Breed Description
The Dachshund was originally bred for the strength and tenacity to hunt badgers: a mean and aggressive animal which lives in tunnels. The breed can be a ferocious hunter and due to their unique body style, they could dig out the badgers. They were also used to hunt smaller animals, trail wounded deer, and wild boar. Dachshunds are still used as hunting dogs and excel at hunting small rodents such as rabbits, mice, and woodchucks. They have a keen sense of smell and their short legs can move amazingly fast. The Dachshund is the only American Kennel Club breed that can and does hunt both above and below ground. The breed is very clever, loyal, playfull, courageous to the point of rashness and protective of its territory, home, and family. While the smaller sized dogs typically found in the United States would be hard pressed to dispatch a badger, they would certainly give it a valiant effort. Like their larger ancestors, they are determined and bold. Owners must keep a wary eye on these adventurous dogs to keep them out of the michief they are certain to eagerly manufacture for themselves.
PERSONALITY
Dachshunds are loyal, protective, playful, affectionate and love their people very much! They are also independent souls and often accused of stubborness. However we must keep in mind that they were bred to go to ground and make decisions regarding the pursuit of prey. Burrowing is in their blood and they can often be found burrowed under a favorite sweater laid carelessly on a chair, a snuggly blanket or in the bed covers. Determined on a course of action, a Dachshund can become obsessive over a task to the end. Whether punishing a squeeky toy, cornering a lizard, retreiving a ball from under the couch or adamently insisting a treat was left unattended on the counter, you will soon bear witness to this determination. Curious, energetic, with an impish sense of humor and a strong need to be close to their humans, a Dachshund makes a wonderful companion and family member. Ask anyone who has ever been owned by a Dachshund!
APPEARANCE
The Dachshund was developed in Germany over a period of several hundred years. It is a small, compact hound dog whose legs are short and body is long. The head is long and wedge-shaped with pendulous or "floppy" hound ears. They have robust muscular development and their skin is elastic and pliable without excessive wrinkling. The Dachshund is well-balanced with bold and confident head carriage and intelligent, alert facial expressions. Their hunting spirit, good nose, loud voice and distinctive build make them well-suited for beating the bushes and clearing your yard of any varmints.
Dachshunds originally weighed in at 30-40 pounds in order to expeditiously handle a badger. Today, the Dachshund in the United States is bred and shown in two sizes, standard and miniature. Weight of the standard size is usually between 16 and 32 pounds. The miniature is under 12 pounds when over a year old. Dachshunds between 12 lbs and 16 lbs are affectionately called "tweenies".
COATS
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| Wire / Long / Smooth |
The dachshund is also bred and shown in three coat types: Smooth, Wire and Long. They all have elements of the basic breed personality traits. However each type seems to have it own tendencies The origional coat is the SMOOTH dachshund. They require little grooming and shed only a little. As the standard coat type, these dogs have all the most common characteristic qualities of the breed. The WIRE coated dachshund arose by breeding smooth coats with different kinds of terriers. Their coat can be left long and curly or be strippd for a shorter look. They shed the least of the coat types. Because of their terrier ancestors, many wire dachshunds have a lot of hunting passion. Often they are more fierce in character but very outgoing and almost clown-like. The LONG coated dachshund arose from the breeding of the smooth coats and the Spaniel and the Irish Setter. They require more grooming and trimming to maintain and prevent shedding. In general they are more gentle natured and react more friendly to strangers.
COLORS
Dachshunds come in more color and pattern combinations than any other breed. The most common "Self" colors are the solid Red and the Black & Tan. There are other colors that have become popular in the past several decades, and they are: Black, Chocolate, Cream (Wheaten), Black & Cream, Chocolate & Cream, Chocolate & Tan and Wild Boar. Recently, rarer colors have been bred into the line, such as Fawn & Tan (also called Isabella), and Blue & Tan. All Dachshunds have one, and only one, self color.
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| Red |
Diluted Red |
Black & Tan |
Black |
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| Chocolate |
Cream |
Diluted Cream |
Wheaten |
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| Isabella (Fawn) |
Blue |
Black & Cream |
Chocolate & Tan |
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| Chocolate & Cream |
Isabella (Fawn) & Tan |
Isabella (Fawn) & Cream |
Blue & Tan |
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Wild Boar |
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Red - The most familiar and common of dachshund colors. A red dachshund can be any shade of red from blonde to a deep dark mahogany
Diluted Red - A red dachshund with liver colored nose.
Black & Tan - The second most common dachshund color. A black base color with tan points on the muzzle, eyebrows, feet, partway up the legs, and under the tail.
Black - Solid black.
Chocolate - Solid chocolate ranging from milk chocolate to dark chocolate. Chocolate dachshunds have brown, instead of black, eye rims and noses. Their eyes are typically lighter in color.
Cream - Buff color ranging from light tan to a butter color with black colored noses. Creams are either smooth or long haired
Diluted Cream - Buff color ranging from light tan to a butter color with liver colored noses
Wheaten - Buff color ranging from light tan to a butter color with black colored noses. Wheatens are wire haired
Isabella (Fawn) - Silvery fawn base color with gray colored eyes and nose.
