 |
|
Dachshund
©1997 by Bonnie Dalzell, NetPets staff
- Registration Organization and Dog Group:
- AKC: Hound
- Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI); Group 4 (Dachshund, Teckel )
- The FCI registers dogs in Puerto Rico, South America, Morocco, and Europe.
- Breed 148 (all varieties are treated as one breed)
- Kennel Club, United Kingdom (KC[GB]): Hound
- Canadian Kennel Club (CKC)
- AKC National Breed Club: Dachshund Club of America, Inc.
- Corres. Secretary,
- Carl Holder, 1130 Redoak Dr., Lumberton, TX 77657
(409) 755-6569
- Breeder Contact Chairperson
- Cathy Sorenson - P.O. Box 1288 Oak Harbor, WA 98277
Between 8:00 am to 6:00 pm Pacific Time - Please be considerate of what time you call!!! It is 3 hours EARLIER in Washington State than in New York.Breed Description:
Varieties:
- Dachshunds come in two sizes:
- Standard (greater than 11 pounds in weight at 12 months of age)
- Miniature (less than 11 pounds in weight at 12 months of age)
- They also come in three coat textures:
- Smooth
- Long haired
- Wire
Original purpose and special abilities:
- Dachshunds were bred as a short legged hound to pursue Badgers and other animals that "go to ground" (retreat to a burrow).
Introduction:
- Dachshunds (Teckels) are rather unique hunting dogs that originated in Germany. They were bred to follow powerful prey such as badgers and foxes into their burrows. They are courageous little dogs and have an active hunting dog personality, not a companion dog personality. They are included in the AKC hound group but the FCI recognizes their uniqueness by making them a special category (FCI Group 4) all of their own. The smooth coated Dachshund is the most popular pure bred dog in Germany according to Glover.
- The 6 varieties are treated as one breed in the United States, in the United Kingdom each variety has separate championship status.
Breed History:
- The breed can be traced back at least 300 years. They became known outside of Germany in the mid 1800's. The breed's popularity fell in the Allied countries during the First Wolrd War because of anti-German feelings and then revived in the inter-war years. The breed popularity was not as affected by wartime hostilities during the Second World War.
The extremely short legs are a unique feature of the breed. This extreme shortness of leg is due to a simple dominant gene producing a condition generally termed chondrodysplasia, where the cartiledge of the growth plates grows at an abnormally slow rate. The effect is that in the mature dog the bones that would normally have been the longest bones are the most greatly affected. Although there is some effect on the bones of the spine and the basal part of the skull, the greatest effect is on the limbs.
Dogs that inherit one gene for chondrodysplasia have noticably shortened legs, dogs with two genes have greatly shortened legs. This condition seems to have arisen by spontaneous mutation frequently in the domestication of dogs. Since it is a dominant gene it is visible as soon as it appears and can be selected for to produce a new breed. I personally have seen a Borzoi who was such a spontaneous mutant. When the mutation occurs the limbs, although short are generally rather twisted or knucked over. Getting straight limbs in these very short legged dogs requires generations of selective breeding.
Region of Origin: Germany
National Club established in the US: AKC member club since 1895
AKC Registration Statistics: Dachshunds were #7 in popularity among AKC breeds in 1996.
Numbers of Dachshund AKC 1968-1996 1968 1982 1986 1994 1996 57460 32835 35537 46129 48426 Size:
- Weight (AKC breed standard)
- 16 and 32 for standard sized
- Under 11 pounds at 12 months of age for minatures
- Weight (KC (GB) breed standard) dogs 20 to 22 pounds, btches 18 to 20 pounds.
- Height AKC is not stated in the standard. Generally between 8 and 13 inches at the shoulder
- Height KC(United Kingdom) (inches) (dogs): (bitches)
Eyes - color and form:
- Dark reddish brown to brownish black, lustrous. In the dapple (merl) the eyes may be blue or blue flecked and the color may be assymetric. Eyes should be medium sized, not small and shrunken or protruding out of the head.
Lips: Tight, this is not a drool prone breed
Ear type: Hound type, appproximately 1/2 as long as the head. Require regular ear care and cleaning.
Disqualifications:
- Breed disqualifications can lead to a dog be offered as a pet animal. One should never pay more for a dog with breed disqualifications because it is rare or unusual !
- Knuckling over of front legs. This can lead to arthritis and difficulty in locomotion.
