Smooth-haired
- Short
- Dense
- Shiny
- Smooth fitting
- Tight and harsh
- Not showing any bald patches anywhere.
Notes
- Tail: fine, fully but not too profusely coated.
- Somewhat longer guard hair on underside is not a fault
Long-bodied, short-legged hound with distinctive elongated build, available in three coat types (smooth, wirehaired, and longhaired). Originally bred for hunting badgers in burrows, this bold and lively scent hound is known for its courageous, intelligent, and playful personality.
Developed in Germany over 300 years ago (records date to 15th century) specifically for hunting badgers in their burrows. The name 'Dachshund' translates to 'badger dog' in German. Wirehaired varieties were developed by crossing with terriers for work in thorny terrain, while longhaired varieties were created using spaniels for colder climates.
“Friendly by nature, neither fearful nor aggressive, with even temperament. Passionate, persistent and fast hunting dog with an excellent nose”
Quoted from FCI standard n°148. It describes the breed the registry recognises, not any individual animal.
Breed reference from The Dog API.
Drawn from sources, not opinion: FCI breed standard; UFAW / Dachshund: Intervertebral Disc Disease. An empty column means we hold nothing for that side, not that there is nothing to say.
What a judge marks the Dachshund down for, and what puts one out of the ring, in the registry’s own words. This describes the breed standard — it is not a checklist for the animal in front of you, and a pet with a disqualifying fault is an unshowable dog rather than an unhealthy one.
Marked heavily against a specimen in the ring.
Puts an animal out of the ring altogether.
The Dachshund standard is published by the FCI (Fédération Cynologique Internationale), the international federation of pedigree-dog clubs, and it is what show judges apply. This section sums up what it says about coat and colour and size. It does not assess any one animal: use it to know what to ask the breeder.
Notes
The pictures show smooth-haired dogs.
Base colour
Red
Preferred
Permissible
Undesirable
Nose · nails · pads
Black
Preferred
Permissible
Undesirable
Nose · nails · pads
Black in dogs with black base colour, brown, in dogs with brown base colour
Irregular lighter patches on a base colour.
Preferred
Dark stripes on a lighter base.
Undesirable
Disqualifying
Nose · nails · pads
Black
All 4 patterns are accepted across all 3 varieties.
Shortened from FCI standard n°148 — each label is the standard’s own wording with the verdict lifted into the tag beside it. Read the full clause at source.
The colours and patterns the standard admits, and what it prefers, discourages or disqualifies in each. An accepted colour says nothing about health.
An adult's measurements, per the standard. It does not say how big this puppy will be. Quotations from the FCI are in English, as the standard publishes them; the headings are ours.
Known hereditary risks for the Dachshund breed, and the specific documentation to request from any breeder before paying a deposit. A responsible breeder will have these readily available; deflection is a red flag.
11 conditions documentedThis is breed-level literature, not veterinary advice about an individual animal — your vet knows the animal.
Health checklist (PDF)Found in more than about one in twenty of the breed's dogs screened, or described as common in the sources.
Measured at 15+ months · Chest circumference (cm)
Chest circumference measured when at least 15 months old, from highest point of the withers to the lowest point of the chest (with little tense tape measure).
Chest circumference in cm. Transcribed from FCI standard n°148, read 2026-08-31.
FCI lists 3 varieties of Dachshund — Standard, Miniature, Rabbit Dachshund — and recognises every one of them in all 3 coats: Long-haired, Smooth-haired, Wire-haired.
Breed-level information from The Dog API. It describes the Dachshund in general; any individual animal can differ.
Premature, early-onset degeneration and calcification of the intervertebral discs, which can herniate and cause severe pain, paralysis, or death; around one in four Dachshunds develops clinical signs in its lifetime. Present breed-wide (allele frequency around 92% in one large testing-lab sample) but clinical prevalence differs by variety: a 2016 owner survey found it highest in Standard Smooth-Haired dogs (24.4%) and lowest in Standard Wire-Haired dogs (7.1%).
What to ask for
A CDDY/IVDD-risk DNA test on both parents, or a radiographic disc-calcification score taken between 2 and 4 years of age
Premature, early-onset degeneration and calcification of the intervertebral discs, which can herniate and cause severe pain, paralysis, or death; around one in four Dachshunds develops clinical signs in its lifetime. Present breed-wide (allele frequency around 92% in one large testing-lab sample) but clinical prevalence differs by variety: a 2016 owner survey found it highest in Standard Smooth-Haired dogs (24.4%) and lowest in Standard Wire-Haired dogs (7.1%).
