How to Identify a Dachshund

The dachshund, "badger dog" in German, has a friendly personality with a keen sense of smell. This breed is known for its long, low body, and it excels in above ground work and below ground work. The dachshund was first bred in Germany in the early 1600s. It was bred to hunt and furrow out badgers. Dachshunds are playful dogs and they make an ideal pet for many homes. They can adapt to most living environments. There are three coat varieties—smooth, wirehaired and longhaired. They can also be miniature or standard sized.

Instructions

1. Look at the general appearance of this breed. It is low to the ground and has a long body with short legs. The elastic skin covers the robust muscles without excessive wrinkling. The dachshund is a well-balanced breed and carries its head boldly and confidently. It has a long tongue and a good nose and its distinctive build makes its well-suited for below-ground work.

2. Note that the dachshund is bred and shown in two sizes—standard and miniature. The miniature dachshunds are 11 pounds and under at 12 months and older. The standard-sized dachshund weighs between 16 and 32 pounds. The head has a uniform taper that goes to the tip of the nose. The medium-sized eyes are almond-shaped and dark-rimmed and have an energetic expression, and are very dark in color. The ears are of moderate length, rounded and are set near the top of the head.

3. Look at the body of the dachshund. The long, muscular neck is clean-cut and does not have a dewlap. It flows gracefully into the shoulders. The long body is fully muscled. The back should be straight between the withers and the loin. The strong forequarters are deep, long and muscled. The breastbone is so prominent that a dimple appears on either side. The lowest point of the breast line is covered by the front leg when viewed in profile. The shoulder blades are long and broad and have hard, pliable muscles. The front legs are short, but are well-muscled. The front paws are tight and compact and have well-arched toes and tough, thick pads. This breed has five toes—four of them close together with a pronounced arch. The strong rear is cleanly muscled. The thighs are strong and powerful. The rear paws are smaller than the front paws and only have four toes. The toes are arched and have tough, thick pads. Rear dewclaws should be removed. The tail is a continuation of the spine and it extends with no kinks or twists and does not have a pronounced curvature.

4. Look at the color of this breed. There are certain patterns and basic colors that predominate, though the base color is immaterial. The one-colored dachshunds are read and cream, with or without shading. They may have a small amount of white on the chest. The nose and nails are black. The two-colored dachshunds may be black, chocolate, wild boar, gray (blue) and fawn. They each have deep rich tan or cream markings on the sides of the jaw and underlip, on the inner edge of the ear, the front, the breast, over the eyes, and sometimes on the throat, inside and behind the front legs, on the paws and around the anus. There should not be a prominence of markings. The nose and nails are black on black dogs, but may be dark brown or self colored on the rest of the colored dogs. The dappled dachshunds have lighter-colored areas that contrast with the darker base color. Neither color should dominate. The dappleds may have a large white area on the chest. Some dachshunds may have a brindle pattern where black or dark stripes cover the entire body. In some dogs, it may be visible only in the tan points. Some Dachshunds may have a sable pattern. This is a dark overlay on red dogs. The hairs are double-pigmented—the tip of the hair is darker than the base color. The nose, nails and eye rims are black.