In 1880, when the first canine societies were established, the miniature form of the Schnauzer had already been familiar for a while, even though it had not been recognized as a uniform breed and was confused with the Affenpinscher. These dogs had all the properties of dwarfism, i.e. round skull, large round eyes, thin bones, short muzzle and protruding underjaw. But soon, in an attempt to breed out these properties, they managed to breed dogs that were small but not dwarfed.

Joco Fulda Lilliput, a black and tan male born in 1898, was the first wire haired pinscher called Zwerg Schnauzer (Miniature Schnauzer), although the breed was only officially named in 1910. At the time, good looking individuals were rare, the height difference between miniature and standard Schnauzers was indefinite and one could encounter representatives in all colors of the rainbow, from black to brown, from yellowish grey to salt and pepper. In 1923 some of the breed characteristics were redefined with emphasis on the Miniature Schnauzer looking like a reduced copy of the standard. Only few dogs were up to standard due to the lack of uniformity. After several years had gone by, the principle of maintaining the correct type, free of dwarfism, was in complete opposition to the 28cm height at withers required in the standard, raised to 30, then 33 and finally 35cm maximum height with a minimum height of 30cm.

The new standard written in 1956 only permits black and salt and pepper, just like the giant and standard varieties. At the turn of the century, when the miniatures came in diverse colors, breeding was freely permitted among the colors. Later, when the black and salt and pepper were recognized, black and silver dogs were also born to the latter. They were disqualified for breeding in Europe but were extremely in demand in the USA where they were bred since 1935. Only in 1976 was the black and silver recognized in the Miniature Schnauzer and included in its standard.