Parti mini schnauzers are always a very controversial topic among mini schnauzer owners all over the world, including the Philippines. So many people are smitten by their colors and markings, so much so that they rush out to get them without doing their research. They find out too late that partis (or livers or merles) do not follow the breed standard for mini schnauzers.
So what’s wrong with getting a dog that doesn’t conform to breed standards, you might say? The answer is none. For as long as you know what you are getting, that should be fine. After all, all dogs – whether mixed or purebred, with faults or otherwise, — are all lovable and are entitled to be loved and pampered.
The problem is if you think you aim to breed your parti. What makes the parti-color, liver, or merle miniature schnauzer inappropriate for breeding, you might ask. That’s because the American Miniature Schnauzer Club, which is the gatekeeper of the breed standard (for North America), contends they have been mixed with other breeds.
The American Miniature Schnauzer Club states that
“these are not colors or patterns ever associated with the Miniature Schnauzer. Some less-than-responsible breeders today are mixing in other breeds to achieve these off patterns and colors, marketing them as “rare and unusual” miniature schnauzers and charging the unsuspecting public big bucks for essentially mixed breed dogs! Buyer beware!”
Some people think that their patterns come about when various mini schnauzer colors are mixed. Some think that combining a white mini schnauzer with a black mini schnauzer will result in a parti schnauzer. Nothing can be further than the truth.
If you combine a white mini schnauzer (whose heritage itself is questioned by many quarters in the US) with a black, salt and pepper, or a black and silver, you are not going to get a parti, merle, or chocolate. You’re going to get one of the usual schnauzer colors – black, salt and pepper, or black and silver. If that dog carries a white gene, there is a likelihood of having a pure white mini schnauzer. But no, there will be no funky colors that will emerge.
Long-time breeders believe that parti schnauzers came about from the combination of a mini schnauzer with dogs such as fox terriers, westies, and poodles.
Highly respected breeder Kate McMillan explains this in her site:
“Every month the American Kennel Club publishes lists of individuals who have been suspended of their privileges of registration due to fraud, lack of records, cross breeding. These are often the result of investigations into puppy mills. In these establishments, several breeds are bred in mass quantities. Poodles and Minis and Westies may be running in communal dog pens. And the integrity of the registration papers they are issued, even if purebred, is suspect, due to the fact that there is a huge black market in AKC blue slips. These are the forms that are issued when a breeder registers a litter. One is issued for each puppy reported as born. An unethical breeder with unregistered or crossbred bitches will over-report the puppies from those of his registered bitches, in order to obtain blue slips for the cross-bred puppies. The motivation for this fraud is monetary – dogs with AKC registrations papers command higher prices. In this way, crossbred dogs find their way into the purebred population, along with the colors that their westie or poodle or fox terrier parents might have contributed. Because the white and particolor genes are recessive genes, the puppies will not show the undesirable color in the first generation!”
If, after reading this, you still want a parti schnauzer, do so with your eyes wide open. Check out the dog and most of all, check out the breeder. No reputable mini schnauzer breeder will put their name and track record at stake by selling partis.
Pinoy Dog Mom 