A Schnauzer is a German type of dog. The name comes from the German word for moustache because of the dogs' distinctively furry noses. The Giant Schnauzer, as its name implies, is the largest member of three Schnauzer breeds, and comes from the cattle and sheep farming country in southern Germany - Wurttemberg and Bavaria. The ancestors of the Giant Schnauzer are not known; but it is known that it has existed for centuries and also that in the later 1890's a number of German kennels played a large part in developing the breed.