Origin and Purpose
Early in the seventeenth century the name Dachshund became the designation of a breed type with
smooth and long-haired coats, and since 1890, wire-hairs have been registered as the third coat type.
The name Dachshund (dachs, badgers; hund, dog) at once reveals and conceals the origin of the breed.
In medieval European books on hunting dogs, similar only in possessing the tracking ability of hounds
and the proportions and temperament of terriers, because they were used to track badgers were called
badger-dogs, or dachshunds.
General Appearance
Low to ground, short-legged, long-bodied, but with compact figure and robust muscular development,
with bold and confident carriage of head and intelligent facial expression; conformation pre-eminently
fitted for following game into burrows. In spite of his shortness of leg, in comparison with his length
of trunk, he should appear neither crippled, awkward, cramped in his capacity for movement, nor slim
and weasel-like. Added to this, his hunting spirit, good nose, loud tongue, and small size render him
especially suited for beating the bush. His figure and his fine nose give him an advantage over most
other breeds of sporting dogs for trailing.
Temperament
He should be clever, lively and courageous to the point of rashness, persevering in his work both
above and below ground; with all the senses being well developed.
Size
Standard Dachshund by 18 months of age - males should weigh between 9-14.5 kg (20-32 lb);
bitches 7.3-12.7 kg (16-28 lb). Animals over or under this range should be penalized accordingly.
Miniature Dachshunds - by 12 months old - ideal weight 4.5 kg (10 lb). Judges should not reward
Miniature Dachshunds that appear to be over 5 kg (11 lb). Within the limits imposed, symmetrical
adherence to the general Dachshund conformation, combined with smallness and mental and physical
vitality should be the outstanding characteristics of the Miniature Dachshund.
Special Characteristics of Dachshunds
Dachshunds in Canada are six separate breeds connected by structure and general appearance and
distinguished by size (Standard or Miniature) and coat type (Smooth, Long-haired or Wire-Haired.).
Coat Types
Smooth (or Short-Haired) Dachshund Hair: Short, thick, smooth and shining; no bald patches. Coat faults: too fine or thin hair, leathery ears, bald patches, too coarse or too thick hair in general.
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 partly or
wholly hairless tail.
Long-Haired Dachshund Hair: The soft, sleek, glistening, often slightly wavy hair should be longer under the neck, on the underside of the body, and especially on the ears and behind the legs, becoming there a pronounced feather; the hair should attain its greatest length on the underside of the tail. The hair should fall beyond the lower edge of the ear. Short hair on the ear, so-called “leather” ears, is not desirable. Too luxurious a coat causes the Long-Haired Dachshund to seem coarse, and masks the type. The coat should give the dog an elegant appearance.
Coat Faults: Equally long hair over all the body, if the coat is too curly, or too scrubby, if a flag tail or
overhanging hair on the ears are lacking; if there is a very pronounced parting in the back, or a
vigorous growth between the toes.
Tail: Carried gracefully in prolongation of the spine; the hair attains here its greatest length and forms
a veritable flag.
Wire-Haired Dachshund Hair: With the exception of the jaw, eyebrows, and ears, the whole body is covered with a perfectly uniform tight, short, thick, rough, hard coat, but with finer, shorter hairs (undercoat) everywhere distributed between the coarser hairs. There should be a beard on the chin. The eyebrows are prominent. On the ears the hair is shorter than on the body, almost smooth; but in any case conforming to the rest of the coat. Coat faults: Any sort of soft hair in the coat is faulty, whether
short or long.
Tail: Robust, as thickly haired as possible, gradually coming to a point and without a tuft. A flag tail is
objectionable.
Colour
One-Coloured Dachshund: This group includes any shade of red or cream with or without a shading
of interspersed black hairs. Nevertheless a clean colour is preferable. No white is desirable, but a
solitary small spot is permit- ted. Nose and nails - black, brown is admissible, but not desirable.
Two-Coloured Dachshund: These include black, chocolate, blue (grey), and Isabella; each with tan or
cream marks over the eyes, on the sides of the jaw and under lip, on the inner edge of the ear, front,
breast, inside and behind the front leg, 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. (The most common Two-Coloured
Dachshund is usually called black and tan). No white is desirable, but a solitary small spot is permitted.
Absence, or undue prominence of tan markings, is undesirable. Nose and nails - In the case of black
and tan or black and cream dogs, nose and nails should be black; for chocolate and tan or chocolate
and cream, blue and tan or blue and cream, and Isabella and tan or Isabella and cream dogs, nose and
nails should be self-coloured.
Dachshund Coat Patterns
Each of the following coat patterns may be seen in all acceptable Dachshund colours: Dapple, Brindle,
Sable and Wild Boar are patterns allowed for Dachshunds.
Dapple (merle) pattern is any acceptable Dachshund colour, with darker or lighter irregular spots or
patches (large areas of one co- lour not desirable). It is desirable that neither the light nor the dark
colour should predominate.
Brindle is a pattern in which black or dark stripes occur over the entire body in one coloured dogs but
may only be visible on the tan points on two-coloured dogs.
Sable pattern consists of a uniform dark overlay on red, cream or blue dogs.
Wild Boar pattern is a variety of reds, browns and blacks. The undercoat is usually a lighter colour
(reddish), the guard hairs may be solid or individually striped. Wild boar may display the lighter points
of the two-coloured dachshunds.
