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General Appearance
Low to ground, long in body and short of leg, with robust muscular development; theskin is elastic and pliable without excessive wrinkling. Appearingneither crippled, awkward, nor cramped in his capacity for movement,the Dachshund is well-balanced with bold and confident head carriageand intelligent, alert facial expression. His hunting spirit, goodnose, loud tongue and distinctive build make him well-suited forbelow-ground work and for beating the bush. His keen nose gives him anadvantage over most other breeds for trailing. NOTE: Inasmuch as theDachshund is a hunting dog, scars from honorable wounds shall not beconsidered a fault.
Size, Proportion, Substance
Bred and shown intwo sizes, standard and miniature; miniatures are not a separateclassification but compete in a class division for "11 pounds and underat 12 months of age and older." Weight of the standard size is usuallybetween 16 and 32 pounds.
Head
Viewed from above or from the side, the head tapers uniformly to thetip of the nose. The eyes are of medium size, almond-shaped anddark-rimmed, with an energetic, pleasant expression; not piercing; verydark in color. The bridge bones over the eyes are strongly prominent.Wall eyes, except in the case of dappled dogs, are a serious fault. Theears are set near the top of the head, not too far forward, of moderatelength, rounded, not narrow, pointed, or folded. Their carriage, whenanimated, is with the forward edge just touching the cheek so that theears frame the face. The skull is slightly arched, neither too broadnor too narrow, and slopes gradually with little perceptible stop intothe finely-formed, slightly arched muzzle, giving a Roman appearance. Lipsare tightly stretched, well covering the lower jaw. Nostrils well open.Jaws opening wide and hinged well back of the eyes, with stronglydeveloped bones and teeth. Teeth-Powerful canine teeth; teethfit 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, withoutdewlap, slightly arched in the nape, flowing gracefully into theshoulders without creating the impression of a right angle.
Trunk
The trunk is long and fully muscled. Whenviewed in profile, the back lies in the straightest possible linebetween the withers and the short, very slightly arched loin. A bodythat 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 -Thebreast-bone is strongly prominent in front so that on either side adepression or dimple appears. When viewed from the front, the thoraxappears oval and extends downward to the mid-point of the forearm. Theenclosing structure of the well-sprung ribs appears full and oval toallow, by its ample capacity, complete development of heart and lungs.The keel merges gradually into the line of the abdomen and extends wellbeyond the front legs. Viewed in profile, the lowest point of thebreast line is covered by the front leg. Shoulder blades-long,broad, well-laid back and firmly placed upon the fully developedthorax, closely fitted at the withers, furnished with hard yet pliablemuscles. Upper Arm-Ideally the same length as the shoulderblade and at right angles to the latter, strong of bone and hard ofmuscle, lying close to the ribs, with elbows close to the body, yetcapable of free movement. Forearm–Short; supplied with hardyet pliable muscles on the front and outside, with tightly stretchedtendons on the inside and at the back, slightly curved inwards. Thejoints between the forearms and the feet (wrists) are closer togetherthan the shoulder joints, so that the front does not appear absolutelystraight. The inclined shoulder blades, upper arms and curved forearmsform parentheses that enclose the ribcage, creating the correct“wraparound front.” Knuckling over is a disqualifying fault. Feet-Frontpaws are full, tight, compact, with well-arched toes and tough, thickpads. They may be equally inclined a trifle outward. There are fivetoes, 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 theappearance of a series of right angles. From the rear, the thighs arestrong and powerful. The legs turn neither in nor out. Rear pasterns -Short and strong, perpendicular to the second thigh bone. When viewedfrom behind, they are upright and parallel. Feet-Hind Paws- Smaller than the front paws with four compactly closed and archedtoes with tough, thick pads. The entire foot points straight ahead andis balanced equally on the ball and not merely on the toes. Reardewclaws 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, inunison with the driving action of hind legs. The correct shoulderassembly 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 theforelegs, with hock joints and rear pasterns (metatarsus) turningneither in nor out. The propulsion of the hind leg depends on the dog'sability to carry the hind leg to complete extension. Viewed in profile,the forward reach of the hind leg equals the rear extension. The thrustof correct movement is seen when the rear pads are clearly exposedduring rear extension. Rear feet do not reach upward toward the abdomenand there is no appearance of walking on the rear pasterns.Feetmust travel parallel to the line of motion with no tendency to swingout, cross over, or interfere with each other. Short, choppy movement,rolling or high-stepping gait, close or overly wide coming or going areincorrect. The Dachshund must have agility, freedom of movement, andendurance to do the work for which he was developed.
