Dachshund
Origin and Purpose
Early in the seventeenth century the name Dachshund became the
designation of a breed type with smooth and long-haired varieties, and
since 1890, wire-hairs have been registered as the third variety. The name
Dachshund (dachs, badgers; hund, dog) at once reveals and conceals the
origin of the breed. In medieval European books on hunting dogs,
similar only in possessing the tracking ability of hounds and the
proportions and temperament of terriers, because they were used to
track badgers were called badger-dogs, or dachshunds.
General Appearance
Low to ground, short-legged, long-bodied, but with compact figure and
robust muscular development, with bold and confident carriage of head
and intelligent facial expression; conformation preeminently fitted for
following game into burrows. In spite of his shortness of leg, in comparison
with his length of trunk, he should appear neither crippled,
awkward, cramped in his capacity for movement, nor slim and weasellike.
Added to this, his hunting spirit, good nose, loud tongue, and small
size render him especially suited for beating the bush. His figure and his
fine nose give him an especial advantage over most other breeds of
sporting dogs for trailing.
Temperament
He should be clever, lively and courageous to the point of rashness,
persevering in his work both above and below ground; with all the senses
being well developed.
Size
Standard Dachshund - over 11 lb. (4.989 kg).
Miniature Dachshund - ideal weight 10 lb. (4.5 kg).
It is of the utmost importance that Judges should not award championship
points to Miniature Dachshunds over 11 lb. (4.989 kg). Within the
limits imposed, symmetrical adherence to the general Dachshund
conformation, combined with smallness and mental and physical vitality
should be the outstanding characteristics of the Miniature Dachshund.
Coat and Colour
Three coat types: Smooth or Short-Haired. Short, dense, shining, glossy.
Wire-Haired - like German Spiky-Haired Pointer, hard with good
undercoat. Long-Haired - like Irish Setter. See later paragraphs in this
standard regarding the Special Characteristics. Colour - Solid red (tan)
of various shades, and black with tan points, should have black noses and
nails, and narrow black line edging lips and eyelids; chocolate with tan
points permits brown nose. Eyes of all, lustrous, the darker the better.
Special Characteristics of the Three Coat Varieties of Dachshunds
The Dachshund is bred with three varieties of coat:
- Short-Haired (or Smooth);
- Wire-Haired;
- Long-Haired.
All three varieties should conform to the characteristics already specified.
The long-haired and short-haired are old, well-fixed varieties, but into
the Wire-Haired Dachshund the blood of the other breeds has been
purposely introduced. Nevertheless, in breeding him, the greatest stress
must be placed upon conformity to the general Dachshund type.
The following specifications are applicable separately to the three coat
varieties, respectively.
Short-Haired (or Smooth) Dachshund
Hair
Short, thick, smooth and shining; no bald patches. Special faults are: too
fine or thin hair, leathery ears, bald patches, too coarse or too thick hair
in general.
Tail
Gradually tapered to a point, well but not too richly haired; long sleek
bristles on the underside are considered a patch of strong-growing hair,
not a fault. A brush tail is a fault, as is also partly or wholly hairless tail.
Colour of Hair, Nose and Nails
(a) One-Coloured Dachshund
This group includes red (often called tan), red-yellow, and yellow,
with or without a shading of interspersed black hairs. Nevertheless
a clean colour is preferable, and red is to be considered more
desirable than red-yellow or yellow. Dogs strongly shaded with
interspersed black hairs belong to this class, and not to the other
Dachshund colour groups. No white is desirable, but a solitary small spot is not
exactly disqualifying. Nose and nails - black, although red is
admissible, but not desirable.
(b) Two-Coloured Dachshund
These comprise deep black, chocolate, grey, and white; each with
rust-brown or yellow marks over the eyes, on the sides of the jaw and
underlip, on the inner edge of the ear, front, breast, inside and
behind the front leg, on the paws and around the anus and from
there to about one-third to one-half of the length of the tail on the
underside. (The most common Two-Coloured Dachshund is usually
called black and tan.) Except on white dogs, no white is desirable,
but a solitary small spot is not exactly disqualifying. Absence, or
undue prominence of tan markings, is undesirable. Nose and nails -
In the case of black dogs, black; for chocolate, brown or black; for
grey, grey or even flesh colour, but the last named colour is not
desirable. In the case of white dogs, black nose and nails are to be
preferred.
