Immagini di colori e disegni ammessi e non ammessi dallo Standard / Figures of colours and patterns admitted and not admitted by the Standard (copy: Country Garden Doxies)

The FCI Standard:
types of coat and colours

The Dachshund is bred in three sizes (Standard, Miniature and Kaninchen) and with three varieties of coat (smooth, wire and long) reaching an amount of nine breeds: smooth-haired Standard, smooth-haired Miniature, smooth-haired Kaninchen, wire-haired Standard, wire-haired Miniature, wire-haired Kaninchen, long-haired Standard, long-haired Miniature, long-haired Kaninchen.

Smooth-haired, Wire-haired and Long-haired

In accordance with the Standard smooth-haired Dachshunds have a “short, dense, shiny, smooth fitting, tight and harsh” coat. “Not showing any bald patches anywhere.” “Longer guard hair on underside of tail is not a fault.”
“With exception of muzzle, eyebrows and leathers”, wire-haired Dachshunds are covered by a “fitting, dense, wiry topcoat with undercoat”. The muzzle shows “a clearly defined beard” and bushy eyebrows.
“On leathers the coat is shorter than on the body, almost smooth.”
The tail is “well and evenly covered with close fitting coat”.
Both subjects provided with any sort of soft coat, with no undercoat, and subjects, whose coat remains short, with no beard and eyebrows, are considered exceptions and can’t get more than a “sufficient” report.
Long-haired Dachshunds coat has to be “sleek, shiny, with undercoat and close fitting to body, is longer at the throat and on underside of body. On leathers must extend beyond the lower edge of ears (feathering). Distinct feathers on rear side of legs. Achieves its greatest length on underside of tail and there forms a veritable flag”.
This pattern of Dachshund is, surely, the most elegant and aristocratic; the growth of its coat is closely related to the age and would be considered finished in about three years.

Colours

Mostly, smooth-haired Dachshunds are red or black and tan, wire-haired are wild boar (with different shades from light to very dark) and long-haired are red, dark-red, mahogany or, seldom, black and tan.
Among the three varieties of coat, besides the most common colours everybody knows, there are other odd and quaint colours accepted and included in the Standard.
The Standard concerns about three varieties of coat as whole-coloured (red, reddish yellow or yellow, with or without interspersed black hairs), two-coloured (“black and tan or brown and tan” and wild boar in case of wire-haired) and spotted (dapple and brindle). Usually, brown and tan Dachshunds are called “chocolate”.
In case of whole-coloured, “a clear colour is preferable and red is of greater value than reddish yellow or yellow”.
In two-coloured Dachshunds, “tan or yellow markings (Brand) can be found over eyes, on sides of muzzle and of lower lip, on inner edge of leathers, on forechest, on inside and rear side of legs, also on the feet, round the vent and from there reaching to about one-third or one-half of the underside of the tail”. Either a white spot on forechest or a too wide spread of markings are “not desired”.

In dappled Dachshunds “the basic colour is always the dark colour (black, red or grey). Desired are irregular grey or beige patches (large patches not desired). Neither the dark nor the light colour should be predominant. The colour of a brindle Dachshund is red or yellow with darker brindle. Nose and toenails are the same as with the whole- and two- coloured”.
Smooth-haired Dachshunds can be “chocolate” (brown and tan) as well as dappled.
Wire-haired Dachshund can be “chocolate” or black and tan. Their whole-coloured version (from wheat yellow to dark-red) is called in Germany “dry leaves”. And rarely do they appear even in dappled version.
Even long-haired Dachshunds can be found in the numerous and fascinating varieties of dappled (particularly when matched with its regal coat). Moreover they can appear in their two-coloured “chocolate” version.

Eyes, nose and nails

Eyes, noses and nails colours require further remarks. In accordance with the Standard, eyes have to be “colour bright, dark reddish brown to blackish brown in all coat colours. Wall, fish or pearl eyes in dappled dogs are not desired, but may be tolerated”. In whole-coloured Dachshunds, “nose and nails are black. Reddish brown is also permissable but not desirable”. In two-coloured subjects, nose and nails are “black in black dogs, brown in brown dogs”.
In dappled subjects nose and nails are like in the previous cases.

Laura Ranza

(Published in the original Italian version in the Magazine “Mon Ami”, nr. 1, January 2004)

(Translated into English by Emanuela Trombetta)

(Quotations from the F.C.I. Standard N° 148 - 13/03/2001 - GB)

We thank very much Hanne Andersen (Kennel Ravnsager) for the wonderful photos of Rubio dell’Impero and Alice del Tocai with their best friends Ravnsagers Endelig en Tullemor and Freckle-Face Orville and of Rubio and Tullemor. Annaluce Saletti for the tender photo of the chocolate Twinings della Canterana (Tocai’s sister) at one month. And Rocco Tango (Kennel dell’Impero) for the beautiful photo of little Tessa and Tinta dell’Impero (Tocai’s daughters) at two months.