Giant Schnauzer Colors: Rarest to Most Common

The Giant Schnauzer is a fantastic dog breed with a long heritage and an official breed standard dating back to the 1930s. While breed standards aren’t the only ways to clarify the most common elements of a specific dog breed, they are quite helpful. Today, we are going to look at Giant Schnauzers, specifically their coat colors and types. All are beautiful, only a few are standard, and even fewer are super rare! Let’s learn more about it.

The 3 Giant Schnauzer Coat Colors

Giant Schnauzers are a large and powerful breed of dogs that originated in Germany. Generally, they come in three color varieties: pepper and salt, pure black, and black and silver.

Pepper and Salt

Pepper and salt is by far the most common color for Giant Schnauzers. This hair color is famous for its banded black and white hair. Where the hair meets, the dogs can appear a deep grey color with lighter or darker patches usually present on the chest, neck, face, and legs.

Pure Black

Pure black is probably the second most common color for this breed and is characterized as a solid black color that covers the entire body of the Giant Schnauzer. The coat isn’t just black on top, but black on the undercoat as well. Pure black Giant Schnauzers are less common than pepper and salt ones, but the breed standard still accepts them for shows and the like.

Black and Silver

Black and silver is a third variation that is most similar to pure black but with silver markings on certain parts of the body. Black and silver Giant Schnauzers are much rarer and not officially recognized by the American Kennel Club (AKC) breed standard, but that doesn’t make them any less cute!

The Coats of Giant Schnauzers

Giant Schnauzers have two layers of hair that make up their coat. The bottom layer is softer and fluffier, acting as a warming underlayer. The top layer is hard and rough and is usually described as “wirey.” This outer coat is ideal for stopping thorns and insects and acts almost as a shield. The coat also makes them look unique, with a long beard and eyebrows that show their smart expression.

According to the breed standard, the coat of the Giant Schnauzer shouldn’t have any curls in it, although it does have a natural waviness to it. The bottom layer should be near the skin, and the top layer should be thick and coarse.

The photo featured at the top of this post is © Rita_Kochmarjova/Shutterstock.com