- Absence of two apparently normal, fully descended testicles in the scrotum in males is a general disqualification in most registries.
Cosmetic Surgeries (to establish 'breed look') None are called for but if an individual is born with a fifth toe on the hind legs, this is removed.
Color:
- The typical colors are described in the AKC standard as: " ... wild boar, black and tan a-t, and various shades of red a-y ... " in additon almost all other colors of dogs are found in the breed including merle (called Dapple in Dachshunds) as well as chocolate and blue dilutes, isabellas, and brindling. To the best of my knowledge dominant black (A) is not found among Dachshunds. A small amount of white is allowed on the chest but it is not desirable. Pinto (spotting) is not found. A small amount of white on the chest, although acceptable, is not desirable.
- Dark colored nails and nose are desired. The nose can be chocolate in chocolate (brown) dilutes b-b and slate grey in blue dilutes d-d but it and the lip and eye rims are to be fully pigmented, not spotted (dudley nose). In all colors other than the two dilutes it should be black.
Coat Type:
- Smooth
- A distinctive coat which is short, smooth and generally with a brilliant shine.
- Wire
- Short wire coat with a strong harsh texture, not soft or wavy. Distinctive beard and eyebrows. The hair is short on the ears, almost as short as in the smooth variety.
- Long
- This is a typical feathered pattern long coat. Short sleek hair on the body, face, and fronts of the legs, longer on the neck. There is longer silky feathering on the backs of the legs and chest. The hair is longest along the bottom of the tail where it should form a distinctive flag. The coat may be straight or slightly wavy.
Temperament:
- These are an alert small hunting dog. They are confident and plucky. In some ways they resemble terriers in personality. They can be quite keen to hunt rodents.
Special Requirements:
Typical Competitive Activities for this Breed:
- Obedience, earthdog field events, hunting. Not reccommended for high jumping activities.
Genetic problems commonly encountered in this breed:
- The chondroplastic condition predisposes animals to back problems and joint problems unless breeders are careful to select strongly for individuals who are resistant to these illnesses. Excessively long-bodied, heavy bodied and short legged individuals are more prone to back problems than more moderately built dogs. People buying pets should never reject a pet dog because it is too long legged for the show breeders needs unless the legs are also twisted and deformed. These dogs have a tendency to carry too much weight for their frame. Dachshund owners should strive for a fit lean dog.
- As with other breeds in which the merle (dapple) gene occurs double merles can have hearing and visual defects.
Who should own this breed?
- A patient person with a sense of humor who wants an active alert hunting dog in a short legged package as a family pet. Dachshunds can be snappy if teased or mistreated or if suddenly lifted up to a stranger's face. They are not a dog for unsupervised rough handling by children.
Who should not own this breed?People looking for a intensly focused obedience dog, people who object to a dog that digs in the yard. The minitaure version is too small to be a dog for a family with small children.
Esthetic Defiencies: Often these are also the breed disqualifications and are legitimate reasons for a dog to be sold at a pet price on a 'neuter contract'. These should not detract from the health of the dog or its suitability as a pet.
- Tail High carried - flagging over the dogs back.
- Legs Too long.
- Dentition Undershot or overshot, missing teeth.
- Color Piebald dogs would be faulty but if the white color is due to the spotting gene ( s-p) they would be healthy. However dogs with to doses of the merle gene (double dapples) may have white marking and can be unhealthy and should not be purchased without a thorough examination for eye defects and hearing.
Do not buy a puppy that is 'sold as a pet because it is/has':
- It is excessively fearful or excessively aggressive.
- It has a really exaggerated posture - front feet flat on the ground to the stop pad, hind feet flat on the ground.
- Chronic lameness in a 2 to 5 month old puppy.
- The unhealthy scrawny pup in the litter. This pup may have any one of a number of life treatening congenital illnesses such as a major heart anomaly, pancreatitis, severe food sensitivities.
- An extremely large puppy for its age with very large, tender or hot to the touch "growth knobs" at the wrists and ankles. Very rapidly growing puppies are much more likely to have joint problems later in life. This is in part a management problem. These dogs can be fed too rich a diet as pups and pushed to grow too rapidly. Too rapid growth is generally an error made by novice owners and breeders.
- A pup from an excessively inbred litter.
Author (i.e., person to flame if you take exception to this breed description) - Bonnie Dalzell
References:
