spicerack's Olivia's Secret PotionF0.240.03-0.04
28Clear Days Crystal Blue PersuasionF0.32-0.070.24
29Coldnose Memphis BelleF0.230.000.15
30Coolhand's Black IceF0.280.01-0.04
31CoolHand's I've Got The MovesM0.290.05-0.19
32CoolHand's Set Fire To The ReignF0.27-0.02-0.02
33Daserbe Chase The Ace To DraxparkF0.280.05-0.13
34Dasval As Good As It GetsF0.28-0.010.02
35Delarive's Time to JitterbugF0.140.040.30
36Doc's Life Is GoodM0.150.06-0.02
37Draxpark Black JackM0.230.09-0.21
38Draxpark Check Me OutF0.20-0.010.20
39Draxpark Checkered FlagM0.220.06-0.04
40Draxpark DramaticusF0.36-0.05-0.02
41Draxpark FantasticusM0.250.030.01
42Draxpark Hot Like MeF0.36-0.010.04
43Draxpark JackpotF0.160.11-0.17
44Draxpark Looking GoodM0.260.02-0.04
45Draxpark Lots To LikeM0.290.01-0.01
46Draxpark SochiF0.32-0.030.01
47Draxpark VladivostokM0.39-0.01-0.19
48Edelphie Delores DelagoF0.250.04-0.04
49Ekhojdens Singular SensationF0.26-0.010.02
50El Pulpo De CethusM0.330.00-0.07
51Extreme Eldorado Vom Mutter HausM0.350.03-0.08
52Eyrie von ElberfeldF0.30-0.090.27
53Fanta C Cowboys Back In Town At Happy TrailsM0.40-0.06-0.03
54Fanta C's Out Of The DarknessM0.280.00-0.01
55Fanta C's The Great ExpeditionM0.200.05-0.05
56Ferncliffe DavignonM0.300.02-0.07
57Ferncliffe Pistols At Dawn for RuffhausF0.20-0.020.13
58Ferncliffe Strip ArtistF0.220.040.08
59FERNCLIFFES URAKM0.220.04-0.03
60Firesilver EurostyleM0.87-0.260.05
61Firezone's Above and Beyond for MelastronM0.270.000.05
62Firezone's Beyond The HorizonF0.180.05-0.01
63Firezone's Beyond The SpotlightM0.250.010.08
64Firezone's Clear LegacyF0.200.07-0.11
65FIREZONE'S DEFIANT TOP BRASSM0.230.000.11
66Firezone's Defiant With A Cherry On TopF0.230.04-0.04
67Firezone's Echoes of Ramos' LegacyF0.110.08-0.12
68Firezone's Firefly At DragonairM0.160.000.09
69Firezone's Gravitational ForceM0.160.060.01
70Firezone's High Caliber 357F0.210.05-0.07
71Firezone's High Caliber CommotionM0.250.03-0.10
72Firezone's KincsemF0.160.000.33
73Firezone's Mayberry Dance of a Brave HeartF0.210.02-0.07
74Firezone's Mayberry Rain DanceF0.260.010.11
75Firezone's Mayberry Shadow DancerM0.180.06-0.05
76Firezone's Mayberry Time To ShineF0.200.080.03
77Firezone's One Helluva RideF0.220.08-0.18
78Firezone's Ramos' Special LegacyM0.180.020.04
79Firezone's Reach Beyond The StarsF0.230.030.12
80Firezone's Setting The Stage On FIreF0.27-0.010.14
81Firezone's Special BlendF0.180.05-0.08
82Firezone's Take a Dance with MeM0.250.04-0.12
83Firezone's Taking Me HigherF0.250.03-0.07
84Firezone's Vala Dances Free With ButterfliesF0.180.070.03
85Firezone's Wild and Free from KincsemF0.170.09-0.07
86Foxwood's Dare To Dazzle RiesenheimF0.270.02-0.04
87Foxwood's Femme NikitaF0.210.09-0.19
88Freddie z Grodu Ksiazat PomorskichM0.45-0.15-0.02
89GCH Clear Days AugustusM0.210.020.10
90Giant Strides Grande Angel Spread Your WingsF0.140.070.05
91Giant Strides Karbon Kopy Vom Mutter HausM0.290.040.04
92Gloris EclipseM0.300.06-0.17
93Gloris Generational StarM0.42-0.080.14
94Gloris Maximus at FirezoneM0.21-0.010.03
95Gloris Rafael DraxparkM0.25-0.010.23
96Gloris Zealous DesireF0.51-0.140.07
97Grande DaydreamerF0.140.11-0.08
98Grande Giant Strides Angel of MercyF0.210.08-0.02
99Grande Lovin' Every Minute of ItF0.31-0.070.23
100Grande Next JourneyF0.210.050.03
101Grande OverdriveM0.160.11-0.13
102Grande Passion for FameF0.23-0.050.24
