The most common color for the fabulous Miniature Schnauzer is the classic Salt and Pepper. Indeed, it was the only officially recognized color for the breed when it was first registered in the United States (Miniatures have been bred in the United States since 1925). Color, however, is an issue in the breed, and as far as we know, work is being done to clarify the breed standard to make any color other than the three allowed colors (Salt & Pepper, Black & Silver, and Black) a disqualification. This isn’t to persecute other colors, but rather to protect the breed. In the breed’s early days, other breeds were brought in to reduce size, and limited understanding of genetics lead to colors being introduced that didn’t exist in the Standard Schnauzer from which the Miniature was developed.

Genetically speaking, Salt and Pepper is a “banded” coat color. This is to say that that the outer guard hairs are “banded” with colors that range from light silver to dark gray –  even black, and the hairs can end in black tips. Instead of a single strand of hair being a solid color, it will have a pattern of dark and light coloring on that single strand. This can not only vary from dog to dog, but sometimes in the same dog after having been groomed, especially if he was clipped!

A Salt and Pepper might fade out to a silvery white or light gray in the dog’s cheeks, eyebrows, whiskers, and leg furnishings, and sometimes inside his legs, under his tail, on his throat, and across the chest.  Also, color on the dog’s body may be darker than that of the aforementioned furnishings because of the Schnauzer’s unique chinchilla gene that causes some of the areas of the body to be lighter.  Some Schnauzers seem to change color over time, and this is because some Miniature Schnauzers carry a “fading” gene.

A Miniature Schnauzer may be a Salt and Pepper, but there can be a range of shades in that designation.  A pup may be born so dark, she looks like Black and Silver Miniature Schnauzer, and these youngsters are called “Dark Salt and Peppers.” They typically turn into like a dark charcoal grey adults. Conversely, there are dogs who appear to be the lightest Salt and Pepper shade, and the dogs are called “Platinum Schnauzers.”

In any color, this is a loyal, but spirited, intelligent and friendly breed.

Image: Miniature Schnauzer by SheltieBoy is licensed under CC BY 2.0 and comes from WikiMedia Commons. It was taken in 2013 at the Bozeman/Helena Cluster