Dachshund dog breed and its varieties

The Dachshund is one of the most famous and recognizable breeds in the world.

Its characteristic appearance - a strongly stretched body, short legs, long ears, noble contours of the muzzle and a not too thick tail allow one to unmistakably determine that this is a dachshund, and not some other dog.

But there are many other breeds in the world, the representatives of which are more or less similar to dachshunds.

Therefore, when you see a dog in front of you that looks like a dachshund, there is no need to rush to conclusions. Perhaps it is just another breed similar to it.

Varieties of dachshunds

There are three size varieties of dachshunds:

standard _ Weight - about 9 kg, chest circumference - from 35 cm;
dwarf _ Weight is from 4 to 5.5 kg, chest circumference is 30-35 cm;
rabbit _ Average weight - 3.5-4 kg, chest circumference - up to 30 cm.

Based on their coat type, dachshunds are also divided into 3 varieties:

smooth- haired The coat is very short, close to the body, but should not be rough;
long- haired On the head and muzzle the hair is close-fitting and very short. On the ears, limbs and body the hair is much longer;
- haired The fur feels like wire, not too long, thick and dense, forming a mustache, beard and eyebrows on the face.

Special characteristics of certain types of dachshunds

Dachshunds are bred in three types of different coats:

Shorthaired dachshund.
Long-haired dachshund.
Wire-haired dachshund.

All three types must equally meet the above criteria. For each of these types the following provisions apply:

Short haired dachshund

Coat. The coat is short, thick, shiny, lying smoothly over the entire body, without bare spots. Special coat faults: too soft, fine coat, hairless ends of the ears, bare spots or too coarse, too long coat in general.

Tail. Dry, elegant, well coated but not excessively. Slightly elongated guard hairs on the underside of the tail are a sign of a strong predisposition to profuse hair, but are not considered a fault. A brush on the tail is a defect, just like the absence of hair partially or along the entire length of the tail.

Color of coat, nose and claws

Single-colored dachshunds. The color is red, reddish-yellow, yellow all over the body or mixed with black hair. However, the pure color is preferred and the auburn color is considered more valuable than the reddish-yellow and yellow. Dachshunds with dark brindle colors belong to the same group. The nose and claws are black. Auburn color, although acceptable, is undesirable.
Two-colored dachshunds. Lacquered black, brown, gray or white with rusty brown or yellow markings above the eyes, on the sides of the muzzle and lower lip, on the inside of the ears, on the front of the chest, on the inside and back of the legs, on the paws; around the anus and from there to about one-third or one-half of the underside of the tail. The nose and claws of black dogs are black, those of brown dogs are brown or black, and those of gray or white dogs are gray, however, sometimes they are flesh-colored, which is undesirable. White dogs have a preference for black markings. In other solid colors, with the exception of white dachshunds, white markings are undesirable, but if they are present in the form of separate small spots, they will not disqualify the dog.
Spotted, brindle and striped dachshunds. The main coat color of the brindle dachshund is light, reddish, gray, up to white with dark irregularly shaped ragged spots (large spots are undesirable) of dark gray, brown, red or black. It is advisable that light or dark color does not predominate. The color of the striped dachshund is red or yellow with dark stripes. 3) The nose and claws are the same color as monochromatic dachshunds.

Longhaired dachshund

A distinctive feature in comparison with the short-haired dachshund is its long, thin, silky coat.

Coat. Soft, straight, shiny hair lengthens on the throat, along the entire underside of the body, especially on the ears and on the back of the legs, forming beautiful feathering on them. The fur reaches its greatest length on the lower part of the tail. The decorative hair on the ears should extend through their lower edge. Short hair at the ends of the ears, the so-called leathery ends of the ears, is undesirable. Too much hair on the paws (the so-called flippers) is unsightly and is unsuitable for working use of a dachshund.

Tail . The tail, being a smooth continuation of the line of the back, does not rise above its line and is covered with the longest hair, forming a beautiful dewlap on its lower part.

The fault is that the coat is excessively long throughout the body, too wavy or shaggy. Lack of tail feathers or excessively drooping ear hair. The hair that forms a parting along the ridge is too long between the toes.

Color of the nose and claws. Same as the short-haired dachshund.

Wirehaired dachshund

General form. Same as the shorthaired dachshund.

Coat. With the exception of the muzzle, eyebrows and ears, the dog's entire body is covered with uniform, close-fitting, thick, wiry hair with a dense undercoat. There is a beard and mustache on the face. Shaggy eyebrows. On the ears the hair is short, almost smooth, but consistent with the general type.

Color . All colors are acceptable. White markings on the chest, although acceptable, are not desirable. Otherwise, the same principles apply as for the short-haired dachshund.

Disadvantages are soft hair in general (short or long), or long hair on some parts of the body, trailing in all directions, curly or wavy hair and feathering on the tail. The tail is covered with coarse, but if possible, tight-fitting hair, shortening towards the end of the tail, without dewlap. The overall coat should give the impression that from a distance the wirehaired dachshund looks like a shorthaired one.

What breeds are similar to the dachshund?

There are many breeds in the world whose representatives may look similar to a dachshund.

