|
|
| Appearance The typical dachshund is long-bodied and muscular. They are also known for their short and stubby legs. There are three types: wired-haired, short-haired, and long-haired.
Size
A standard long-haired dachshund (left) and miniature short-haired dachshund (right) Dachshunds come in three sizes: standard, miniature, and kaninchen. Although the first two sizes are recognized almost universally, the third size (which means rabbit) is recognized only by non-English speaking clubs like the World Canine Federation. A full-grown standard dachshund averages 15 lb (6.8 kg) to 28 lb (13 kg), while the miniature variety normally weighs less than 11 lb (5.0 kg). The kaninchen weighs 8 lb (3.6 kg) to 10 lb (4.5 kg). According to most kennel club standards, the miniature (and kaninchen, where recognized) variety differs from the full-size only by size and weight, thus offspring from miniature parents must never weigh more than the miniature standard to be considered a miniature as well. While most kennel club size divisions use weight for classification, other kennel club standards determine the difference between the miniature and standard by chest circumference; some kennel clubs even measure chest circumference in addition to height and weight.H. L. Mencken said that "A dachshund is a half-dog high and a dog-and-a-half long," although many poems and songs refer to them as "two dogs long".This characteristic has led them to be quite a recognizable breed, and they are featured in many a joke and cartoon, particularly The Far Side by Gary Larson. Coat and color Black and tan double dapple smooth-haired miniature dachshund with one blue eye and one brown eye Dachshunds exhibit three coat varieties: smooth coat (short hair), long hair, and wire-hair. Wire hair is the least commonly seen coat in the US (it is the most common in Germany) and the most recent coat to appear in breeding standards. Many people are unfamiliar with wire-hairs and commonly mistake them for other breeds. Dachshunds have a wide variety of colors and patterns. They can be single-colored, single colored with spots ("dappled"—called "merle" in other dog breeds), and single-colored with tan points plus any pattern. Dachshunds also come in Piebald. The piebald has a white background with various shades of brown. The dominant color is red, the most common along with black and tan. Two-colored dogs can be black, wild boar, chocolate, or fawn ("Isabella") with tan "points", or markings over the eyes, ears, paws, and tail, of tan or cream. A two-colored dachshund would be called by its dominant color first followed by the point color, such as "black and tan" or "chocolate and cream". Other patterns include piebald, in which a white pattern is imposed upon the base color or any other pattern, and a lighter "boar" red. The reds range from coppers to deep rusts, with or without somewhat common black hairs peppered along the back, tail, face, and ear edges, lending much character and an almost burnished appearance; this is referred to among breeders and enthusiasts as a "stag" or an "overlay" or "sable". True sable is a dachshund with each single hair banded with three colors: light at the base of the hair, red in the middle, black at the end. An additional, striking coat marking is the brindle pattern. "Brindle" refers to dark stripes over a solid background, usually red; if a dachshund is brindled on a dark coat and has tan points, you will see brindling on the tan points only. Even one single, lone stripe of brindle is brindle. If a dachshund has one single spot of dapple, it is a dapple. Solid black and solid chocolate dachshunds occur and, even though dogs with such coloration are often considered handsome, the colors are nonstandard, that is, the dogs are frowned upon in the conformation ring in the US and Canada. Chocolate is commonly confused with dilute red. Additionally, according to the conformation judges of the Dachshund Club of America (DCA) and the American Kennel Club (AKC) the piebald pattern is nonstandard. However, The Piebald dachshund can still be shown, the ONLY disqualifying Fault in Dachshunds is Knuckling over. While some judges choose to dismiss a dog of color, many choose to judge them and those who are actually judging the dog will look past the cosmetic color of a dog and judge the conformation of the dog FIRST. There were several Piebald dachshunds that became AKC Champions in 2008. All things being equal between the dogs in the ring, the traditional colors which are listed in the Official AKC Standard (governed by DCA) should be put up. Light-colored dachshunds can sport amber, light brown, or green eyes; however, kennel club standards state that the darker the eye color, the better. They can also have eyes of two different colors; however, this is only found in dapple and double dapple dachshunds. Dachshunds can have a blue and a brown eye. Blue eyes, partially blue eyes, or a blue eye and a brown eye are called "wall" coloring, not considered a non-desirable trait in kennel club standards. The standard was changed by the DCA in 2007 to exclude the wording double-dapple from the standard and strictly use the wording dapple. The reason is that the double merle gene is linked to blindness and deafness. Wall-eye is permissible. Piebald-patterned dachshunds will never have blue in their eyes, unless the dapple pattern is present. | |
|