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Official Standard of the Dachshund
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 above are
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
Approved January 8, 2007
Effective March 1, 2007
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