Color Information

Click the Color tabs above to view photo's of dachshunds of each color and in patterns.
(picture heavy)
Some of the pictures are Thumbnails, if you move your cursor over them and a arrow or hand appears it can be clicked for a
larger view. Use the back tab to return.

Dachshunds, also known as Dackels or Teckels, were developed in Germany and used to hunt
badger and fox since the Middle Ages. The original Dachshund was a Standard Smooth. The name
"dachshund" means "badger dog" in German. Dachshunds work in packs and are strong and
fearless when sent underground to rout out the ferocious badger. These short-legged dogs were
well recognised and known as one of the most versatile and useful breeds for hunting both below
and above ground. The oldest breed Club is the Deutsche Teckelklub e.V. which was founded in
1888.

The Standard Wire Haired Dachshund is based on the Standard Smooth but also has some Terrier
added in. The cross was done to improve the protective and weather-resistant qualities of the coat
and to add a bit of Terrier temperament.

Developed from the original Standard Smooth Dachshund, the Longhaired was created by crossing
the breed with the Field Spaniel. This variety has all the attributes of the Smooth but the outline is
enhanced by soft feathering on the throat, ears, under body and tail, giving it an unmistakable
elegance.

The Miniature Dachshunds were bred to hunt rabbits that destroyed farmers' crops. These little dogs
must be small enough to slip down rabbit holes and, in their native Germany, they are classified
according to girth, not weight.

The Dachshund is clever, lively, fearless, persistent and outgoing. With his fun-filled outlook, he is
an affectionate and wonderful family companion.

The Dachshund's lively and active personality make him an ideal participant in several dog sports
and activities, such as Obedience, Agility, Tracking, Earth Dog Trials, Field Work, and Hunting.

Dachshunds have the most variety of Colors & Patterns
of any breed that are registered with the AKC.

You Can Find Them in These Colors:
Red ~ Black ~ Chocolate ~ Cream ~ Isabella ~ Blue
with or without tan points

Red
From a very pale strawberry blond, to a deep mahogany red, with or without black shading.

Black & Tan, Black & Cream,
and Solid black

Chocolate & Tan, Chocolate & Cream,
and Solid Chocolate
(brindle doesn't show well in Chocolates)
This is a recessive color, it must be showing or carried in both parents to be produced, but breeds dominant to 2
chocolate & tans.

Cream, called Wheaten in wires.
With or without black shading.
(This is a Dilute color of Red)

Isabella (also called Fawn) & Tan, Isabella & Cream
solid Isabella.
(this is a Dilute color of Chocolate)
This is a recessive color, it must be showing or carried in both parents to be produced.

Blue & Tan and Blue & Cream
and Solid Blue
(This is a Dilute color of Black and Tan)
This is a recessive color, it must be showing or carried in both parents to be produced.

In any of these Patterns:
Dapple ~ Brindle ~ Piebald ~ Sable/Wildboar

Dapple
A dapple dog (called Merle in other breeds like a collie) is spotted and mottled in appearance. For instance, a black
and tan dapple will have area's of silver hair, this is due to the dapple gene diluting the black color ~stripping it of
it's pigment as a way of describing it. This dappling effect can be in any of the color, the tan points, over all the
body, in the eyes creating blue eyes or blue spots in the eye. This is a basic description. When you see the
reference of Reverse dapple, it is used to describe that there is a heavier pattern of the lighter dappling on a dogs
body than the darker self, say black to stick with our earlier example, and would appear more silver all over rather
the splotches of silver interspersed in the black. It doesn't mean it is a different pattern of dapple. There can be other
patterns mixed in there also, you can have a dog who is dapple/brindle/piebald. You cannot register a dog with
multiple patterns with AKC, but that doesn't mean they aren't out there. They can be very lovely interesting dogs,
and would still be good pets, but would be unable to be shown in a ring, and are not recognized by any dachshund
organizations.
One parent MUST be dapple to have dapple pups, as it is a dominate gene. Dapple cannot be carried, but it can be
hidden. You may have a dog that appears solid that had a small dapple spot at birth and is unseen later on. This is
how many double dapples are produced unknowingly by breeders. Not all pups in a litter will be dapple, but can be
(though the odds are against it). Only one parent has to carry the gene. But if you were to take a solid puppy from a
dapple breeding that puppy would never produce a dapple, unless it was bred to another dapple.

Double Dapple
Breeding 2 dapple dogs together will produce double dapples. This can be a lethal combination, the double gene
can land in the eyes causing blindness, in the ear causing deafness, some pups can be born without eyes or other
malformations. Some are born perfectly healthy and beautiful. Double dapples' may have blue eyes, partially blue
eyes, or a blue eye and a brown eye, and are called "Wall" coloring. They may have white blazes on their heads,
white tail tips, and extensive white on their feet, bellies, and sides. DORG has a nice bit of information about it. A
double dapple bred to a solid dog, will have all dapple pups (not double dapple pups). This pattern is not acceptable
for show. See below in the piebald paragraph for The Dachshund Color Crisis.

