Having witnessed the Standard Schnauzer in action, duly impressed Cattlemen from Bavaria decided it was the dog they had been looking for, except they wanted it in a bigger size. So they went ahead and acquired a few specimens of the Standard Schnauzer dog breed and used them as the foundation template to create a bigger more powerful version that would be better suited at driving herds of cattle to market. That new bigger, more powerful dog was to become the Giant Schnauzer.

The Giant Schnauzer is a German dog breed that ironically was first exhibited in 1909 at the Munich Dog Show under the title of “Russian Bear Schnauzer.” During the course of history the Giant Schnauzer has variously been known by any one of the following names:

•    Riesenschnauzer
•    Schnauzer
•    Munich Schnauzer
•    Munchener
•    Munchen Dog

As mentioned previously the progenitor of the Giant Schnauzer breed was the Standard Schnauzer dog, which the Bavarian Cattlemen crossed with other dog breeds to create a hybrid version that they desired which over time was consolidated into a purebred breed. The subsequent results of the cross mixing with other breeds was a dog that was about 40 pounds heavier and 8 inches (20 cm) taller than the Standard Schnauzer dog. To increase the size and weight of the Standard Schnauzer the following various breeds was crossbred with it:

•    Great Dane
•    Rottweiler
•    Bouvier des Flandres
•    Black Poodle
•    Wirehaired Pinscher
•    Wolf Spitz
•    Rough Coated Sheepdogs

The Bavarian breeders could not have been more delighted by the results of the various breed crossings. The Giant Schnauzer dog was a large, water-resistant, impressive looking breed that proved to be exceptionally skilled and adept at cattle droving. The Giant Schnuazer dog was used in the capacity of cattle drover, herding cattle to the marketplace for many years, until the 19th century when such activity was eclipsed by the introduction of rail transport.

Giant Schnauzer Dog

Article on giant schnauzer written by Kayye Nynne