Also in the beginning of the breed came in a
pattern called "MERLE".
These
patterned dogs were separated from the Min Pin breed and formed their own breed
called "HARLEQUIN PINSCHERS".
Run-N-Ridge started 11 years ago to revive the
pattern and succeeded in 2006 of registering the first PUREBRED Merle Miniature
Pinscher & Harlequin Pinscher since 1950.
The
MERLE Miniature Pinschers are registered as "Harlequin Pinschers" but
they MUST only be bred back to Miniature Pinschers.
History of the Harlequin Pinscher
By: Nancy Anderson
All rights reserved by copyright law
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The Harlequin Pinscher is one of the original patterns that the Germans had,
bred and registered as Miniature Pinschers. As it goes with most clubs
when somebody gets in the position of authority and power and decides they
don't like something they change it irregardless of what the eventual outcome
will be and the same holds true for the Merle Miniature Pinscher known as the
Harlequin Pinscher.
Let's start at the beginning however
and work our way to present day so you will get a complete history on the
Harlequin Pinscher, it's life, it's diversity, it's conflicts, it's downfalls
and it's long awaited revival. Of course the Harlequin Miniature Pinscher
history will run hand in hand with that of the Miniature Pinscher.
The Harlequin Pinschers native land
and place of origin is Germany. The first German documentation for
the Miniature Pinscher was established in 1880. The first Breed Standard
was established in 1895 by the Germany Pinscher Klub now called the
Pinscher-Schnauzer Klub. The colors listed were Red/Yellow, Gray-Yellow,
blue/tan, Black; Gray like iron or Silver Gray, either one color or with
yellow-brow or light red marking at the eyes, muzzle and legs. Of one
color, blond, or dirty gray-white or white with black spots. In my
personal opinion of the standard I see this as being, Chocolate/Tan being the
Red/Yellow with marking. Gray-yellow would be Fawn/Tan. Black is
self explanatory, Gray like iron or Silver Gray would most likely be the Blue
version. The blond would be Red, Dirty Gray-White would most likely be
Merle/Harlequin and my guess is that the white with black spots was the Double
Merle version of the Harlequin or it could be possible that at one time there
was actually Piebald in the breed as well.
The
Harlequin Pinscher was the merle variety of the Miniature Pinscher that first
appeared during the late 1800s. It's true origin is unknown as at that
time the merle coloring did not occur in any terrier breeds thus making the
Merle Pinscher and later known as the Harlequin Pinscher the first Terrier
breed to come in the Merle pattern. It is thought that small sized Pinschers
were probably crossed to either some breed of merle hound or merle herding dog
resulting in the merle Miniature Pinscher. The true origin however is
unknown, as I previously stated, as little to no documentation was kept on the
development of the breed and will assuredly remain that way. Just as the
merle coloring was a variation from the normal Miniature Pinscher so was their
temperament as they are more laid back and are not as suitable for use as Ratters
as are the other variety of Miniature Pinscher.
In
the 1920's the Harlequin version of the Miniature Pinscher became part of a
controversial subject in the German Miniature Pinscher Breed Club and was
unfortunately removed from the German Breed Standard and was forced to start
their own breed, which became known as "Harlequin Pinscher".
The Original Harlequin Pinscher breed standard
established in 1923 called for it to be 12-14 inches tall being 22-26 pounds in
weight. The color variations were Harlequin on a white, gray or black
background having a black or self-colored nose according to coat.
The early breeders of the Harlequin
Pinscher however were unaware of the genetic makeup of the Harlequins and
the gorgeous but semi-fatal status of the Merle gene. Over a period
of years the dogs became decreasing in number due to hereditary defects.
The American Kennel Club allowed the
first registration of a Miniature Pinscher on March 31, 1925, which was an
imported one from Germany and was listed as being "black, red,
brown".
The Miniature Pinscher Club of
America, Inc., was formed in 1929 and became the AKC Breed Club for the
Miniature Pinscher. Prior to the formation of the MPCA the Miniature
Pinscher was shown in the Miscellaneous class but was changed to the Toy
Class.
