| BREED STANDARD OF THE DACHSHUND |
| GENERAL APPEARANCE: |
| Long and low, but with compact, well muscled body, bold, defiant carriage of head and intelligent expression. |
| CHARACTERISTICS: |
| Intelligent, lively, courageous to the point of rashness, obedient. Especially suited to going to ground because of low build, very strong forequarters and forelegs, long strong jaw, and immense power of bite and hold. Excellent nose, persevering hunter and tracker. |
| TEMPERAMENT: |
| Faithful, versatile and good-tempered. |
| HEAD AND SKULL: |
| Long, appearing conical when seen from above, from side tapering uniformly to tip of nose. Skull only slightly arched. Neither too broad or too narrow, sloping gradually without prominent stop into slightly arched muzzle. Length from tip of nose to yes equal to length from eyes to occiput. In Wire-haired, particularly, ridges over eyes strongly prominent, giving appearance of slightly broader skull. Lips well stretched, neatly covering lower jaw. Strong jaw bones not too square or snipey, but opening wide. |
| EYES: |
| Medium sized, almond-shaped, set obliquely. Dark except in chocolates, where they can be lighter. In dapples, one or both "wall" eyes permissible. |
| EARS: |
| Set high and not too far forward. Broad, of moderate length, and well rounded (not pointed or folded.) Forward edge touching cheek. Mobile, and when at attention back of ear directed forward and outward. |
| MOUTH: |
| Teeth strongly developed, powerful canine teeth fitting closely. Jaws strong, with a perfect, regular and complete scissor bite, i.e. upper teeth closely overlapping lower teeth and set square to the jaws. Complete dentition important./p> |
| NECK: |
| Long muscular, clean with no dewlap, slightly arched, running in graceful lines into shoulders, carried proudly forward. |
| FOREQUARTERS: |
| Shoulder blades long, broad and placed firmly and obliquely (45 degrees to the horizontal) upon very robust rib cage. Upper arm the same length as shoulder blade, set at 90 degrees to it, very strong, and covered with hard, supple muscles. Upper arm lies close to ribs, but able to move freely. Forearm short and strong in bone, inclining slightly inwards; when seen in profile moderately straight, must not bend forward or knuckle over, which indicates unsoundness. Correctly placed foreleg should cover the lowest point of the keel. |
| BODY: |
| Long and full muscled. Back level, with sloping shoulders, lying in straightest possible line between withers and slightly arched loin. Loin short and strong. Breast bone strong, and so prominent that a depression appears on either side of it in front. When viewed from front, thorax full and oval; when viewed from side or above, full volumed, so allowing by its ample capacity complete development of heart and lungs. Well ribbed up, underline gradually merging into line of abdomen. Body sufficiently clear of ground to allow free movement. |
| HINDQUARTERS: |
| Rump full, broad and strong, pliant muscles. Croup long, full, robustly muscled, only slightly sloping towards tail. Pelvis strong, set obliquely and not too short. Upper thigh set at right angles to pelvis, strong and of good length. Lower thigh short, set at right angles to upper thigh and well muscled. Legs when seen behind, set well apart, straight and parallel. Hind dewclaws undesirable. |
| TAIL: |
| Continues line of spine, but slightly curved, without kinks or twists, not carried too high, or touching ground when at rest. |
| GAIT/MOVEMENT: |
| Should be free and flowing. Stride should be long, with the drive coming from the hindquarters when viewed from the side. Viewed from in front or behind, the legs and feet should move parallel to each other with the distance apart being the width of the shoulder and hip joints respectively. |
| COAT: |
| Smooth-haired: Dense, short and smooth. Hair on
underside of tail coarse in texture. Skin loose and supple, but fitting closely all over
without dewlap and little or no wrinkle. Long-haired: Soft and straight, or only slightly waved; longest under neck, on underparts of body, and behind legs, where it forms abundant feathering, on tail where it forms a flag. Outside of ears well feathered. Coat flat and not obscuring outline. Too much hair on feet undesirable. Wire-haired: With exception of jaw, eyebrows, chin and ears, the whole body should be covered with a short, straight, harsh coat with dense undercoat, beard on the chin, eyebrows bushy, but hair on ears almost smooth. Legs and feet well but neatly furnished with harsh coat. |
| COLOUR: |
| All colours allowed but (except in dapples which should be evenly marked all over) no white permissible, save for a small patch on chest which is permitted but not desirable. Nose and nails black in all colours except chocolate/tan and chocolate/dapple, where brown is permitted. |
| SIZE: |
| Ideal weight: 9 – 12 kg (20 – 26 lbs.) |
| MINIATURES: |
| Ideal weight: 4,5 kg (10lbs). It is of the utmost importance that judges should not award prizes to animals over 5,0kg (11lbs). |
| FAULTS: |
| Any departure from the foregoing points should be considered a fault and the seriousness with which the fault should be regarded should be in exact proportion to its degree. |
| NOTE: |
| Male animals should have two apparently normal testicles fully descended into the scrotum. |
| Copyright KENNEL CLUB, London. |