The Giant Schnauzer is basically a very old breed, it has been mentioned in a book called "Der Hund und seine Rassen", which was published in 1876. In this book however the Giant Schnauzer was referred to as "the Bavarian Wolfhound". The ears were cropped and the tail docked. The Bavarian highland, in between the rivers of Lech and Isar, is the birthplace of this breed, but it also existed in Tyrol, Austria. The peasants used it for hearding cattle and as a guard dog. The Giant Schnauzer made its´ first appearance in a dog show in Munich in 1909. All the dog represented in that show, except for one, originated from the same city. This is probably the reason why, in the Schnauzer-Pincher club Breedbook it is called " the Munich Schnauzer". The actual breeding had started in the turn of the century and the first breed standard, (where the name Riesenschnauzer was used) was established in 1923. The most important breed characterizations are still valid today: The Giant Schnauzer has to clearly appear as a strengthened version of the Schnauzer Dog, the aim is a tough working dog. In 1925 the Giant Schnauzer was approved as a working dog breed in Germany.
» Breed standard (152kB)

The first giants (black) has been imported from Germany to Finland in 1932 by the Finnish Frontier Guard. The Swedish imports had a biggest effect on the finnish giants in the 40's and the 50's. Importing from outside of the Nordic Countries was facilitated in the 90's a lot, and many giants have been imported from Central Europe. Black female (owned by Björn Gylfe) got a litter with six black and two iron grey puppies in 1937. Unfortunately these grey puppies were put to sleep. The first p/s giant imported from Germany in 1961; Alfo von Sendelbachtal. The first p/s litter was born in 1985 at kennel Darix (Susanna Tarkkonen). P/S giants started to judge in their own separate class in 1989. Sources: SSSK ry´s annual books SSSK ry 40 years -book Websites of SSSK ry

Pablo & Yenkki, 2003

The Finnish Giant Schnauzer Club is the official breed club in Finland and it has been established in 1954. » You can find more information on websites of breed club.

International P&S Riesenschnauzer Association - IPSRA ry has been established in 1999. IPSRA has members from more than 10 countries all over the world. Please visit on » IPSRA's website too.