Alice White
Affenpinscher is an inquisitive shaggy “meteor” whose trust is almost impossible to earn if you are not its owner. Possessing an unusually strong and jealous character, this funny little man wants only one thing – to be the only pet and four-legged darling in the house. In turn, Affenpinscher undertakes to hate from the bottom of his heart all the smaller rodent fluffies, and also promptly informs the owner that someone bipedal and suspicious has appeared on the doorstep of the apartment.
#1 The southern regions of Germany are considered the homeland of the Affenpinschers.
Where monkey-faced dogs were bred as rat catchers. The inhabitants of Lubeck were especially successful in this, inhabiting grain barns and stables with mini-dogs, where they were engaged in the destruction of rodents. It is worth noting that the first affens were larger than their modern descendants and had a wider palette of colors, which did not prevent them from transforming into a decorative breed and enchanting the European nobility. Moreover, by the 19th century, Affenpinschers had become an expensive and sought-after commodity, which helped German merchants sell them to ignorant foreigners at an incredible price of 1 thaler for that time.
#2 The first intelligible descriptions of the appearance of the breed are found in the 17th century, but images of Affenpinschers appeared even earlier.
For example, funny cosmetics can be seen on the canvases of the German engraver Albrecht Durer and other artists of the Middle Ages. Since no documents declassifying information about animal genes have been preserved, the relationship of affens with other breeds remains unclear. And although the official version says that ape-like pinschers appeared by crossing common pinschers with Asian pug-like dogs, the likelihood of an admixture of other blood in their phenotype is still not excluded.
#3 In 1902, Affenpinschers passed preliminary standardization, and in 1913 they were officially registered in Germany.
English cynological associations entered the breed into herdbooks only in 1936, since its representatives were not popular among British breeders. But in the United States, affens were accepted almost immediately after the presentation - in 1935, a "party" of shaggy dogs crossed the Atlantic, and a year later received recognition from the American Kennel Club.
