History of the Harlequin Pinscher

Please DO NOT believe everything you find on the INTERNET!!!  There are an abundance of misleading and false accusations out there about the Harlequin Pinscher.  The BEST factual publication that I known of today about the history of the Harlequin Pinscher can be found on the HPA website and was written by the foundation HPA breeder.

Click on the link below to read the Harlequin Pinschers history:

http://www.harlequinpinscherassociation.com

After researching the breed intensely, I have found that the information in the publication from the HPA foundation breeder can absolutely be backed up with some older literature and findings from other breeders.

I do have (in hand) a research paper done by a former Harlequin Pinscher breeder that does contain factual evidence with cited resources of the Harlequin Pinscher history and being apart of the Miniature Pinscher breed in Germany.  There are a few older Miniature Pinscher books still in circulation that contains some history, including the origination of the Harlequin Pinscher and it’s demise through time.   It does in-fact give detailed descriptions and does correspond with the publication from the foundation breeder of HPA.

One of those books is The Complete Miniature Pinscher by Viva Leon Ricketts.  Published in 1957.

As with many things, when someone of higher authority doesn’t like something they change it.  The original Harlequin Pinscher unfortunately was  disliked.   This can be clearly concluded  within the book, The Complete Miniature Pinscher which was republished in 1972.  Most of all of the Harlequin Pinschers history that was in the original publication (1957) was omitted from the publication.  I have both copies of the book and have compared their content!  Below is a picture of the republished book.

With the facts that have been found, we can conclude that the Harlequin Pinscher history does run hand in hand with the Miniature Pinscher.  Unfortunately, the disfavor of the patterns within the Miniature Pinscher breed by many of the breeders within the higher status organizations and the lack of knowledge of the genetics of the merle gene, the patterned dogs known as the Harlequin Pinschers eventually vanished.

During my research of the breeds history, I could not find any concrete evidence of the reintroduction of the merle gene to the Miniature Pinscher to re-establish the the Harlequin Pinscher.  The only publication that I know of is from the HPA foundation breeder that states there were contributions from the Rat Terrier.  I cannot confirm the detailed written information within the publication as I was not apart of this endeavor and I have never seen any supporting documentations.  I have found that there were in-fact merle and brindle Rat Terriers around the time that the re-introduction of the patterns happened.  Though these patterns were eliminated from the Rat Terrier breed standard and today are considered faults.  There are a few Rat Terrier breeders that still have and produce the merle and brindle patterns today.

I did not start my endeavor with the Harlequin Pinscher until 2013.  At which time, only Miniature Pinschers of high quality (AKC, FCI registered) and HPA registered Harlequin Pinschers were being used in most of the breeding programs.  There were a select few breeders that still has the F-Hybrids. 

The F-Hybrids were registered using a foundation stock service acronym (FSS )in their registration number.   The foundation stock service (FSS) was discontinued in January 2017.  I can confirm this as I was a Harlequin Pinscher breeder and the co-director of HPA at that time.

With the ultimate goal of the NEW Harlequin Pinscher to be more Min Pin like.  Todays Harlequin Pinscher breeding programs only consist of Harlequin Pinscher with lineages that are well over 10 generations from the initial Rat Terrier and Miniature Pinscher cross (F-Hybrds).  They also only consist of high quality Miniature Pinscher of AKC or FCI registration.  The reason for this is that the Miniature Pinschers from these registries do have a 3 generation pedigree and most can be proven lineages as they are DNA verified through the AKC or FCI registry.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, Hilltop Acres is no longer affiliated with HPA.  We do continue to uphold the rules and regulations that were set by the foundation registry (HPA).  Which includes producing high quality pups as closely to the established breed standard as possible, parental verifications on all Harlequin Pinschers within our breeding program, genetic testing and clearance of MPS VI, PLL, CYST and HUC of all breeding dogs. DM is also a concern in the Min Pin and Harlequin breeds.  We are working diligently to clear all lineages of that issue as well.

If you are curious and would like to know the TRUTH behind the reason we are no longer affiliated with HPA.  Please click HERE to be directed the History behind Hilltop Acres page and scroll down about halfway of the page.

We have joined forces with a few other former HPA breeders and created a new registry for the Harlequin Pinscher.  The American Harlequin Miniature Pinscher Club (AHMPC) was established in 2022 so that myself, the other former breeders and future breeders that wants to join would have a place to record their adult dogs lineages and the lineages of future pups.

Together, the members of the AHMPC vow to uphold the rules and regulations of the breeding of the Harlequin Pinscher inspired by its foundation registry and set forth by the AHMPC.  The goal of the AHMPC is to provide the proper resources and information about the Harlequin Pinscher breed for all that are interested.  All members of the AHMPC to help fulfill this goal by ensuring the integrity of the breed for the future of all fanciers. 

May the Harlequin Pinscher live on for generations to come!!

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