First of all, these are hounds, such as the Austrian smooth-haired Brack, which looks like a large black and tan dachshund with fairly long legs.

Here are some other dog breeds that are most similar in build to dachshunds:

Australian Terrier;
Artesian-Norman Basset;
basset hound;
Pembroke Welsh Corgi;
blue Gascony Basset;
Dandie Dinmont Terrier;
drever;
Sealyham Terrier;
Skye Terrier;
Scotch Terrier.

All of them are distinguished by a highly stretched body structure.

There are also a number of breeds similar to dachshunds in head shape, but long-legged:

Austrian hound;
Austrian big-breasted brakk;
Alpine dachshund hound;
Bavarian mountain hound;
Schiller hound;
Polish hound;
Polish ogar;
Slovakian hound.

There are also breeds similar to dachshunds, but with larger ears. In addition to Basset Hounds, these include much taller Bloodhounds or Swiss Hounds.

IMPORTANT!

There are no long-legged dachshunds, since the breed standard states that the legs of these dogs should be shortened.

The long story of the long dog

The title is not without reason. The history of the Dachshund breed is truly one of the longest when it comes to hunting dogs specializing in burrowing.

The dachshund is the ultimate hunting dog, and its original shape is what makes these dogs excellent burrow hunters.

Of course, a dachshund won’t get into a mouse hole (but it will certainly dig it), but these dogs got into badger holes very easily, which is why hunters all over the world value this breed.

One version of the origin of the dachshund takes us to the ancient bank of the Nile River, in Egypt.

Images of people with animals with a characteristic body shape reminiscent of modern dachshunds have been found there more than once.

However, officially (that is, there is already documentary evidence) the history of this breed originates in Southern Germany in the 16th century.

The ancestors of short-legged hunters were German hound dogs, which passed on a number of hunting skills to dachshunds.

Photo 2. The Dachshund breed has a long history.

It was from them that the ability of dachshunds to pursue prey with a system of sound signals for hunters was inherited, as well as all the best hunting qualities, from intellectual abilities (dachshunds are very smart) to courage.

Dachshunds have a second name - Dachshund (German - badger dog).

This name was assigned to these dogs at a time when people realized their indispensability in catching badgers.

And even though the dachshund could not always pull the badger out, being underground, she pointed out exactly where to dig.

While the men shoveled, the dog held the badger in place. And it was not difficult to hear her even from under the ground cover - dachshunds have a very loud voice.

For reference: another breed of dog that specialized in “smoking” an animal out of its hole is the Jack Russell Terrier.

As a type of hound dog, dachshunds have not lost these instincts over the centuries.

Even though nature deprived them of long legs and fast running, they did an excellent job of finding wounded animals, and still do.

The selection work to develop this breed as we know it was aimed at obtaining a squat breed capable of “earth” work, with a good voice and a muscular body.

And the German specialists did it more than well.

Dachshunds retained their excellent toughness, which in many cases made them indispensable for catching foxes and badgers.

The toughness of a dog is its ability to restrain an animal by barking. A kind of “siege” that dachshunds can carry out for large periods of time.

Dachshunds began to gain their popularity in the 19th century, all in Germany. Breeders specializing in this breed appeared, and more and more people became interested in such unusual hunters.

The first breed standard was published and adopted in 1870, and the current international breed standard was adopted in 1979.

Basset Hound

Description

A good-natured and affectionate dog of low stature with a deep chest and a strongly elongated heavy body. The coat is short and thick.

A characteristic feature of Bassets is their very long, low-set, drooping ears, as well as a friendly look in their eyes, which gives these dogs a somewhat melancholy expression.

The most typical colors are tri-color and reddish-white, but any hound color is acceptable.

Basset Hounds measure from 28 to 38 cm and weigh 20-34 kg.

Character

Basset Hounds are affectionate, good-natured and non-aggressive dogs that, with proper socialization, get along well in the home with other animals. They are very good with children and love to play.

NOTE!

Basset hounds are sensitive and vigilant, and their voice, due to its special timbre, sounds quite menacing, making them good watchdogs.

Peculiarities

With proper training, Basset Hounds become obedient and well-mannered dogs.

However, the hunting instinct and independent, and sometimes stubborn disposition often lead to the fact that the basset, left to its own devices, goes to investigate some trail and can get lost because of this.

Other types

In the canine literature, types of dachshunds are distinguished depending on their size. In this case, the main parameters are taken into account:

During the selection process, 3 groups of animals emerged and were named:

Ordinary adult individuals are characterized by average sizes: height 0.2-0.27 m, body weight up to 9 kg, chest volume 35 cm. The dwarf type is somewhat smaller: height 0.14-0.21 m, weight 4-5.5 kg , chest girth 30-35 cm. Rabbit dachshunds belong to the category of mini pets. Their height at the withers does not exceed 0.15 m. Mature animals weigh approximately 3.5 kg. The chest reaches a volume of up to 30 cm.

Dogs of standard sizes have full hunting properties; small varieties were bred for decorative purposes. They do an excellent job as pets. Miniature dachshunds appeared on Russian territory at the end of the 20th century.