[3]: 40  It is a robust and squarely-built dog of medium size, of working or utility type; the coat may be salt-and-pepper or black.

A dog of this type was exhibited in Hanover in 1879; another was "Best in Show" at the Westminster Kennel Club in the United States in 1997.

[6] The word schnauzer appears in the Bilder und Sagen aus der Schweiz of Jeremias Gotthelf, published in 1842.

[9][10]: 152 In 1880 the Pinscher was recorded in the Deutschen Hundestammbuch of the Verein zur Veredelung der Hunderassen,[11] and the first breed standard was drawn up.

[12] In 1917, with the sixth edition of the stud-book, the name of the rough-haired breed was officially changed from Rauhaarige Pinscher to Schnauzer.

[5]: 482  In 1918 the Pinscherklub and the Schnauzerklub München merged to form the Pinscher-Schnauzer-Verband, which in 1921 changed its name to the present Pinscher-Schnauzer-Klub 1895 e.V.

[12] In the interwar period the pepper-and-salt Schnauzer flourished, while the black was less often seen; after the end of the Second World War, the reverse was true.

[14] Since 2014 the pepper-and-salt Schnauzer has been on the Rote Liste of the Gesellschaft zur Erhaltung alter und gefährdeter Haustierrassen.