Temperament
The Dachshund is clever, livelyand courageous to the point of rashness, persevering in above- andbelow-ground work, with all the senses well-developed. Any display ofshyness 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 andminiature. All three varieties and both sizes must conform to thecharacteristics already specified. The following features areapplicable for each variety:
Smooth Dachshund
Coat-Short, smooth and shining. Should be neither too long nor too thick. Ears not leathery. Tail-Graduallytapered to a point, well but not too richly haired. Long sleek bristleson the underside are considered a patch of strong-growing hair, not afault. A brush tail is a fault, as is also a partly or wholly hairlesstail.
Color of Hair-Although base color is immaterial, certainpatterns and basic colors predominate. One-colored Dachshunds includered and cream, with or without a shading of interspersed dark hairs. Asmall amount of white on the chest is acceptable, but not desirable. Nose and nails-black.
Two-colored Dachshunds includeblack, chocolate, wild boar, gray (blue) and fawn (Isabella), each withdeep, rich tan or cream markings over the eyes, on the sides of the jawand underlip, on the inner edge of the ear, front, breast, sometimes onthe throat, inside and behind the front legs, on the paws and aroundthe anus, and from there to about one-third to one-half of the lengthof the tail on the underside. Undue prominence of tan or cream markingsis undesirable. A small amount of white on the chest is acceptable butnot desirable. Nose and nails-in the case of black dogs, black; forchocolate and all other colors, dark brown, but self-colored isacceptable.
Dappled dachshunds-The dapple (merle) pattern is expressed aslighter-colored areas contrasting with the darker base color, which maybe any acceptable color. Neither the light nor the dark color shouldpredominate. Nose and nails are the same as for one- and two-coloredDachshunds. Partial or wholly blue (wall) eyes are as acceptable asdark eyes. A large area of white on the chest of a dapple ispermissible.
Brindle is a pattern (as opposed to a color) in which black or darkstripes occur over the entire body although in some specimens thepattern may be visible only in the tan points.
Sable-the sable pattern consists of a uniform dark overlay on reddogs. The overlay hairs are double-pigmented, with the tip of eachhair much darker than the base color. The pattern usually displays awidow’s peak on the head. Nose, nails and eye rims are black. Eyesare dark, the darker the better.
Wirehaired Dachshunds
Coat-Withthe exception of jaw, eyebrows, and ears, the whole body is coveredwith a uniform tight, short, thick, rough, hard, outer coat but withfiner, somewhat softer, shorter hairs (undercoat) everywheredistributed between the coarser hairs. The absence of an undercoat is afault. The distinctive facial furnishings include a beard and eyebrows.On the ears the hair is shorter than on the body, almost smooth. Thegeneral 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-Whilethe most common colors are wild boar, black and tan, and various shadesof red, all colors and patterns listed aboveare admissible.
Wild boar (agouti) appears as banding of the individual hairs andimparts an overall grizzled effect which is most often seen onwirehaired Dachshunds, but may also appear on other coats. Tan pointsmay or may not be evident. Variations include red boar andchocolate-and-tan boar. Nose, nails and eye rims are black on wild-boarand 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 theneck and on forechest, the underside of the body, the ears and behindthe legs. The coat gives the dog an elegant appearance. Short hair onthe ear is not desirable. Too profuse a coat which masks type, equallylong hair over the whole body, a curly coat, or a pronounced parting onthe back are faults. Tail-Carried gracefully in prolongation of thespine; the hair attains its greatest length here and forms a veritableflag. 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 deviationfrom the above described dog must be penalized to the extent of thedeviation keeping in mind the importance of the contribution of thevarious 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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