Five universal personality traits of the Affenpinscher dog breed

The Affenpinscher is one of those dog breeds that you don’t see as often as most, but that once you have met one, you will always recognise them in the future! They are a small dog from the toy grouping, and one of the oldest members of the group at that, with a recorded history going back as far as the 1700’s. However, what makes the Affenpinscher particularly unique is undoubtedly their appearance-their faces are unmistakable, and often make people who see them for the first time look twice, due to their unusual structure!

The Affenpinscher is sometimes known as the “monkey dog” due to their faces, which alternately can be described as looking a lot like Chewbacca from Star Wars! Whilst at first glance it would be fair to say that the Affenpinscher cannot be described a beautiful, they do have a unique appeal and charm to them that other breeds cannot even approach.

If you have fallen for the quirky, unique appearance of the Affenpinscher as well as their small stature and charming nature, you might be wondering if the Affenpinscher might be the right breed of dog for you.

In this article, we will examine five of the universal personality traits of the Affenpinscher in more detail, to provide a short introduction to some of the considerations to bear in mind if you think you might like to own one. Read on to learn more.

They are versatile and adaptive

The Affenpinscher is small enough to be comfortable in even small homes or flats, but they are generally equally happy living in a city apartment or a rural house. They are versatile and adaptive and tend to tackle change and new experiences with confidence, and they are often the type of dogs that often get really excited about going into kennels or doggy day care rather than hating being away from home, as long as there is a lot of things to entertain them there!

They tend to take most things in their stride and are confident enough to fit in well with loud, busy families with children, although they do need to be carefully trained to ensure that they do not become overly dominant or bossy with smaller children.

They are equally happy living in quieter homes, as long as they have plenty to do.

They are very cheeky and entertaining

The unique facial features of the Affenpinscher have an undeniably comedic element to them, and the personality of the dog really lives up to their appearance. They are usually happy, outgoing and into everything, and enjoy being the centre of attention! They will entertain you with their antics and often play the fool, and will continue to do so for as long as people will watch them and interact with them!

They can also be rather cheeky if not provided with clear boundaries, and the phrase “pushing one’s luck” could practically have been invented for the Affenpincher!

They are generally good to train, but can get carried away

The Affenpinscher falls roundly into the middle of the pack when it comes to canine intelligence and learning ability, which makes them generally fairly straightforward to train. They are very tenacious, and so if you get their attention and work with them in a way that they enjoy and find fulfilling, they will generally be very enthusiastic about it, and want to keep going!

However, they can be slightly unruly, and have a definite streak of selective deafness! Setting firm boundaries and training and socialising the breed from the get-go is vital, in order to ensure that they do not get too big for their boots.

They tend to be rather noisy

One trait that many small dogs have in common is that they like the sound of their own voices, and the Affenpinscher is no exception. They tend to be rather vocal and expressive, as well as being quick to bark and make a fuss, and their bark also falls towards the yapping end of the scale, and can be rather grating.

In order to avoid this becoming a problem, it is important to curb excessive barking from the start, and monitor your dog to ensure that they are not driving the neighbours mad when you leave them alone. Discourage excessive barking, and teach your dog a command to pipe down when needed!

They are very confident and outgoing

Finally, the Affenpinscher is one of the boldest, most confident and outgoing of all dog breeds, and they have larger than life personalities that belie their small statures!

This confidence can make life easier in many respects as little phases them and they are not afraid of new situations and meeting new people, but this can cross the line into dominance or being rather unruly if improperly managed.