Breed:

Dachshund Pups - Smooth Haired

Temperament:

playful

Lifespan:

10 -12 years

Weight Full Grown:

A full-grown normally weighs less than 5.0 kg

There are three types, classified by their coats: short-haired, called "smooth"; "long-haired"; and "wire-haired".

The name "dachshund" is of German origin and literally means "badger dog", from Dachs ("badger") and Hund ("dog").

Some writers and dachshund experts have theorised that the early roots of the dachshund go back to ancient Egypt, where engravings were made featuring short-legged hunting dogs.

Dachshunds have been kept by royal courts all over Europe, including that of Queen Victoria, who was particularly enamored of the breed. They were originally bred for hunting badgers by trailing scent.

The typical dachshund is long-bodied and muscular, with short and stubby legs. Its paws are unusually large and paddle-shaped, for efficient digging. It has skin that is loose enough not to tear while tunneling in tight burrows to chase prey. The dachshund has a deep chest to allow enough lung capacity to keep going when hunting.

Dachshunds have a wide variety of colors and patterns.

They can be single-colored, single-colored with spots ("dappled"-called "merle" in other dog breeds), and single-colored with tan points plus any pattern. Dachshunds also come in piebald.

The dominant color is red, the most common along with black and tan. Isabella is a silver/gray all over color with light translucent brown points or no distinct points at all. Two-colored dogs can be black, wild boar, chocolate, fawn, with tan "points", or markings over the eyes, ears, paws, and tail, of tan or cream.

A two-colored dachshund would be called by its dominant color first followed by the point color, such as "black and tan" or "chocolate and cream".

Other patterns include piebald, in which a white pattern is imposed upon the base color or any other pattern, and a lighter "boar" red. The reds range from coppers to deep rusts, with or without somewhat common black hairs peppered along the back, tail, face, and ear edges, lending much character and an almost burnished appearance; this is referred to among breeders and enthusiasts as a "stag" or an "overlay" or "sable".

True sable is a dachshund with each single hair banded with three colors: light at the base of the hair, red in the middle, black at the end. An additional, striking coat marking is the brindle pattern. "Brindle" refers to dark stripes over a solid background, usually red; if a dachshund is brindled on a dark coat and has tan points, you will see brindling on the tan points only. Even one single, lone stripe of brindle is brindle. If a dachshund has one single spot of dapple, it is a dapple.

Solid black and solid chocolate dachshunds occur and, even though dogs with such coloration are often considered handsome, the colors are nonstandard, that is, the dogs are frowned upon in the conformation ring in the US and Canada. Chocolate is commonly confused with dilute red.

Light-colored dachshunds can sport amber, light brown, or green eyes; however, kennel club standards state that the darker the eye color, the better. They can also have eyes of two different colors; however, this is only found in dapple and double dapple dachshunds.

Dachshunds can have a blue and a brown eye. Blue eyes, partially blue eyes, or a blue eye and a brown eye are called "wall" coloring, and are considered a non-desirable trait in kennel club standards. Dappled eyes are also possible.


Temperament

Dachshunds are playful, but can be stubborn, and are known for their propensity for chasing tennis balls with great determination and ferocity.