What to ask for
A CDDY/IVDD-risk DNA test on both parents, or a radiographic disc-calcification score taken between 2 and 4 years of age
Documented in this breed, but no source says how many of its dogs carry or have them. That is a gap in the evidence, not a sign they are rare.
A late-onset, severe form of epilepsy causing myoclonic jerking and seizures from around age five, progressing to neurodegeneration; affected dogs are frequently euthanised within a few years of diagnosis. Specific to the MINIATURE WIRE-HAIRED variety.
What to ask for
A DNA test for the NHLRC1 repeat-expansion mutation on both parents
An inherited muscle-wasting disease described in related Miniature Dachshunds: affected dogs tire quickly, walk stiffly, have trouble swallowing and pass dark urine from muscle breakdown. It is recessive.
What to ask for
Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy 2D (SGCA, Miniature Dachshund type) DNA test result, on both parents
A degeneration of both rod and cone cells in the retina causing progressive vision loss, usually apparent by around three years of age; penetrance is incomplete, so not every dog carrying two copies goes blind. OFA states this variant causes a real risk of clinical disease specifically in the MINIATURE LONG-HAIRED Dachshund (and in English Springer Spaniels); in other Dachshund varieties the risk of clinical disease from the same variant is described as low.
What to ask for
A PRA-CRD4/CORD1 (RPGRIP1) DNA test on both parents
An inherited early-onset degeneration of the retina described in the wire-haired Dachshund: the cone cells used for daylight vision fail first, then the rods, leading to blindness. It is recessive, and it is a different variant from the cord1 form above, so the cord1 test does not cover it.
What to ask for
Cone-rod dystrophy (NPHP4, Standard Wire-haired Dachshund type) DNA test result, on both parents
A defect in kidney amino-acid transport that lets cystine crystallise in urine, forming bladder or urethral stones that can cause a life-threatening obstruction, especially in males. Best documented in Miniature Smooth-haired lines, and reported breed-wide.
What to ask for
A cystinuria (SLC3A1) DNA test on both parents
A late-onset, severe form of epilepsy causing myoclonic jerking and seizures from around age five, progressing to neurodegeneration; affected dogs are frequently euthanised within a few years of diagnosis. Specific to the MINIATURE WIRE-HAIRED variety.
What to ask for
A DNA test for the NHLRC1 repeat-expansion mutation on both parents
Found in roughly one in a hundred to one in twenty of the breed's dogs screened.
An inherited fragility of the bones and teeth described in this breed: affected puppies suffer fractures from minor knocks and their teeth are brittle. It is recessive and rare — roughly one Miniature Smooth-haired Dachshund in seventy-five carried it in a screen of 585, and fewer among Miniature Long-haired.
What to ask for
Osteogenesis imperfecta (SERPINH1, Dachshund type) DNA test result, on both parents
An inherited fragility of the bones and teeth described in this breed: affected puppies suffer fractures from minor knocks and their teeth are brittle. It is recessive and rare — roughly one Miniature Smooth-haired Dachshund in seventy-five carried it in a screen of 585, and fewer among Miniature Long-haired.
What to ask for
Osteogenesis imperfecta (SERPINH1, Dachshund type) DNA test result, on both parents
Described in this breed, but found in few or no dogs in recent screening, or only ever in one dog or one family. They are here so a test result makes sense if a breeder mentions one.
A fatal storage disease of the brain described in a Miniature Dachshund that fell ill at nine months old, with disorientation, loss of coordination, weakness, failing sight and behaviour changes. It is recessive and looks very rare — the variant was not found in 127 unrelated Dachshunds, nor in a later screen of about 800 Miniature Dachshunds.
What to ask for
Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis 1 (PPT1, Dachshund type) DNA test result, on both parents
An inherited sleep disorder described in a family of Dachshunds: affected dogs have sudden attacks of muscle weakness or collapse, usually set off by excitement such as food or play, and are sleepy by day; it is not painful and does not shorten life. It is recessive and looks rare — none of about 800 Miniature Dachshunds in a large screen carried it.
What to ask for
Narcolepsy (HCRTR2, Dachshund type) DNA test result, on both parents
An inherited disorder described in a single smooth-haired Miniature Dachshund puppy: it had a diluted coat colour and could not hold up its head or stay lying steadily on its chest, and it did not survive. It is recessive.
