The Min Pin is not a smaller version of anything, especially the much-larger Doberman Pinscher. Both may have descended from the German Pinscher, a medium-sized black and tan dog bred to control vermin in the barnyard, but there, the relationship ends. The Min Pin reportedly came from crosses with breeds as diverse as the Dachshund and the Italian Greyhound. The Min Pin is also not related to the Manchester Terrier in either the standard or toy sizes. The Manchester Terrier is an English breed; the Min Pin hails from Germany.

The Doberman Pinscher derived its name from Louis Dobermann of Apolda, Thuringia, whose breeding experiments were reputedly involved in its early development. There are no records, only speculation, as to the dogs which went into the creation of the original Doberman. It is documented that crosses were made with two of the English breeds around the turn of the century, using the Black and Tan Manchester Terrier and the black English Greyhound, in order to improve the Doberman's appearance. It is generally accepted as fact that the two German breeds, which played a major role in the Doberman's ancestry were: the old German Shepherd, now extinct: and the German Pinscher - the ancestors of the Rottweiler and the Weimaraner.