Head
Viewed from above or from the side, it should taper uniformly to the tip of the nose, and should be
clean-cut. The skull is only slightly arched, and should slope gradually without stop (the less stop, the
more typical) into the finely-formed slightly-arched muzzle. The bridge bones over the eyes should be
strongly prominent. The nasal cartilage and tip of the nose are long and narrow; lips tightly stretched,
well covering the lower jaw, but corner of the mouth not very marked. Nostrils well open. Jaws
opening wide and hinged well back of the eyes, with strongly developed bones and teeth.
Teeth:
Powerful canine teeth should fit closely together, and the outer side of the lower incisors should
tightly touch the inner side of the upper. (Scissors bite.)
Eyes: Medium size, oval/almond, situated at
the sides, with a clean, energetic, though pleasant expression; not piercing. Eyes are naturally dark
reddish-brown to brownish black for all coats and colours. Chocolate dogs may have amber coloured
eyes. Wall (fish or pearl) eyes may occur in dappled-coloured dogs are less desirable and considered a
minor fault.
Ears should be set near the top of the head, and not too far forward, long but not too
long, beautifully rounded, not narrow, pointed, or folded. Their carriage should be animated, and the
forward edge should just touch the cheek. Excessive or insufficient length are both undesirable.
Neck
Fairly long, muscular, clean-cut, not showing any dewlap on the throat, slightly arched in the nape,
extending in a graceful line into the shoulders, carried proudly but not stiffly.
Forequarters
The front assembly is the hallmark of the breed. To endure the arduous exertion underground, the
front must be correspondingly muscular, compact, deep, long, and broad. Shoulder Blade long, broad,
obliquely and firmly placed upon the fully developed thorax, furnished with hard and plastic muscle.
Upper Arm of 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, capable of free movement. Lower Arm: this is short in
comparison to other breeds, slightly turned inwards; supplied with hard but plastic muscles on the
front and outside, with tightly stretched tendons on the inside and at the back. Pasterns: joint between
forearm and foot (wrists); these are closer together than the shoulder joints. Front Feet: full, broad in
front, and inclined very slightly outwards; compact with well-arched toes and tough pads. There are
five toes, though only four are in use. They should be close together, with a pronounced arch;
provided on top with strong nails, and underneath with tough toe-pads.
Body
The whole trunk should, in general, be long and fully-muscled. The back, with sloping shoulders, and
short, rigid pelvis, should lie in the straightest possible line between the withers and the very slightly
arched loins, these latter being short, rigid, and broad.
Topline: The straightest possible line between
withers and loins. Without arch or sag. Carried as solid component when gaiting. Chest: The
breastbone should be strong, and so prominent in front that on either side a depression (dimple)
appears. When viewed from the front, the thorax should appear oval, and should extend downward to
the midpoint of the forearm. The enclosing structure of ribs should appear full and oval, and when
viewed from above or from the side, full volumed, so as to allow by its ample capacity, complete
development of heart and lungs. Well ribbed up with the keel gradually merging into the line of the
abdomen and extending well back from the front legs. If the length is correct, and also the anatomy of
the shoulder and upper arm, the front leg when viewed in profile should cover the lowest point of the
breast line. Loin slightly arched, being short, rigid and broad. Croup long, round, full, robustly
muscled, but plastic, only slightly sinking toward the tail. Abdomen slightly drawn up.
Hindquarters
The hindquarters viewed from behind should be of completely equal width. Pelvic bones not too
short, rather strongly developed, and moderately sloping. Thigh robust and of good length, set at right
angle to the pelvic bones. Hind legs robust and well-muscled, with well-rounded buttocks. Knee joint
broad and strong. Calf bone, in comparison with other breeds, short; it should be perpendicular to the
thigh bone, and firmly muscled. The bones at the base of the foot (tarsus) should present a flat
appearance, with a strongly prominent hock and a broad tendon of Achilles. The central foot bones
(metatarsus) should be long, movable towards the calf bone, slightly bent toward the front, but
perpendicular (as viewed from behind). Hind Feet: Four compactly- closed and beautifully arched toes,
as in the case of the front paws. The whole foot should be posed equally on the ball and not merely on
the toes. Nails short.
Tail
Set in continuation of the spine, extending without very pronounced curvature, and should not be
carried too gaily.
Gait
Fluid and smooth. Forelegs reach well forward, without much lift, in unison with the driving action of
hind legs, while the topline remains firm and level. The correct shoulder assembly and well-fitted
elbows allow the long, free stride in front. Viewed from the front, the legs incline slightly inward.
Viewed in profile, the forward reach of the hind leg equals the rear extension. Rear feet do not reach
upward toward the abdomen and there is no appearance of walking on the rear pasterns. Viewed from
the rear, hind legs drive on a line with the forelegs, with hock joints and rear pasterns turning neither
in nor out. Rear pads are clearly exposed during rear extension. 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 and going are incorrect.
Faults
Any departure from the aforementioned ideals shall be considered faulty to the degree in which it
interferes with the health and well-being of the dog and the breed’s purpose.
Serious Faults (should prevent a dog from receiving any show rating):
overshot or undershot jaws
knuckling over
Note: In as much as the Dachshund is a hunting dog, scars from honourable wounds shall not be
considered a fault.
Breed Name: Dachshund
Year of Recognition: 1889
Effective Date: July 2020
Source: Canadian Kennel Club
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