The Harlequin description as far as I
can find was ALWAYS a breed pattern FAULT in the AKC Breed Standard and then
changed to a disqualification in later years. Prior to them being a
Disqualification they were allowed to be shown, only faulted in points.
This in no way meant however that AKC would still not recognize them and
register them as "harlequin patterned" Miniature Pinscher.
The August 1935 AKC Breed Standard
allowed Blues, Brown, Yellow, Red and Black and that standard was still in
effect up to 1950. The size was 11.5 inches being 6-10 pounds in
weight. Light color or white, very dark or sooty spots, - in listed
markings were considered faults. The tail was to be 1 to 2 inches in
length cropped.
A foursome of Harlequin Pinschers was
shown at Crufts in 1938.
One breeder in the United States was
known to of bred Harlequin Reh Pinschers in the "Black & White"
variety as late as 1940.
It has been said that there were
Harlequin or spotted variety and some Brindles still being bred in or around
Karlsbad, Austria, Hannover in North Germany and in Wurttemberg in South
Germany as late as the 1950's.
The Blues and fawns became a MPCA FAULT
of the breed standard for AKC on February 11, 1950 as they were said to be of
poor coat quality and with health issues when the AKC approved the breed
standard revisal submitted by the MPCA. This in no way meant
however that AKC would still not recognize them and register them as their
actual color as a Miniature Pinscher and even to be shown. It simply
meant they were no longer allowed the privilege of being able to be shown in
the sanctioned AKC dog shows without being given Fault Reduction in
points. In 1950 the breed standard called for them to be 10-12.5 inches
tall being 6 to 10 pounds in size. The tail standard was to be docked 1/2
to 1 inch in length.
The AKC approved a revised Breed
Standard on May 13, 1958 for the Miniature Pinscher, which included only Black,
Red and Brown as approved colors by the standard. Other colors at that
time were still listed as FAULTS. The weight requirements in that
revision were removed and it again became only 10-12.5 inches in height with no
weight qualifications. The tail was to be 1/2 to 1 inch in length
docked.
The last known Miniature Pinscher
registered with the AKC with the Harlequin pattern is ???????.
The July 8, 1980 revised Breed
Standard for AKC make ALL other colors other than Solid clear red, Stag red,
Black/Rust-red, and Chocolate/Rust-red disqualifications. The tail was to
be docked in proportion to the body. Height was 10-12.5 inches with no
weight classification.
American Canine Registry accepted
into its sister registry, American Pedigree Registry, the first documentation
to the re-development of the Merle Miniature Pinscher for pedigree
documentation only in 2004. The requirement was that a one time cross
could be achieved with a Merle Rat Terrier of superior quality and health and
the Merle offspring from that cross was to continue the development by being
bred only to Miniature Pinschers and upon 7th generation they would be accepted
as purebred Merle Miniature Pinschers with documented lineage. Many years
before 2004 a trio of elderly ladies had already done the Merle Rat Terrier and
Miniature Pinscher cross and had already established several generations of
Merle Miniature Pinschers that became later classified as F-series (*i.e. F1,
F2, F3, F4, F5, F6) Miniature Pinschers in the Merle pattern. Nancy
Anderson was able to trace these dogs lineage back with enough documentation to
get them accepted into the foundation lineage and go from that point forward to
where we are today with not only MERLE Miniature Pinschers but Harlequin
Pinschers as well. Nancy Anderson not being one to stop once one goal is
achieved decided to take the next step and petition ACR for a Harlequin
Pinscher breed classification. Due to the limited number of Harlequin
Pinschers and the sure re-extinction of the breed associated with the Merle
pattern however she was denied the request. In 2007, Nancy Anderson had
worked out what she felt were the objections for the refusal to re-establish
the Harlequin Pinscher breed classification and once again petitioned ACR for
breed designation approval with the organization of a Harlequin Pinscher Breed
Club which would document more of the one time Merle Rat Terrier - Miniature
Pinscher crosses and begin a program of documentation for the F-series
hybrids. After much debate and reorganization on both parties a YEA Vote
was achieved and the Harlequin Pinscher Association, now known as the HPA was
officially formed on October 19, 2007 with the FIRST Harlequin Pinscher
officially being registered as "Run-N-Ridges Ole Time Revival N
Mayhem" which had already achieved his Grand Championship status earlier
in the year as a Merle Miniature Pinscher establishing his Superior Quality for
being an excellent representative of the breed in which to continue the
production of the Harlequin Pinscher. The first F1 dam being credited for
the beginning of the revival of the Merle Miniature Pinscher or Harlequin
Pinscher was appropriately called and registered as "Allie Oops"
being a Chocolate/Tan Merle with the registration number of 488-591-0104-F1.
