- Pure black with black undercoat
About the Affenpinscher
Origin: Germany
- Typical life span
- 12-15 years
- Size
- Small — from its typical weight
- Weight
- 3.2-4.5 kg
- Height
- 23-29 cm
- FCI status
- Recognised by FCI
- FCI group
- Pinscher and Schnauzer - Molossoid and Swiss Mountain and Cattledogs
- Origin
- Germany
- Known hereditary risks
- Not researched yet
About
What is a Affenpinscher?
Small, sturdy toy breed with a distinctive monkey-like expression and shaggy, wiry coat. Known for its confident, terrier-like personality despite its small size.
Affenpinscher history and origins
Originating in 17th-century Germany, bred down from larger terriers to be skilled ratters in homes, kitchens and stables. Refined in Munich and Berlin, recognized by AKC in 1936. Name translates to 'monkey-like terrier'.
Affenpinscher appearance and size
Typically 3.2-4.5 kg and 23-29 cm at the shoulder — published as one range rather than separately for males and females.
What the breed standard says
- Bred for
- House and Companion Dog
- Behaviour and temperament
“Fearless, alert, persistent and devoted, sometimes full of quick-tempered passion. He is an agreeable family dog in all aspects”
Quoted from FCI standard n°186. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Breed reference from The Dog API.
Characteristics
- Size
- Small
- Exercise needsRead from what the breed was bred to do, in the registry’s own words: “House and Companion Dog” That is a working purpose, not a measured exercise requirement — an individual dog’s needs depend on its age, health and household.
- 2 of 5
- Easy to train
- —
- Amount of shedding
- —
- Grooming needs
- 3 of 5
- Good with children
- —
- Cost to keep
- —
- Tolerates being alone
- —
- Intelligence
- —
- Health of breed
- Not researched yet
Pros & cons
Pros & cons for the Affenpinscher
What you get with the Affenpinscher
- Purpose stated in the standard: “House and Companion Dog”
- The standard describes the breed as: “Fearless, alert, persistent and devoted, sometimes full of quick-tempered passion”
What you are taking on
- Shorter-lived than a crossbred dog — median 9.3 years across 337 animals, against 12
Drawn from sources rather than written as an opinion — cited health research, the registry’s own standard, and peer-reviewed longevity. FCI breed standard; McMillan et al. 2024, median age at death. One breeder’s animals can differ from any of it, and an empty column means we hold nothing for that side rather than that there is nothing to say.
Characteristics
FCI standard · Affenpinscher
Coat and colour
As the FCI standard sets it out. Every line below is the standard’s own wording.
Coat
The body coat should be harsh and dense.
The head is typically adorned by bushy, bristly eyebrows and wreath-like hair surrounding the eyes, by an impressive beard, by the top knot and by the hair on the cheeks.
The coat on the head should be as hard, straggly and sticking out as possible.
It contributes essentially to the monkey-like general expression
Colour
- Preferred
- Permissible
- Undesirable
- Disqualifying
Preferred, permissible, undesirable and disqualifying are FCI’s own words about the breed. They describe what the standard asks for — not an assessment of any individual dog, and not ours.
Shortened from FCI standard n°186 — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.
What the standard penalises
What a judge marks the Affenpinscher down for, and what puts one out of the ring, in the registry’s own words. This describes the breed standard — it is not a checklist for the animal in front of you, and a pet with a disqualifying fault is an unshowable dog rather than an unhealthy one.
Severe faults
Marked heavily against a specimen in the ring.
- Lack of sexual type (i.e. doggy bitch).
- Too fine bones.
- Muzzle Griffon-like upturned or long.
- Too markedly undershot or pincer bite.
- Protruding eyes.
- Elbows turning out.
- Hocks turning in.
- Over- or undersize by more than 1 cm but less than 2 cm
Disqualifying faults
Puts an animal out of the ring altogether.
- Malformation of any kind.
- Lack of breed type.
- Severe faults in individual parts, such as faults in structure, coat and colour.
- Faults in mouth such as a scissor bite or wry mouth.
- Over- or undersize by more than 2 cm
Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the Affenpinscher in general; any individual animal can differ.
Health guide
What to ask for in a Affenpinscher
No breed-specific health panel has been written up for the Affenpinscher on this platform yet. That is a gap in our records, not a clean bill of health — ask the breeder which hereditary conditions their lines are tested for, and ask to see the results for both parents, dated and from a named laboratory.
Gallery
No photographs yet
This is where Affenpinscher owners’ own photographs will go, from the pet profiles they keep here. Nobody has added one to a public page yet.
A photograph in a pet profile stays private to its owner. We will not put one here unless they ask us to.
Puppies
No puppies listed right now
No Affenpinscher breeder has a record on this platform yet, so there is nothing to list. That is a gap in our coverage, not a fact about the breed.