Lowchen: History

There are several theories as to the origins of the Lowchen, and the debate is often steeped in controversy. One theory has the breed originating in Northern Europe, which includes Germany, Belgium, and France. It is believed that the Lowchen may be one of the founding breeds in the development of the Toy Poodle or may be linked to the founding breed.

Another theory is that the Lowchen is related to the Bichon breeds and originated in the Mediterranean. The third and possibly fourth theories are that the Lowchen may have originated in Russia or even Tibet.

Wherever the breed originated, we do know that its primary purpose was as a companion dog. It may also have been used as a rodent hunter and possibly as a little alarm dog. We also know that people in all stations of life owned the Lowchen, and they could be found in farms and castles alike.

The Lowchen has been depicted in art around the world through the centuries and the breed today is relatively unchanged from what it looked like centuries ago.

Over the years, Lowchen became less popular, and toward the end of the 19th century only a few remained. In 1897, a breeder named Madelaine Bennert took on the effort to save the Lowchen from the brink of extinction. She was successful, although World Wars I and II again threatened to wipe out the breed.

Madame Bennert restarted her effort to save the breed and spent the years after the war searching for the remaining Lowchen lines that had escaped the war. With the help of Dr. Hans Rickert, whose dogs were originally purchased from Madame Bennert and are the dogs that contributed to the breed as they are today, and a few other owners and breeder, the Lowchen was able to recover as a breed.

Although he is still rare today, the Lowchen is assured of a future. The first Lowchen arrived in the United States in 1971, and the AKC recognized the breed in 1999.

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