Brief History of the Harlequin Pinscher

To read the full story of the Harlequin Pinscher visit: http://www.harlequinpinscherassociation.com

The Harlequin Pinscher is one of the original patterns that the Germans had, bred and registered as Miniature Pinschers.  As it goes with most clubs when somebody gets in the position of authority and power and decides they don’t like something they change it irregardless of what the eventual outcome will be and the same holds true for the Harlequin Pinscher.

The Harlequin Pinschers history  does run hand in hand with that of the Miniature Pinscher.  The early breeders of the patterned Pinscher however were unaware of the genetic makeup of the Merle gene.  Over a period of years the dogs became decreasing in number due to hereditary defects and eventually went extinct.

A group of ladies here in the US decided to reintroduce the merle pattern to the Miniature Pinscher using contributions from the Rat Terrier.  Along with the merle gene also came the brindle and piebald patterns to form the breed we know today as the Harlequin Pinscher.

A Merle x Merle breeding is considered unethical.

Due to unforseen circumstances we no longer register our pups with HPA.  Our future pups lineages will be recorded with the American Harlequin Miniature Pinscher Club (AHMPC).  Its nothing fancy just a place that my dogs and pups lineages can be recorded for future references.