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Dachshund Breed Standard
Hound Group
General Appearance
Low to ground, long in body and short of leg,
with robust muscular development;
the skin is elastic and pliable without
excessive wrinkling. Appearing neither crippled,
awkward, nor cramped in his capacity for
movement, the Dachshund is well-balanced with
bold and confident head carriage and
intelligent, alert facial expression. His
hunting spirit, good nose, loud tongue and
distinctive build make him well-suited for
below-ground work and for beating the bush. His
keen nose gives him an advantage over most other
breeds for trailing. NOTE: Inasmuch as the
Dachshund is a hunting dog, scars from honorable
wounds shall not be considered a fault.
Size, Proportion, Substance
Bred and shown in two sizes, standard and
miniature; miniatures are not a separate
classification but compete in a class division
for "11 pounds and under at 12 months of age and
older." Weight of the standard size is usually
between 16 and 32 pounds.
Head
Viewed from above or from the side, the head
tapers uniformly to the tip of the nose. The
eyes are of medium size, almond-shaped and
dark-rimmed, with an energetic, pleasant
expression; not piercing; very dark in color.
The bridge bones over the eyes are strongly
prominent. Wall eyes, except in the case of
dappled dogs, are a serious fault. The ears are
set near the top of the head, not too far
forward, of moderate length, rounded, not
narrow, pointed, or folded. Their carriage, when
animated, is with the forward edge just touching
the cheek so that the ears frame the face. The
skull is slightly arched, neither too broad nor
too narrow, and slopes gradually with little
perceptible stop into the finely-formed,
slightly arched muzzle,
giving a Roman appearance.
Lips are tightly stretched, well
covering the lower jaw. Nostrils well open. Jaws
opening wide and hinged well back of the eyes,
with strongly developed bones and teeth.
Teeth-Powerful canine teeth; teeth fit
closely together in a scissors bite. An even
bite is a minor fault. Any other deviation is a
serious fault.
Neck
Long, muscular, clean-cut, without dewlap,
slightly arched in the nape, flowing gracefully
into the shoulders without creating the
impression of a right angle.
Trunk
The trunk is long and fully muscled. When viewed
in profile, the back lies in the straightest
possible line between the withers and the short,
very slightly arched loin. A body that hangs
loosely between the shoulders is a serious
fault. Abdomen-Slightly drawn up.
Forequarters
For effective underground work, the front must
be strong, deep, long and cleanly muscled.
Forequarters in detail: Chest -The
breast-bone is strongly prominent in front so
that on either side a depression or dimple
appears. When viewed from the front, the thorax
appears oval and extends downward to the
mid-point of the forearm. The enclosing
structure of the well-sprung ribs appears full
and oval to allow, by its ample capacity,
complete development of heart and lungs. The
keel merges gradually into the line of the
abdomen and extends well beyond the front legs.
Viewed in profile, the lowest point of the
breast line is covered by the front leg.
Shoulder blades-long, broad, well-laid back
and firmly placed upon the fully developed
thorax, closely fitted at the withers, furnished
with hard yet pliable muscles. Upper Arm-Ideally
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, with
elbows close to the body, yet capable of free
movement. Forearm–Short; supplied with
hard yet pliable muscles on the front and
outside, with tightly stretched tendons on the
inside and at the back, slightly curved inwards.
The joints between the forearms and the feet
(wrists) are closer together than the shoulder
joints, so that the front does not appear
absolutely straight. The inclined shoulder
blades, upper arms and curved forearms form
parentheses that enclose the ribcage, creating
the correct “wraparound front.” Knuckling over
is a disqualifying fault. Feet-Front
paws are full, tight, compact, with well-arched
toes and tough, thick pads. They may be equally
inclined a trifle outward. There are five toes,
four in use, close together with a pronounced
arch and strong, short nails. Front dewclaws may
be removed.
Hindquarters
Strong and cleanly muscled. The pelvis, the
thigh, the second thigh, and the rear pastern
are ideally the same length and give the
appearance of a series of right angles. From the
rear, the thighs are strong and powerful. The
legs turn neither in nor out. Rear pasterns -
Short and strong, perpendicular to the second
thigh bone. When viewed from behind, they are
upright and parallel. Feet-Hind Paws -
Smaller than the front paws with four compactly
closed and arched toes with tough, thick pads.
The entire foot points straight ahead and is
balanced equally on the ball and not merely on
the toes. Rear dewclaws should be removed.Croup-
Long, rounded and full, sinking slightly
toward the tail. Tail-Set in
continuation of the spine, extending without
kinks, twists, or pronounced curvature, and not
carried too gaily.
Gait
Fluid and smooth. Forelegs reach well forward,
without much lift, in unison with the driving
action of hind legs. The correct shoulder
assembly and well-fitted elbows allow the long,
free stride in front. Viewed from the front, the
legs do not move in exact parallel planes, but
incline slightly inward. Hind legs drive on a
line with the forelegs, with hock joints and
rear pasterns (metatarsus) turning neither in
nor out. The propulsion of the hind leg depends
on the dog's ability to carry the hind leg to
complete extension. Viewed in profile, the
forward reach of the hind leg equals the rear
extension. The thrust of correct movement is
seen when the rear pads are clearly exposed
during rear extension. Rear feet do not reach
upward toward the abdomen and there is no
appearance of walking on the rear pasterns.Feet
must travel parallel to the line of motion with
no tendency to swing out, cross over, or
interfere with each other. Short, choppy
movement, rolling or high-stepping gait, close
or overly wide coming or going are incorrect.