Blue - Gray color rages from darker slate gray to lighter bluish gray. Gunmetal or Pewter are the most common descriptions. Gray colored eyes and nose.
Black & Cream - Black base color with cream points.
Chocolate & Tan - Chocolate base color with tan points. Light brown, green or hazel colored eyes and brown noses
Chocolate & Cream - Chocolate base color with cream points. Light brown, green or hazel colored eyes and brown noses
Isabella (Fawn) & Tan - Silvery fawn base color with tan points. Gray colored eyes and nose.
Isabella (Fawn) & Cream - Silvery fawn base color with cream points. Gray colored eyes and nose
Blue & Tan - Gray base color with tan points. Gray color rages from darker, slate gray to lighter, bluish gray. Pewter is the most common description. Gray colored eyes and nose.
Wild Boar - Seen in wire coats and sometimes smooth. A mixture of gray, brown and black with each hair banded with several shades. Wild Boar is often mistakenly used to refer to an interspersion of black hairs on the back and neck over red color. A true wild boar will appear to be black/tan from a distance. It is a very heavy layer of black over the base coat color. Red Boars are wild boars with a red hue
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PATTERNS
The patterns found in Dachshund's coats are: Dapple, Double Dapple, Brindle, Sable and Piebald. The AKC will not register a dog under more than one pattern with the exception of the Brindle Piebald. Any pattern can be superimposed over any self color; for instance, Black & Tan Dapple, Red Brindle, Chocolate & Tan Piebald. The color is named first, followed by the pattern, if any. Unfortunately backyard and puppymill breeders will attempt to breed for some of the more unique patterns. Sadly when some of these patterns appear, there are frequently some health issues involved. Dapples, Double Dapples, and Piebalds may develop some of the following health issues: seizures, skin conditions, blindness, deafness, or partial loss of these senses. Reduced eye size, missing eyes and deafness are very common in Dachshunds with the double dapple pattern.
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| Black & Tan Dapple |
Black & Tan Double Dapple |
Cream Piebald (no ticking) |
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| Red Piebald (with ticking) |
Brindle |
Sable |
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| Black & Tan Dapple Piebald (with ticking) |
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Brindle Piebald (with ticking) |
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Dapple - Lighter areas intermingled over base color. It can be superimposed over any base color. The distribution and extent of dappling is random. There can be so much of it, it is difficult to tell the base colors. There can also be hardly any at all making it appear the dog is undappled. Imagine white paint randomly sponged over a solid painted wall. One or both eyes may be blue or flecked.
Double Dapple - Occurs only when two dapples are bred together. The extent and distribution is random, but usually some areas in the dappling receive a double helping of the dapple gene making that area white. Imagine the sponged wall was randomly sponged again. Some areas are hit twice (double dapple), some once (dapple) and some not at all (solid). If the double dapple area occurs near the eyes or ears, the dog will have sight or hearing problems, often being completely blind or deaf. Some dogs have missing or abnormally sized eyes. For these reasons, breeding two dapples usually only occurs in backyard breeders or puppy mills where the goal is to produce an unusual color for more profit or by naive owners who do not know any better. Statistically only 1/4 of the offspring from a dapple/dapple paring will be double dapple...and of those, most will have the health issues listed above. As a result, breeding for the double dapple coat is frowned upon in the Dachshund community. It results in many unwanted dogs of poor health that end up being put down just to produce one good one.
Piebald - Spotted with areas of color over a white background. The colored area also retains whatever its underlying pattern is. Imagine the doxie has it's color and coat pattern, and then somone randomly selected and deleted sections leaving them blank. Smaller spots of color called ticking may or may not be present in the white. It may be just be a few little spots on the toes and muzzle, or the ticking may be heavy.
Brindle - Irregular dark striped superimposed over their base color. Stripes are usually black but can be chocolate, gray, or fawn. The AKC will not register a dog under more than one pattern with the exception of the Brindle Piebald
Sable - (only in a long hair) Sable is often mistakenly used to refer to an interspersion of black hairs on the back and neck over red color. A true sable will appear to be black/tan from a distance. The undercoat beneath being red, sable is a very heavy layer of black over the base coat color. This is a pattern that can not be truly labeled until pup reaches 6 months of age. Many pups labeled sable lose the black overlay and become simply red with no pattern.
Dapple Piebald - Spotted with areas of color over a white background. The colored area retains its dapple pattern. Smaller spots of color called ticking may or may not be present. It may be just be a few little spots on the toes and muzzle, or the ticking may be heavy.
Brindle Piebald - Spotted with areas of color over a white background. The colored area retains its brindle pattern. Smaller spots of color called ticking may or may not be present. It may be just be a few little spots on the toes and muzzle, or the ticking may be heavy.
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*** For more Doxie History, Facts & Information, we recommend THE DACHSHUND HANDBOOK by D. Caroline Colie, PhD and DACHSHUNDS FOR DUMMIES. Much of this information was paraphrased from these books.***
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