Austria has only one non-scent hound breed, and it’s the Austrian Pinscher.  That this is a very old breed is known from paintings created in the 1700’s that depict dogs virtually identical to the modern Austrian Pinscher. In fact, since the dogs in these paintings were already in their “modern form,” many think that the breed was already in Austria several centuries earlier.

As is too often the case, people tended to overlook this versatile farm dog in their midst. Livestock husbandry changed and that impacted the breed. Breed numbers began to slide by  the end of the 1800’s, and by the 1970s, the breed was nearly extinct. How extinct? Only one registered dog remained.  This one remaining dog was crossed with landrace pinschers found in the area until the breed was revived. In 2000, the breed’s name was changed from the Austrian Shorthaired Pinscher to the Austrian Pinscher.

Today, the Austrian Pinscher remains an all around farm dog. Hunting instincts were deliberately bred out of the breed to protect livestock, but these dogs are ruthless exterminators of rats. They tend to be barkers, and while not a dog that goes looking for a fight, it won’t back down if it has found one.

The breed is recognized by the FCI and the UKC, though it’s still regarded as a rare breed.

Austrian Pinscher in watercolor by Pablo Romero
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