The Dachshund must have agility, freedom of
movement, and endurance to do the work for which
he was developed.
Temperament
The Dachshund is clever, lively and courageous
to the point of rashness, persevering in above-
and below-ground work, with all the senses
well-developed. Any display of shyness is a
serious fault.
Special Characteristics of the Three
Coat Varieties
The Dachshund is bred with three varieties of
coat: (1) Smooth; (2) Wirehaired; (3) Longhaired
and is shown in two sizes, standard and
miniature. All three varieties and both sizes
must conform to the characteristics already
specified. The following features are
applicable for each variety:
Smooth Dachshund
Coat-Short, smooth and shining. Should
be neither too long nor too thick. Ears not
leathery. 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 a partly or
wholly hairless tail.
Color of Hair-Although base color is
immaterial, certain patterns and basic colors
predominate. One-colored Dachshunds include red
and cream, with or without a shading of
interspersed dark hairs. A small amount of
white on the chest is acceptable, but not
desirable. Nose and nails-black.
Two-colored Dachshunds include black, chocolate,
wild boar, gray (blue) and fawn (Isabella), each
with deep, rich tan or cream markings over the
eyes, on the sides of the jaw and underlip, on
the inner edge of the ear, front, breast,
sometimes on the throat, inside and behind the
front legs, 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. Undue
prominence of tan or cream markings is
undesirable. A small amount of white on the
chest is acceptable but not desirable. Nose and
nails-in the case of black dogs, black; for
chocolate and all other colors, dark brown, but
self-colored is acceptable.
Dappled dachshunds-The dapple (merle) pattern is
expressed as lighter-colored areas contrasting
with the darker base color, which may be any
acceptable color. Neither the light nor the dark
color should predominate. Nose and nails are the
same as for one- and two-colored Dachshunds.
Partial or wholly blue (wall) eyes are as
acceptable as dark eyes. A large area of white
on the chest of a dapple is permissible.
Brindle is a pattern (as opposed to a color)
in which black or dark stripes occur over the
entire body although in some specimens the
pattern may be visible only in the tan points.
Sable-the sable pattern consists of a uniform
dark overlay on red dogs. The overlay hairs are
double-pigmented, with the tip of each hair much
darker than the base color. The pattern usually
displays a widow’s peak on the head. Nose,
nails and eye rims are black. Eyes are dark,
the darker the better.
Wirehaired Dachshunds
Coat-With the exception of jaw,
eyebrows, and ears, the whole body is covered
with a uniform tight, short, thick, rough, hard,
outer coat but with finer, somewhat softer,
shorter hairs (undercoat) everywhere distributed
between the coarser hairs. The absence of an
undercoat is a fault. The distinctive facial
furnishings include a beard and eyebrows. On the
ears the hair is shorter than on the body,
almost smooth. The general arrangement of the
hair is such that the wirehaired Dachshund, when
viewed from a distance, resembles the smooth.
Any sort of soft hair in the outercoat, wherever
found on the body, especially on the top of the
head, is a fault. The same is true of long,
curly, or wavy hair, or hair that sticks out
irregularly in all directions. Tail-Robust,
thickly haired, gradually tapering to a point. A
flag tail is a fault. Color of Hair-While
the most common colors are wild boar, black and
tan, and various shades of red, all colors and
patterns listed aboveare admissible.
Wild boar (agouti) appears as banding of the
individual hairs and imparts an overall grizzled
effect which is most often seen on wirehaired
Dachshunds, but may also appear on other coats.
Tan points may or may not be evident. Variations
include red boar and chocolate-and-tan boar.
Nose, nails and eye rims are black on wild-boar
and red-boar dachshunds. On
chocolate-and-tan-boar dachshunds, nose, nails,
eye rims and eyes are self-colored, the darker
the better.
A small amount of white on the chest,
although acceptable, is not desirable. Nose and
nails-same as for the smooth variety.
Longhaired Dachshund
Coat - The sleek,
glistening, often slightly wavy hair is longer
under the neck and on forechest, the underside
of the body, the ears and behind the legs. The
coat gives the dog an elegant appearance. Short
hair on the ear is not desirable. Too profuse a
coat which masks type, equally long hair over
the whole body, a curly coat, or a pronounced
parting on the back are faults. Tail-Carried
gracefully in prolongation of the spine; the
hair attains its greatest length here and forms
a veritable flag. Color of Hair-Same
as for the smooth Dachshund. Nose and nails-same
as for the smooth.
The foregoing description is that of the ideal
Dachshund. Any deviation from the above
described dog must be penalized to the extent of
the deviation keeping in mind the importance of
the contribution of the various features toward
the basic original purpose of the breed.
Disqualification
Knuckling over of front legs
Effective March 1, 2007
Approved January 9, 2007
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