Miniature Schnauzer Miniature Schnauzer The Miniature Schnauzer is a breed of small dog of the Schnauzer type that originated in Germany in the mid-to-late 19th century. Miniature Schnauzers may have been developed from smallest specimens of the Standard Schnauzer, or crosses between the Standard and one or more smaller breeds such as the Affenpinscher, Miniature Pinscher, and Poodles, as farmers bred a small dog that was an efficient ratting dog. They are described as "spunky" but aloof dogs, with good guarding tendencies without some guard dogs' predisposition to bite. Miniature Schnauzers are recognized in three colors internationally: solid black, black and silver,
Feist (dog) still often called "feists". The terriers brought to the US in the 1890s from England were crossed with feist dogs already here, in addition to some of the toy breeds (Toy Fox Terrier, Manchester Terrier, and Chihuahua) to develop the feist dogs known today. The word "feist" is described in" Webster's Third New International Dictionary" as from the obsolete word "fysting", meaning "breaking wind, in such expressions as fysting dog or fysting hound". Feist is defined as "1. chiefly dial: a small dog of uncertain ancestry..." The word feisty - "energetic, belligerent, esp. if small" is derived from the dog,