What to ask for
Coat colour dilution with neurological defects (MYO5A) DNA test result, on both parents
An inherited storage disease (Sanfilippo syndrome type A) first found in Dachshund littermates: a sugar compound builds up in the brain and causes a slowly progressive loss of coordination in adulthood. It is recessive and looks very rare — none of about 800 Miniature Dachshunds in a large screen carried it.
What to ask for
Mucopolysaccharidosis type IIIA (SGSH, Dachshund type) DNA test result, on both parents
A fatal storage disease of the brain described in a Miniature Dachshund that fell ill at nine months old, with disorientation, loss of coordination, weakness, failing sight and behaviour changes. It is recessive and looks very rare — the variant was not found in 127 unrelated Dachshunds, nor in a later screen of about 800 Miniature Dachshunds.
What to ask for
Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis 1 (PPT1, Dachshund type) DNA test result, on both parents
Dachshund
Median survival 13.2 years
95% confidence interval 13.0–13.5 years, from 926 recorded deaths among 2,325 dogs
Mortality hazard 0.77 (0.72, 0.83) relative to crossbred dogs, whose median is 12.0 years.
Measured in the United Kingdom from 584,734 dogs. Median survival is not a prediction for an individual dog.
McMillan, K.M., Bielby, J., Williams, C.L., Upjohn, M.M., Casey, R.A. & Christley, R.M. (2024) Longevity of companion dog breeds: those at risk from early death. Scientific Reports 14, 531.
Miniature Dachshund
Median survival 14.0 years
95% confidence interval 13.7–14.2 years, from 1,655 recorded deaths among 7,271 dogs
Mortality hazard 0.65 (0.62, 0.69) relative to crossbred dogs, whose median is 12.0 years.
Measured in the United Kingdom from 584,734 dogs. Median survival is not a prediction for an individual dog.
McMillan, K.M., Bielby, J., Williams, C.L., Upjohn, M.M., Casey, R.A. & Christley, R.M. (2024) Longevity of companion dog breeds: those at risk from early death. Scientific Reports 14, 531.
An inherited early-onset degeneration of the retina described in the wire-haired Dachshund: the cone cells used for daylight vision fail first, then the rods, leading to blindness. It is recessive, and it is a different variant from the cord1 form above, so the cord1 test does not cover it.
What to ask for
Cone-rod dystrophy (NPHP4, Standard Wire-haired Dachshund type) DNA test result, on both parents
A defect in kidney amino-acid transport that lets cystine crystallise in urine, forming bladder or urethral stones that can cause a life-threatening obstruction, especially in males. Best documented in Miniature Smooth-haired lines, and reported breed-wide.
What to ask for
A cystinuria (SLC3A1) DNA test on both parents
An inherited muscle-wasting disease described in related Miniature Dachshunds: affected dogs tire quickly, walk stiffly, have trouble swallowing and pass dark urine from muscle breakdown. It is recessive.
What to ask for
Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy 2D (SGCA, Miniature Dachshund type) DNA test result, on both parents
A degeneration of both rod and cone cells in the retina causing progressive vision loss, usually apparent by around three years of age; penetrance is incomplete, so not every dog carrying two copies goes blind. OFA states this variant causes a real risk of clinical disease specifically in the MINIATURE LONG-HAIRED Dachshund (and in English Springer Spaniels); in other Dachshund varieties the risk of clinical disease from the same variant is described as low.
What to ask for
A PRA-CRD4/CORD1 (RPGRIP1) DNA test on both parents
An inherited storage disease (Sanfilippo syndrome type A) first found in Dachshund littermates: a sugar compound builds up in the brain and causes a slowly progressive loss of coordination in adulthood. It is recessive and looks very rare — none of about 800 Miniature Dachshunds in a large screen carried it.
What to ask for
Mucopolysaccharidosis type IIIA (SGSH, Dachshund type) DNA test result, on both parents
An inherited sleep disorder described in a family of Dachshunds: affected dogs have sudden attacks of muscle weakness or collapse, usually set off by excitement such as food or play, and are sleepy by day; it is not painful and does not shorten life. It is recessive and looks rare — none of about 800 Miniature Dachshunds in a large screen carried it.
What to ask for
Narcolepsy (HCRTR2, Dachshund type) DNA test result, on both parents
An inherited disorder described in a single smooth-haired Miniature Dachshund puppy: it had a diluted coat colour and could not hold up its head or stay lying steadily on its chest, and it did not survive. It is recessive.
What to ask for
Coat colour dilution with neurological defects (MYO5A) DNA test result, on both parents
