Affenpinscher Dog Breed
 (a.k.a. Small Griffon)

Germany

The Affenpinscher should look like a monkey, however, or maybe because of this, has never been too popular. It is a very old breed, and there were some Dutch painters who included them in their paintings during the XIV century. It has always been considered a close relative to miniature pinscher, a more common breed, of straight hair and there was even a time when it was considered another variety of the breed but with stiff hair. The Affenpinscher was not able to classify, up until a little earlier than the 1900's, as a show dog in German fairs, but since then it has not increase in number significantly, not even within its Continent. It is possible that the fact that is considered very aggressive has contributed to its unpopularity in most countries.

Its apish look might be due to its round, black, shiny eyes. It is a small, robust dog with a round skull, its snout is inward, a detail which makes it look very audacious, small pointy ears, cut tail and stiff hair, much more abundant on its head than on the rest of the body.

Its color, preferably, is black, although black with cinnamon or grey colored spots is also acceptable, as are other colors, except white or light colors. Its height at withers must not be more than 28 cm long; however, the smaller is the better one.