The Affenpinscher – From Rarity to Toy Group Mainstay

By Amy Fernandez

AKC policymaking has always been a mysterious process. The decisions emanating from that boardroom often stray far outside the boundaries of the organization’s official stance. Take Affen- pinschers for instance. The breed’s history has been characterized by rarity, genetic instability, and limited popularity. Even in its homeland this quintessential German product never attained great support and despite its deep rooted cultural ties was treated more like an afterthought by the eminently powerful Pinscher-Schnauzer Klub.

However, AKC marches to a different drummer. Maybe Affenpinschers weren’t flying off the shelf in Germany when the first imports arrived here in 1935, but the ball was in AKC’s court now. And so began another strange and remarkable episode in American purebred history. A transatlantic steamer and an 800-mile train ride brought them to Mrs. Bessie Mally in Cicero, Illinois. Her motives for this costly, complicated venture are unknown, but she seemed to know what she was doing. Her Zwergteufel (Dwarfdevil) kennel prefix certainly suggests that she had a feel for the breed. And her foundation stock, three bitches and a dog, rep- resented all three of the viable bloodlines then established in Germany. Even so, it’s hard to imagine what she envisioned for this obscure breed in its new home.

In contrast, and quite uncharacteristically, AKC knew precisely what the future had in store for Olly, Nolli, Lola, and Osko and they didn’t waste a minute. A translation of the German standard was soon approved and with a grand total of four studbook entries the Affenpinscher was formally admit- ted to the Toy Group on September 15, 1936.

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Posted by Alex on Aug 18 2020. Filed under Current Articles, Dog Show History, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.