Piebald
The Piebald gene is recessive, and can be carried for generations. Piebalds look very similar to a beagle, with the
large spots of color on a white background and may have ticking (smalls spots from just a few to thickly scattered
all over). Not all piebalds have ticking. It can be carried, but to produce a true piebald and not a dog that *carries for
piebald* both parents must be piebalds, or at least both carry it. They can be all white with just a small patch of
color on the head or elsewhere on the body, or have a *tuxedo* effect of a large white area on the chest also. All
piebalds will have a white tipped tail, and should not have blue eyes.
They can have blue eyes if they are dapple/pie. All the patterns can be found on a piebald, although it too cannot be
registered with all the patterns. At this time, the DCA (Dachshund Club of America) no longer allows piebalds in the
show ring. AKC follows the rules set by the DCA. Many piebald fanciers are very unhappy with this recent decision,
and are attempting to have them re-instated. I wish them the best of luck in this endeavor, as piebalds are just as
beautiful as any other color and pattern. If you are interested in learning more about this then visit The Dachshund
Color Crisis website.

Brindle
The brindle pattern is a dominate gene, only one parent has to carry the gene to produce any brindle pups. The
brindle appears as stripes like seen on a tiger or zebra, and can be seen scattered all over the body. In a dark color
like chocolate or black, the pattern might only be seen in the tan points as the darker color will hide it.

Sable ~ Long coats
Wild Boar ~ Smooth and Wire coats
Sable/Wildboars appear to look like a black and tan at first glance. All body hairs, except on the face and feet, are
banded with two colors, the self color occurs closest to the dog's body while the darker color occurs near the hair
tip. The face and feet are usually just the dog's self color. The most common (and sables are not that common) are
red sables, the undercoat is red with black tipped hair so they appear as a black and tan. I have heard they can
come in any color since it is a pattern, but I've seen my first non-red sable recently (shown on the color page). Sable
is a dominate gene, one parent must be sable to produce sable pups.

Here is a link to the colors and patterns that are recognized at this time: AKC Registrable
Color / Patterns

The colors:

Red (black nosed) is dominant. Chocolate, black, dilute, and cream are all recessive, therefore can be carried. You
cannot get a dominant red from 2 blacks, chocolates, dilutes, or creams being bred together. Dominant red cannot
be carried it must be red to produce red, much like dapple, brindle, and wire.

2 black and tans can produce chocolates, dilutes, and pointed creams. However, 2 chocolates could only produce
chocolates, Isabella's, e-reds (whole 'nother ball of wax :lol:), and chocolate creams and on the rare occasion
Isabella creams.

Hope this helps clear up the confusion!

This is a bit off topic, but I think it is important too.

The Coats:

Longhairs can't carry smooth or wire.

Smooths can carry longhair, but cannot carry wire.

Wire can carry smooth and longhair.

The Patterns:

Piebald can be carried, but one parent must be brindled or dappled to have dapple or brindled puppies.

When a double dapple is bred to a solid all the pups will be dappled.

If you breed 2 piebalds together you will get all piebalds, but that is not the case with brindles and dapples.

Recessive is a gene that is only inherited from both parents. Recessive genes can be carried.

Dominant is a gene that is inherited from only one parent. Dominant genes cannot be carried.

Some genetic's

Author is Dana of Grand River Dachs

Dana is a Biology Instructor and loves to explore Dachshund Genetics.

The b- & c-series are color genes and the a-series is a pattern gene.

There are really 3 genes involved in red (not including recessive red), chlt, & blk...

Chlt & blk are on the same gene series (b).
BB/Bb is Black
bb is chlt (the recessive of blk)

The a-series then determines if there are tan points or if the dog is red.
a^ya^t/a^ya^y makes a red dog
a^ta^t make a tan pointed dog.

Then there is the c-series which determines the cream from the red.
All tan pointed / red dogs are CC/Cc^ch
All cream pointed / cream dogs are c^chc^ch.

So what it winds down to is the a-series determining if the dog is red or pointed. So really this is the most important.

The reason a red dog can carry blk and chlt is that... if their genotype for instance is a^ya^t Bb CC...
a^ya^t ... says that the dog is solid red but carries points
Bb... B means the dog has a blk nose/shading (carries blk) and the small b means it also carries chlt.
CC... means the dog is red

So for instance my friend bred a blk nosed red to a chlt/tan. 5 of the puppies were red with blk noses... so they
carried blk and chlt (Bb).
2 of the puppies were red with chlt noses... they only carried chlt (bb).

For more information on genetics check out these links:

Eridox: Dachshunds Coats, Colors, & Patterns

Genetics of Coat Color and Type in Dogs

To see different Bites of the teeth check out this site, nice photo's.
Wire Fox Terrier Association

Interpretation the the AKC Dachshund Standard Gait Movement using Flash Animation