Jenny's Dachshunds

There are three coat lengths in dachshunds: wirehair, smooth, and long

 

 Wirehair is the most dominant, followed by smooth and longhair is recessive.

 Most colors and patterns can appear on any coat length in either size. 

 

 

There are two sizes: Standard and Miniature

 

Standard dachshunds weighs 16-32 pounds at one year of age.

Miniature dachshunds weighs 11 pounds or less at one year of age.

Dachshunds that fall between the weight ranges are typically called "tweeny"

 

 

 

This is a red longhair.  Red is the most dominant color and can occur in any of the coats. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a red smooth. 

This one is called a "shaded red" because of the black overlay.  (Felix)

 

 

 

 

 

This is also a red smooth.

This one is called a "clear red" because it has no black overlay.

Clear red is dominant over all of the tan-pointed colors, but recessive to shaded red. 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a black and tan smooth.

Black and tan is the most dominant tan-pointed color and can occur in any of the three coats. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a black and tan wirehair.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a chocolate and tan smooth.

Chocolate is recessive and can occur in any of the three coats.

 

 

 

 

 

This is a longhair chocolate and tan.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a blue and tan smooth puppy.  Blue is a dilution of black and tan caused by a recessive gene.  This color can occur in any of the three coats.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is an isabella and tan.  Isabella is a dilution of chocolate and tan caused by the same recessive gene as blue.  This color can occur in any of the three coats. 

 

 

 

 

This is a wild boar wirehair.  Wild boar is a color.

This color is seen in wirehair and occasionally in smooth coat dachshunds.  Each of the individual hairs in this coat color is banded at the base near the skin with red and black at the tip.  Appear black and tan from a distance. 

 

 

 

 

 This is a red sable longhair.  Sable is a pattern.  (Red is the color, sable is the pattern.)

Sable is only seen in longhaired dachshunds.  As with wild boar, each of the individual hairs is banded at the base near the skin with red and black at the tip.  A true sable is the only "rare" coat color in dachsunds.  Appear black and tan from a distance.  Both parents must either be sable or carry for sable to produce sable puppies. 

 

 

 

 

THIS IS NOT A SABLE.  This is a shaded red with a heavy black overlay. 

As a general rule, a true sable will look black and tan from a distance.  If the individual hairs are not banded, it is not a sable.  A dog with interspersed black hairs on a red coat is a RED dog with no pattern. 

 

 

 

 

This is not a dachshund....

 

Just seeing if you're paying attention!

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a wheaten wirehair.

Wheaten is a color specific to the wirehair coat.  It is a result of a chinchilla dilution of the red coat color.  Same as cream in longhairs and smooths. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These are cream longhairs, also called "English cream". 

Cream is a result of the same chinchilla dilution as wheaten, and is seen in longhair and occasionally smooth coats.  Creams, like the reds, can be either shaded or clear, depending on which set of red genes is present.  Shaded creams are born very dark at birth and lighten as they age.  Clear creams are born light colored at birth and will stay light colored. (Thor)  The chinchilla dilution affects the red color in the coat.  Most cream dogs have English imports in the first 4-5 generations of the pedigree, thus the name "English cream".  If a dog carries one copy of the chinchilla dilution gene, it is sometimes called "blush", but is still registered as a red dog. (Brie & Ivey)  If a dog has any red coloration, it is NOT cream.  See below. 

 

 

 

 

 

These are  longhaired red dilute dachshunds.  These dogs were most likely a very light color at birth, and as they aged, the coat got darker...more and more red.    These dogs are sometimes (incorrectly) called "American cream" and registered as cream dogs.  They should always be registered as red. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a black and tan piebald smooth.  Piebald is a pattern. 

Piebald causes large areas of white that may or may not have tiny speckles of color called "ticking".  The colored areas on a piebald dog are solid, not mottled.  Piebald is caused by a recessive gene, so both parents must either be piebald or carry the gene to produce piebald puppies.  Piebalds do not have blue eyes and they do not have the genetic problems associated with double-dapples (see below). 

 

 

 

 

The piebald pattern can occur in conjunction with any coat and base color.

This is an isabella piebald smooth.

 

Piebald is not currently a recognized pattern in the dachshund standard, however, there is a movement among piebald dachshund breeders to have this pattern added to the standard again. 

 

 

 

 

This is a red smooth brindle.  Brindle is a pattern.

Brindle is the same gene that causes this coloration in other breeds such as the bulldog.  Brindle causes black tiger-like stripes on the red, tan or cream areas of the dog. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a longhair cream brindle.  Brindle can occur in conjunction with any coat and base color.  In tan pointed dogs, the stripes will only appear on the tan points. 

 

Brindle is a dominant trait.  Only one parent needs to be brindle to produce brindle puppies and a dog cannot carry the brindle gene without being brindle. 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a longhair black and tan dapple.  Dapple is a pattern.   (Izzy)

The dapple pattern in dachshunds comes from a semi-dominant gene causing the base or self color of the dog to exhibit patches of dilution.  Dapples can occur with any base color and the patches may or may not fade as a puppy matures.  One parent must be dapple to produce dapple puppies and not all puppies in a litter will be dappled.

 

 

 

 

 

This is a smooth blue and tan dapple puppy.  Puppies may have dappling all over their coat, or only one small patch that can be overlooked if puppies are not examined carefully when they are young.  If a patch of dappling occurs on a puppy's eye, that eye will be blue.  In most cases, if a dog has one (or two) blue eye(s), the dog is dapple. 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a red double-dapple smooth.  When two dapple Dachshunds are bred, it is possible for a puppy to inherit the dapple gene from both parents, resulting in a double dapple.  Double dapples will have large areas of white in addition to the patches of dilution.  These puppies can be partially deaf, completely deaf, have reduced vision, completely blind, or even be born with underdeveloped or missing eyes.  Extreme care must be taken to avoid accidental double dapple breedings and extensive pedigree research is necessary to screen for these genetic defects before a double dapple breeding is attempted. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This is a longhair black and tan with two patterns...dapple and brindle. 

Because registrations do not allow for registering two patterns, it is impossible to register this dog correctly.  It is also very hard sometimes to visually determine if the dog has more than one pattern.  Most breeders will not mix patterns...

 

 

 

 

 

...EXCEPT with piebalds.  This is a smooth red piebald brindle. 

Some piebald breeders routinely breed with a second pattern. 

 

It is sometimes hard to differentiate between a double-dapple and a dapple piebald.  A close study of the pedigree is sometimes needed.  It's a give-away, however, if the white areas show any ticking; ticking is only seen in piebalds.