103Grande Queen of HeartsF0.270.06-0.09
104Grande QuintessentialF0.250.030.05
105Grande Roses in RomeF0.310.01-0.06
106Grande Something WickedF0.22-0.030.28
107Grande Super SportM0.25-0.010.28
108Greif Hakon vom SchenkenwaldM0.60-0.240.14
109Grovelea BossanovaF0.260.05-0.10
110Happy Trails Heart Of A CowgirlF0.31-0.020.11
111Happy Trails I Want To Break FreeF0.250.030.03
112Happy Trails Life Is Highway At Fanta CM0.260.02-0.05
113Happy Trails Watcha Gonna Do With A CowboyM0.290.04-0.17
114Hearthmore's Wild PoppyF0.130.070.09
115Hearthmore's Wintergreen Mountain M0.190.050.10
116Hemi vom EngelskottenF0.38-0.050.05
117Histyle's Breaking BadM0.150.080.14
118Histyle's Federal ExpressM0.210.060.03
119HiStyle's Midnight SpecialM0.180.06-0.02
120HiStyle's Somewhere Over The RainbowF0.170.08-0.06
121Houston Von ElberfeldM0.34-0.020.02
122Ike's Flying Purple People Eater von FurstenhausM0.30-0.03-0.04
123Indigo's A Bonney Irish PirateF0.36-0.100.06
124Indigo's A Scottish PiperF0.34-0.06-0.04
125Indigo's Dream Come TrueF0.29-0.06-0.01
126Indigo's GwynnieF0.38-0.090.01
127Indigo's Whiz KidM0.33-0.080.04
128Ingebars Tynan Dances with WildflowersM0.200.000.30
129Ingebars I Live For The ApplauseF0.140.11-0.05
130Ingebars Oh Be JoyfulM0.190.070.27
131Inno All'Amore von den Nassen BaertenM0.40-0.140.07
132Invicta Gigas ClodaghF0.200.03-0.04
133Iservel Dark SecretM0.27-0.010.19
134Jafrak Magic LanternF0.200.08-0.03
135Jenga vom Moisburger BergF0.69-0.19-0.02
136Kalidor's Acadian AdventureF0.250.02-0.04
137KAR Farm's Good for the GanderM0.38-0.160.25
138KenRo's Evening RendezvouF0.24-0.050.19
139KenRo's You Got Some Splanin To DoF0.24-0.030.08
140Kiraly's Covina CaliforniaF0.160.020.14
141Kiraly's Dance Of DragonsF0.230.050.00
142Kiraly's DrogonM0.180.050.03
143Kiraly's Moves Like JaggerM0.210.050.07
144Kiraly's Sweet SophisticationF0.21-0.070.43
145Kiraly's Winter is ComingM0.180.10-0.09
146Kittynoir Vanilla BeanF0.320.00-0.04
147Komet Von ElberfeldM0.210.010.06
148Lagniappe's From The Mountains To The BayouM0.160.13-0.02
149Lagniappe's Geaux Tell It On The MountainM0.230.030.03
150Lagniappe's Glenda The Good WitchF0.30-0.010.13
151Lagniappe's Hard To HandleM0.140.040.11
152Lagniappe's Heaven Help UsF0.130.050.07
153Lagniappe's Her MajestyF0.190.040.07
154Lagniappe's I Can Only ImagineF0.140.040.25
155Lagniappe's I'll Have a DoubleM0.190.060.11
156Lagniappe's I'm in HeavenF0.090.090.19
157Lagniappe's If the River Don't RiseF0.110.100.13
158Lagniappe's Incredible JourneyF0.190.030.21
159Lagniappe's Irresistible Jolene the Bayou QueenF0.160.090.09
160Leidenschaft's JägermeisterM0.23-0.010.12
161Long Grove's Twinkle ToesF0.150.030.12
162Lucavale Washington at AndmauraM0.40-0.140.05
163Magisterial's Boulder HaukM0.38-0.04-0.10
164Mendelssohn vom Weseler WaldM0.25-0.03-0.10
165Momentumm Annie Get Your GunF0.31-0.040.03
166Momentumm Brigadoon After MidnightM0.32-0.03-0.10
167Momentumm In The LimelightF0.32-0.060.00
168Momentumm King of HeartsM0.200.08-0.14
169Momentumm Knight Show V. MagicM0.32-0.090.31
170Momentumm V.I.P.F0.49-0.130.04
171Munchener Qira von MoonshadoF0.38-0.200.24
172Munchener Siegfried von MondoM0.34-0.140.14
173Munchener Silverschatz v MondoF0.46-0.210.22
174Munchener Undercover UlixM0.38-0.11-0.09
175Nev Lemar Bonapart M0.240.03-0.04
176Nightline Heart of DelariveF0.200.020.03