The HPA will accept for lineage
documentation and registration "FOUNDATION" stock for the advancement
of purebred Merle Miniature Pinschers known as Harlequin Pinschers. The
HPA allows a documented one time cross with a Merle Rat Terrier of superior
quality and health to be used with a purebred/documented Miniature Pinscher to
produce Merle offspring which is to be known/documented as F1 Harlequin
Pinschers. Each succeeding MERLE generation becomes F2, F3, F4, F5,
F6 and an F7 becomes what is known as a purebred Harlequin Pinscher. The
HPA rules are VERY STRICT and are to be abided by and WILL BE UPHELD WITHOUT
EXCEPTION whereas ONLY 1 PARENT may be Merle and ONLY 1 PARENT may be of the
F-hybrid Merle variety with the subsequent parent being that of a Purebred
Miniature Pinscher of the NON-Merle pattern. It is important to keep in
mind that with this program ALL offspring of Non-Merle
status is lost to the program and is considered a cross-bred animal. Only
those who are genuinely interested in the revival of the Merle Miniature
Pinscher or Harlequin Pinscher should take on the endeavor, as it is without
doubt a very costly and time consuming one. ACR will be the parent club
for HPA with HPA being the Harlequin Pinscher Breed Club for ACR. ACR
will be responsible for the distribution of papers while a 5 person board has
been established to review the REQUIRED pictures that MUST be submitted with
the proper fees in order to REQUEST "FOUNDATION" registration of a
Merle, Class A, Rat Terrier of Superior Quality and Health into the HPA
database for breeding purposes. HPA will remain an open registry until
the time at which a minimum of 1500 dogs have been registered as an F6 and no
less than 100 different Foundation Sires with no less than 10 F6 prodigy are
recorded.
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Harlequin Pinscher Breed Standard for the American Canine
Registry (*USA) Approved 11/4/2007 |
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Other Names: Merle Miniature Pinscher |
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Height: Toy variety - 6-12
inches Miniature Variety - 13-18
inches Standard Variety - 19-24 inches |
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Group: Terrier |
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Weight: Toy 4-12 pounds
Miniature 13-18
pounds Standard
19-26 pounds |
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Coat: Short, Flat, Smooth, And Tight To The Body |
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Color/Pattern/Markings:
Black, Red,
Brown, Blue, Fawn, Blue/Fawn with or without Tan, Red or Crème markings in
the MERLE pattern. |
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Appearance: Deer like in appearance being smooth-coated, alert, spirited
and structurally well balanced, company and square bodied. Movement: Quick, yet well balanced & graceful. HEAD:
Skull:
Elongated, and
broad. Appears flat and tapers forward toward the muzzle. Eyes: Dark, Blue or Green/Gold, bi is
acceptable. Ears: Cropped, Not cropped, tipped or natural
erect. If cropped must be cropped in proportion to head at 12-16 weeks
of age. Muzzle: Medium and tapering to an unexaggerated
point. Nose: Black on Black and Red base coated
dogs. Red dogs may also have self colored brown/red nose. Brown
on Brown and Fawn. Blue on Blue. Blue on Blue/Fawn. Bite: Scissor Teeth: Clean,
of correct number, shape and position. Neck: Broad at shoulders, slightly arched. TORSO: Topline: Level or slightly slopping toward the hindquarters.
