The Dachshund standard, as settled by the Dachshund Club, November, 1881, is as follows: -

Head And Skull

Long, level, and narrow; peak well developed; no stop ; eyes intelligent and somewhat small; follow body in colour.

Ears

Long, broad, and soft; set on low, and well back; carried close to the head.

Jaw

Strong, level, and square to the muzzle; canines recurvent.

Chest

Deep and narrow ; breast-bone prominent.

Legs And Feet

Fore legs very short, and strong in bone, well crooked, not standing over; elbows well clothed with muscle, neither in nor out; feet large, round, and strong, with thick pads and strong nails. Hind legs smaller in bone and higher, hind feet smaller. The dog must stand true - i.e. equally on all parts of the foot.

Skin And Coat

Skin thick, loose, supple, and in great quantity; coat dense, short, and strong.

Loin

Well arched, long, and muscular.

Stern

Long and strong, flat at root, tapering to the tip; hair on under side coarse; carried low, except when excited. Quarters very muscular.

Body

Length from back of head to root of stern two and a half times the height at shoulder. Fore ribs well sprung, back ribs very short.

Colour

Any colour ; nose to follow body colour; much white objectionable.

Symmetry And Quality

The Dachshund should be long, low, and graceful, not cloddy.

Weight

Dogs, about 2llb. ; bitches, about 181b.

The Dachshund Club states that it does not advocate point judging, the figures given being only used to show the comparative value of the features.

The Dachshund is one of the few varieties that can boast a Stud Book of its own. "Dachshund Pedigrees" are monumental volumes, and bear eloquent testimony to the painstaking care and research bestowed upon them by their compilers, Mr. E. S. Woodiwiss and Mr. E. Watlock Allen. They contain a list of all registered Dachshunds up to date, giving their reputed sires and dams, dates of birth, colour, breeders, owners, etc. Apart, too, from the pedigrees, there are a number of admirable reproductions in black and white of "pillars of the Stud Book," English and German dogs alike. Such a feature will be a valuable one to the breeder in the future, who will not only be able to refer to the family tree, but also to see some splendid representations of animals forming its chief branches.

In the volumes referred to, which should be in the possession of every one interested in the Dachshund, occur of course the names of those fanciers who have done most to place the variety upon the pinnacle of fame it now enjoys. Already some of these have been mentioned, but there are some few others who, having espoused the cause of the variety on its introduction, have retained at least their affection for it up to the present day - Mr. A. O. Mudie, Mr. A. W. Byron, Mr. Montague Wootten, Mr. E. S. Woodiwiss, Miss Pigott, Mr. W. Arkwright, Captain and Mrs. Barry, and a few others; while the lady who at the outset was largely responsible for the dog's introduction here was Mrs. Merrick-Hoare.

To those accustomed to regard the soft-eyed, smooth-coated Dachshund as but a pampered pet-dog, incapable of little beyond the bestowal of its affection upon its owner and it may be the guarding of the house, the instructive contribution from Mr. William Carnegie ("Moorman") on the dog's working capabilities will come as a revelation. It is also to be hoped that those who have the true welfare of the breed at heart - and their name is legion - will see fit to pay attention to those workmanlike qualities that first endeared the breed to English hearts, instead of contriving to breed solely for those more ornamental ones that fickle Fashion has for the nonce ruled shall obtain: -

"The popularity of the Dachshund in this country dates now for many years back, but the curious little dogs have never achieved that position for either Terrier or Hound work that they hold in Germany, Austro-Hungary, and other parts of the Continent. They quickly secured the approval of the 'Fancy' upon introduction to English kennels and the benches of our dog shows; but to a very large, in fact, preponderating, extent their merits in field and covert, when properly trained and worked, have been either overlooked or ignored. True, there have been, and are, many owners of Dachshunds who have sought to prove their worth otherwise than as merely fancy dogs ; but whatever measure of success has crowned their efforts in this direction, the generality of those interested in the breed have not sought to follow up or extend these favourable results.

No doubt the name Dachshund, with the German translation of 'badger-dog,' has handicapped the breed for work in this country, because people naturally point to the scarcity of badgers in most parts of the British Isles, and, further, to the apparent unsuitability of the undoubtedly peculiarly built dogs for drawing badgers, their inability to tackle them, and the pronounced fact that we have numberless dogs of various Terrier breeds more suitable to work of this kind than the Dachshund itself.

It is greatly to be regretted that the breed has been so closely and so solely associated with the badger by those who patronise and stand fast by the breed. This is not the case in the Continental countries, where it chiefly predominates, and where its name has become more familiar in the semi-diminutive, semi-nicknames of Daxel or Teckel. Had the dog come to us under any other name than Dachshund, and its inevitable translation of 'badger-dog,' there would seem to be' every reason to believe it would have taken better place as a worker than it has done so far.

To properly appreciate the position that the Dachshund holds in the countries that chiefly esteem it, it is necessary for the unacquainted British amateur to compare it with the position held by some of our Terrier breeds. It is unnecessary to particularise; but for the present purpose any popular breed of working Terrier may be taken as representative. In these islands we should have a standard of excellence which would govern the positions of the best-bred dogs at shows and elsewhere, a general type of well-bred members of the breed, and the usual mongrel riff-raff; we should have dogs bred and kept mainly for showing, others for pets or companions, and others bred and maintained solely for work in the special direction and under the special conditions demanded by various circumstances. Such is precisely the position of the Dachshund in the Continental countries named; but it holds an additional one, possessed by no other single breed in the British Isles - it is essentially the companion of the sportsman, the woodsman, and the gamekeeper. Whatever the resources of the kennels of the one or the other, one or more Dachshunds seem to be a sine qua non, and in the vast majority of cases the Daxel or Teckel will be a useful, well-trained dog, well up to any of the chance work such as a gamekeeper or a sportsman would come across in going his rounds, or in an ordinary stroll over the preserve with dog and gun.