(c) Dappled and Striped Dachshund
The colour of the dappled (or tiger) Dachshund is a clear brownish
or greyish colour, or even a white ground, with dark irregular patches
or dark-grey, brown, red-yellow or black (large areas of one colour
not desirable). It is desirable that neither the light nor the dark
colour should predominate. The colour of the striped (brindle)
Dachshund is red or yellow with a darker streaking. Nose and nails
as for One and Two-Coloured Dachshunds.
Wire-Haired Dachshund
General Appearance
The general appearance is the same as that of the Short-Haired, but
without being long in the legs, it is permissible for the body to be
somewhat higher off the ground.
Hair
With the exception of the jaw, eyebrows, and ears, the whole body is
covered with a perfectly uniform tight, short, thick, rough, hard coat, but
with finer, shorter hairs (undercoat) everywhere distributed between the
coarser hairs, resembling the coat of the German Spiky-Haired Pointer.
There should be a beard on the chin. The eyebrows are bushy. On the
ears the hair is shorter than on the body, almost smooth; but in any case
conforming to the rest of the coat. The general arrangement of the
hair should be such that the Wire-Haired Dachshund, when seen from a
distance, should resemble a Smooth-Haired. Any sort of soft hair in the
coat is faulty, whether short or long, or wherever found on the body. The
same is true of long, curly, or wavy hair, or hair that sticks out irregularly
in all directions. A flag tail is also objectionable.
Tail
Robust, as thickly haired as possible, gradually coming to a point and
without a tuft.
Colour of hair, Nose and Nails
All colours are admissible. White patches on the chest, though allowable,
are not desirable.
Long-Haired Dachshund
The distinctive characteristic differentiating this coat from the Short-
Haired, or Smooth-Haired, is alone the rather long silky hair.
Hair
The soft, sleek, glistening, often slightly wavy hair should be longer under
the neck, on the underside of the body, and especially on the ears and
behind the legs, becoming there a pronounced feather; the hair should
attain its greatest length on the underside of the tail. The hair should fall
beyond the lower edge of the ear. Short hair on the ear, so-called
“leather” ears, is not desirable. Too luxurious a coat causes the Long-
Haired Dachshund to seem coarse, and masks the type. The coat should
remind one of the Irish Setter, and should give the dog an elegant
appearance. Too thick hair on the paws, so-called “mops”, is inelegant
and renders the animal unfit for use. It is faulty for the dog to have
equally long hair over all the body, if the coat is too curly, or too scrubby,
or if a flag tail or overhanging hair on the ears are lacking; or if there is a
very pronounced parting in the back, or a vigorous growth between the
toes.
Tail
Carried gracefully in prolongation of the spine; the hair attains here its
greatest length and forms a veritable flag.
Colour of Hair, Nose and Nails
Exactly as for the Smooth-Haired Dachshund.
Note
Inasmuch as the Dachshund is a hunting dog, scars from honourable
wounds shall not be considered a fault.
Head
Viewed from above or from the side, it should taper uniformly to the tip
of the nose, and should be clean-cut. The skull is only slightly arched,
and should slope gradually without stop (the less stop, the more typical)
into the finely-formed slightly-arched muzzle (ram’s nose). The bridge
bones over the eyes should be strongly prominent. The nasal cartilage
and tip of the nose are long and narrow; lips tightly stretched, well
covering the lower jaw, but neither deep nor pointed; corner of the
mouth not very marked. Nostrils well open. Jaws opening wide and
hinged well back of the eyes, with strongly developed bones and teeth.
Teeth: Powerful canine teeth should fit closely together, and the outer
side of the lower incisors should tightly touch the inner side of the upper.
(Scissors bite.) Eyes: Medium size, oval, situated at the sides, with a
clean, energetic, though pleasant expression; not piercing. Colour:
lustrous dark reddish-brown to brownish-black for all coats and colours.
Wall (fish or pearl) eyes in the case of grey or dappled-coloured dogs are
not a very bad fault, but are also not desirable. Ears should be set near
the top of the head, and not too far forward, long but not too long,
beautifully rounded, not narrow, pointed, or folded. Their carriage
should be animated, and the forward edge should just touch the cheek.
