Dachshund Dog Breed
While classified in the hound group or scent hound group in the United States and Great Britain, there are some who consider this classification to be arguable, speculating that it arose from the fact that the word Hund is similar to the English word hound. Many dachshunds, especially the wire-haired subtype, may exhibit behavior and appearance that are similar to that of the terrier group of dogs.An argument can be made for the scent (or hound) group classification because the breed was developed to use scent to trail and hunt animals, and probably descended from scent hounds, such as bloodhounds, pointers, Basset Hounds, or even Bruno Jura Hounds; but with the persistent personality and love for digging that probably developed from the terrier, it can also be argued that they could belong in the terrier, or "earth dog", group.In the Fédération Cynologique Internationale (World Canine Federation), or FCI, the dachshund is actually in its own group, Group 4, which is the dachshund group.Part of the controversy is because the dachshund is the only certifiable breed of dog to hunt both above and below ground.
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. 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, 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, it will have brindling on the tan points only. Even one single, lone stripe of brindle is a 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. Additionally, according to the conformation judges of the Dachshund Club of America (DCA) and the American Kennel Club (AKC) the piebald pattern is nonstandard. However, the piebald dachshund can still be shown. The only disqualifying fault in Dachshunds is knuckling over. While some judges choose to dismiss a dog of color, many choose to judge them and those who are actually judging the dog will look past the cosmetic color of a dog and judge the conformation of the dog first. There were several piebald dachshunds that became AKC Champions in 2008. All things being equal between the dogs in the ring, the traditional colors which are listed in the Official AKC Standard (governed by DCA) should be visibly listed.
Dogs that are double-dappled have the merle pattern of a dapple, but with distinct white patches that occur when the dapple gene expresses itself twice in the same area of the coat. The DCA excluded the wording "double-dapple" from the standard in 2007 and now strictly use the wording "dapple" as the double dapple gene is commonly responsible for blindness and deafness.
Breeders may also breed a piebald dapple brindle; and although dogs with this coloring are increasingly popular due to their unique markings, they are not considered standard and are not allowed to show.
Data refer: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dachshund