Chest: Very deep, slightly barrel shaped, well
formed with no exaggeration. Body: Well muscled, square in form measuring
within 1 inch of height from ground to point of wither as from bend of neck
to bend of tail.. Legs: Perfectly
straight forelegs. Length being justifiable to length of body to give a
square visual appearance. Toy: 4-10 inches from ground to point of elbow. 4-12
inches from ground to point of wither. Miniature: 11-16 inches from ground to point of elbow. 13-18
inches from ground to point of wither. Standard: 17-24 inches from ground to point of elbow. 19-26
inches from ground to point of wither. Hind legs are angulated. Proportional
Appearance: Body:
Perfect being 1 pound of body weight per inch of dog in height. Head:
Ears cut in
proportion to head. Skull width and nose
length in correct proportion for an overall gathered appearance. Gait: Deer
like Faults/Penalties: Any deviation
from the breed standard such as but not limited to height/weight ratio, tail
length, dewclaws, improper chest formation, unsocial, overly shy,
timid. Dirty teeth heavily penalized. DISQUALIFICATIONS: Not within height
standard. Not within weight
standard. Exaggerated
difference in height/weight ratio. V-Chest Coat being
anything other than short, flat, smooth and tight to body. Any color,
pattern or markings not listed in breed standard. Ears not of same
set. Ears that are not cut in proportion to head - Too short or too
long. Any
over-exaggeration of confirmation as stated by breed standard. Dewclaws on any
legs. Bad Teeth, improperly aligned teeth. Tail docked to
short or too short of a natural bob, as it is highly discouraged as a health
risk. Bad Temperament,
Aggression, Inability to be controlled by owner/handler. Dogs deemed by
Judge or Show Personnel to have such temperaments MUST be removed
immediately from the premises. Late to or missing pre-inspection, late to
or missing registration, late to or missing call of any kind without PRIOR
authorization by the Show Director. Judge: Dogs will be judged in a class group and
individually. Scores are accumulated from both for final scoring.
Class Groups may be broken down to Breed Group if deemed necessary by the
number of entries present.
42.5+ points in each class for a
combined score of 85+ is required to advance points for accumulation toward
titles. REGISTRATION: All dogs are REQUIRED
to be micro chipped PRIOR to submission for registration and microchip number
submitted with application for registration. All dogs will
have DNA hair follicles pulled at every show for future identification if
needed. HPA/ACR may also request DNA hair follicle samples and any person refusing or ignoring
request for submission will be denied future registration privileges and current dogs
owned will be elevated to suspended registrations. Registration
fees are $25.00 per dog. $25.00 per litter. ALL dogs used
must be either an ACR Merle Miniature Pinscher, ACR Miniature Pinscher, HPA
Foundation Stock Miniature Pinscher, HPA Foundation Stock Merle Rat Terrier
or an established F-series HPA documented dog. Any dog submitted for
registration MUST have a minimum 3 generation pedigree submitted with
application for registration or it will be denied registration. NO
EXCEPTIONS! Pedigrees MUST be from an established Pedigree
Service/Registry recognized by ACR. There are NO Membership fees and there are
no members of HPA/ACR. Registers are granted registration privileges
only. Merle Rat Terrier
foundation stock submitted for "Foundation Registration" MUST be
accompanied via 5 pictures of the animal showing both side, front, back and
head of animal. HPA/ACR reserves the right to refuse registration if
they feel the animal is not a suitable candidate for the welfare of the
Harlequin Pinscher. Any Foundation Registration requested
submitted with the dog being 11 months or older must be verified by a licensed
veterinarian as to breed, age, height, weight, ear set and
color/markings/pattern. Verification must be on Veterinarian Letterhead
with Veterinarians Name, phone number and license number on the
certification. ONLY Class A - square bodied MERLE Rat Terriers
will be accepted for "Foundation Stock" . Any found to be of not Class A Status will be removed from the
database along with their prodigy. Only those
dogs verified by a Judge, Show Personnel, HPA/ACR representative or licensed
veterinarian will be given Size classification as Toy, Miniature or
Standard. All others will be registered as broad category of
"Harlequin Pinscher". |
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