Dachshund

AKC Group: Hound

Club: Dachshund Club of America, Inc.

Corresponding Secretary : Andra O'Connell
Address: 1793 Berme Rd, Kerhonkson, NY , 12446-3128
Website: www.dachshund-dca.org
Email: amtekel@hvaccess.com
Club Type: Specialty

General Apperance:

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.

Size:

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.

Coat:

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.

Wirehaired Dachshund
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

Longhaired Dachshund
Coat --The sleek, glistening, often slightly wavy hair is longer under the neck and on the 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.

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.

History:

The Dachshund can be found in historical accounts dating back to the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries, when illustrations reflected badgers being hunted with dogs with elongated bodies, short legs and hound-type ears. The dogs of medieval Europe were noted to have the tracking ability of hounds and the proportions and temperament of terriers, much needed to pursue their main quarry of badgers.

Early in the 17th century, the name Dachshund (badger-dog) became the designation of a breed type with smooth and longhaired coat varieties, and in 1890 wirehairs were added as a third variety. German breeders learned early on that crossing between longhairs and either smooths or wirehairs did more harm than good, and barred such crossed from registration. However, early on in the development of wirehairs, some crosses with smooths was permitted to establish the variety in higher numbers.

During the development of the breed, two different sizes were emerging based on the type of game being pursued: dogs weighing 30-35 pounds were being used not only on badgers but wild boar, while smaller 16-22 pound dogs proved effective against foxes and hare. Importations into America date back in the AKC Stud Book in 1885. The Dachshund Club of America has promoted the breed since 1895, and in 1935 Dachshunds were added to AKC field trials to encourage hunting capacity and exemplary conformation and temperament.