I have never had a MinPin, but find them very appealing. The only negative comment I've heard was from an emergency room vet. He told me that when they get a dog coming in with dog fight wounds, they hope the wounded dog is not a MinPin. The reason was the amount of damage done to the MinPin, not due to the way the dog behaved or handled treatment. Often the little dog just didn't back down, and was horribly damaged by a larger dog.

In fact, it is really a negative comment about some of the people who own MinPins, not about the dogs. Many people get MinPins for the wrong reason, especially because they look like their more intimidating cousins the Doberman. The owners think they have a fighter, and put the dog into situations that should be avoided. Putting a small dog with a big attitude into a dog fight is just asking for terrible trouble.

So, for a responsible owner, a MinPin can be a wonderful pet. For an owner who wants to show off or get an ego boost from owning a tough dog, ANY dog is a bad match.