177Not Yet Registered Leta PuppyF0.32-0.02-0.14
178Obsidian's First LadyF0.190.05-0.02
179Obsidian's Freya Von LuthorF0.220.010.02
180Old Saint NicklausM0.25-0.02-0.11
181Ordre Hanno VetoF0.38-0.070.06
182Otis Boanergos De GaulleM0.210.030.07
183Otis Boanergos OrpheusM0.280.03-0.11
184Patriot Vom ZetterfeldM0.30-0.030.15
185Pharo vom kleinen BüffelM0.30-0.06-0.02
186Prinz vom kleinen BüffelM0.32-0.04-0.03
187Pushkadell Tuscan to GroveleaM0.190.070.02
188Qodo vom GoldbergseeF0.26-0.060.13
189Quadriga vom Weseler WaldF0.35-0.06-0.05
190Radegast Hanno Veto M0.38-0.090.10
191Ramahill's Gloriana At SpicerackF0.240.00-0.03
192Reinkarnata Hanno Veto F0.36-0.100.08
193Renomee Hanno VetoF0.42-0.070.12
194Riesenheim Rufus BlackM0.230.04-0.06
195Riesenheim Taio Cruz To RuffhausM0.260.010.01
196Riesenrad's Go The DistanceF0.30-0.040.08
197Riesenrads Guilty As ChargedF0.35-0.080.15
198Riesenrads IMA Coming In HotF0.32-0.010.01
199Riot von ElberfeldM0.32-0.070.05
200Rissies JappM0.48-0.09-0.02
201Rus Astershvarc Zone of FireM0.180.020.09
202Ruster's Artfully Aged M0.23-0.020.13
203Schutzengel's Bad and BoujeeF0.260.010.23
204Schutzengel's Khaos By KarmaM0.210.060.04
205Schutzengel's Whatever It TakesM0.210.060.06
206Selectiondor ElectraF0.210.050.03
207Silver Senator Figo at FigoskyM0.71-0.21-0.01
208Silver Senators Sky NewsF0.77-0.260.18
209Skansen's Duchess of KaliforniaF0.180.010.06
210Skansen's Indigo RainF0.44-0.160.00
211Skansen's Lost TreasureF0.32-0.090.23
212Skansen's Payton of KARFarmF0.35-0.120.17
213Skansen's Thousand IslandM0.170.040.20
214Spartacus Radinie At DraxparkM0.39-0.070.03
215Spicerack's & Ramahill's Comin In HotF0.240.05-0.18
216Spicerack's Pink Missundaztood SecretF0.180.030.04
217Spicerack's Shotgun RiderM0.240.02-0.09
218Spicerack's Whiskey Tango Foxtrot By RamahillM0.220.05-0.02
219Spicerack's Whispering Sweet NuthinsF0.170.000.23
220St. Michaels AibhlinnF0.280.01-0.06
221Stablemaster's Claudius CaesarM0.200.040.02
222Stablemaster's Kiss of KarmaF0.170.060.16
223Stablemaster's SabrinaF0.180.030.07
224Stablemaster's Wish and KissF0.290.010.00
225Star Drim Ya KalugaF0.30-0.060.28
226Star Drim Ya RusskiyM0.250.04-0.12
227Star Drim Yantra at FirezoneM0.280.000.13
228STAR LEVEL TIME TO WINM0.25-0.010.12
229T'Challah Black PantherF0.28-0.010.13
230Taktika Art Focus PointM0.140.030.18
231Terravirtus JengaF0.56-0.240.36
232Terravirtus PandamoniumM0.84-0.270.03
233Time For You Gaius Caesar at FerncliffeM0.36-0.04-0.04
234Tito von ElberfeldM0.280.02-0.06
235Tyshunde ApprenticeM0.26-0.050.16
236Uno Nicolas RadinieM0.180.07-0.11
237Wanderlust's Walking On Indigo SunshineF0.130.050.24
238Watson RadinieM0.29-0.040.09
239Weylin Kato Vom Mutter HausM0.240.050.05
240Yadon von BlackmooreM0.230.010.05
241Yashanti's In CahootsM0.39-0.120.15
242Zarina's Design Amour-Amour at FoxwoodF0.280.020.09
243Zarina's Design Avenger For RiesenheimM0.270.010.06
244Zarina's Design Something SpecialF0.160.06-0.07
245Zarina's Design Tu Eres Mi TodoM0.190.050.16
246Zsa Zsa GaboraF0.32-0.040.00

Active BetterBred Breeders:

KennelWebsiteState or ProvinceCountry
Wasserlauf Giant SchnauzersWebsiteOntarioCA
Kiraly Giant SchnauzersWebsiteBritish ColumbiaCanada
Draxpark Giant SchnauzersWebsiteNorth YorkshireUK
Grande Giant SchnauzersWebsiteColoradoUS
Indigo GiantsWebsiteMissouriUS