Neck
Fairly long, muscular, clean-cut, not showing any dewlap on the throat,
slightly arched in the nape, extending in a graceful line into the
shoulders, carried proudly but not stiffly.
Forequarters
To endure the arduous exertion underground, the front must be correspondingly
muscular, compact, deep, long, and broad. Shoulder Blade
long, broad, obliquely and firmly placed upon the fully developed
thorax, furnished with hard and plastic muscle. Upper Arm of the same
length as the shoulder blade, and at right angles to the latter, strong of
bone and hard of muscle, lying close to the ribs, capable of free
movement. Lower Arm: this is short in comparison to other breeds,
slightly turned inwards; supplied with hard but plastic muscles on the
front and outside, with tightly stretched tendons on the inside and at the
back. Pasterns: joint between forearm and foot (wrists); these are closer
together than the shoulder joints, so that the front leg does not appear
absolutely straight. Feet full, broad in front, and a trifle inclined
outwards; compact with well-arched toes and tough pads. Toes: There
are five of these, though only four are in use. They should be close
together, with a pronounced arch; provided on top with strong nails,
and underneath with tough toe-pads.
Body
The whole trunk should, in general, be long and fully-muscled. The back,
with sloping shoulders, and short, rigid pelvis, should lie in the straightest
possible line between the withers and the very slightly arched loins, these
latter being short, rigid, and broad. Topline: The straightest possible line
between withers and loins. Chest: The breastbone should be strong, and
so prominent in front that on either side a depression (dimple) appears.
When viewed from the front, the thorax should appear oval, and should
extend downward to the midpoint of the forearm. The enclosing structure
of ribs should appear full and oval, and when viewed from above or from
the side, full volumed, so as to allow by its ample capacity, complete
development of heart and lungs. Well ribbed up, and gradually merging
into the line of the abdomen. If the length is correct, and also the
anatomy of the shoulder and upper arm, the front leg when viewed in
profile should cover the lowest point of the breast line. Loin slightly
arched, being short, rigid and broad. Croup long, round, full, robustly
muscled, but plastic, only slightly sinking toward the tail. Abdomen
slightly drawn up.
Hindquarters
The hindquarters viewed from behind should be of completely equal
width. Pelvic bones not too short, rather strongly developed, and moderately
sloping. Thigh robust and of good length, set at right angle to the
pelvic bones. Hind legs robust and well-muscled, with well-rounded
buttocks. Knee joint broad and strong. Calf bone, in comparison with
other breeds, short; it should be perpendicular to the thigh bone, and
firmly muscled. The bones at the base of the foot (tarsus) should present
a flat appearance, with a strongly prominent hock and a broad tendon of
Achilles. The central foot bones (metatarsus) should be long, movable
towards the calf bone, slightly bent toward the front, but perpendicular
(as viewed from behind). Hind Feet: Four compactly-closed and beautifully
arched toes, as in the case of the front paws. The whole foot should
be posed equally on the ball and not merely on the toes. Nails short.
Tail
Set in continuation of the spine, extending without very pronounced
curvature, and should not be carried too gaily.
Faults
Serious Faults (which may prevent a dog from receiving any show
rating): overshot or undershot jaws, knuckling over, very loose shoulders.
Secondary Faults (which may prevent a dog from receiving a high show
rating): a weak, long-legged, or dragging figure; body hanging between
the shoulders; sluggish, clumsy, or waddling gait; toes turned inwards or
too obliquely outwards; splayed paws; sunken back, roach (or carp)
back; croup higher than withers; short-ribbed or too weak chest;
excessively drawn up flanks like those of a Greyhound; narrow, poorly
muscled hindquarters; weak loins; bad angulation in front or
hindquarters; cow-hocks, bowed legs; “glass” eyes, except for grey or
dappled dogs; a bad coat.
Minor Faults (which may prevent a dog from receiving the highest
rating in championship competition): ears wrongly set, sticking out,
narrow or folded; too marked a stop, too pointed or weak jaw; pincer
teeth, distemper teeth; too wide or short a head; goggle eyes, “glass” eyes
in the case of greys and dappled dogs, insufficiently dark eyes in the case
of all the other coat-colours; dewlaps; short neck; swan neck; too fine or
too thin hair.
Canadian Kennel Club Official Breed Standards