At the risk of stating the obvious, we touch upon a curious thing in the dog world. Work with us for a moment.
Three separate size divisions exist in the American Eskimo Dog breed standard: The Toy, the Miniature, and the Standard. Three sizes, one standard, and all appear in the Non-Sporting Group;
The breed standard for the Dachshund allows it to be bred and shown in two sizes, standard and miniature (and miniatures are not a separate classification but compete in a class division for “11 pounds and under at 12 months of age and older). Two sizes, one standard, and appearances in one group – the Hound Group;
The standard for the Poodle is the same for the Toy, Standard and Miniature varieties except as regards height. Three sizes, one standard, and all are exhibited in the Non-Sporting Group;
Miniature Bull Terriers are a breed separate and apart from the Bull Terrier, and while each has its own breed standard, both appear in the Terrier Group;
The three sizes of Schnauzers, however, are completely separate breeds from each other and appear in two different groups. Miniature Schnauzers are in the Terrier Group. Giant Schnauzers and Standard Schnauzers are both in the Working Group.
At this point, some of you may be yawning and thinking, “So what?” We honestly don’t have an answer, we just find it fascinating how breeds develop, and how fanciers addressed different sizes when it came to identifying them as either the same breed, or separate and apart from each other. If any of the aforementioned are your breed and you can share insights into why some breed standards were written to be all inclusive of size, and others weren’t – we’d love to hear from you!
Image: “Giant Schnauzer on Bicycle” by Coco De Paris is available for purchase here.
Toy poiskes are shown in the toy group. Manchester Terriers are one breed with standards shown in the terrier group and toys in the toy group
Oops, toy poodles are in the toy group