THE DACHSHUND 227 



and care little for shades of colour, so that it he any of those 

 above named. The head, when of the proper type, greatly resembles 

 that of the Bloodhound. The ears also are long and pendulous, 

 and in a 2olb. dog should measure from 4|in. to 5in. each, and 

 from tip to tip over the cranium, when hanging down in their 

 natural position, from i3in. to i4in. ; the length from the eye to 

 the end of the nose should be over 3in., 3in. being a good length 

 for a dog of 2olb. weight ; girth of muzzle, from Sin. to 8in., which 

 should finish square, and not snipey or spigot-nosed, and the flews 

 should be fairly developed ; the eyes should be very lustrous and 

 mild in expression, varying in colour with that of the coat; the 

 teeth should be very strong and perfectly sound, as a dog with 

 a diseased mouth is of little use for work, is very objectionable 

 as a companion, and is quite unfit for the stud in this or any other 

 breed of dogs ; the neck should be rather long and very muscular. 

 We have a brood bitch from one of the best kennels in Germany, 

 in which the dewlap is very strongly pronounced ; but this and 

 the conical head are but rarely met with as yet. The chest should 

 be broad, with the brisket point well up to the throat ; the shoulders 

 should be very loose, giving the chest an appearance of hanging 

 between them ; they should be well covered with muscle, with 

 plenty of loose skin about them. The fore legs are one of the 

 great peculiarities of the breed ; these are very large in bone for 

 the size of the dog, and very crooked, being turned out at the elbows 

 and in at the knees ; the knees, however, should not ' knuckle,' 

 or stand forward over the ankles, as we frequently see in very 

 crooked -legged dogs, which renders them more clumsy and less 

 powerful. The feet should be very large, and armed with strong 

 claws, and should be well splayed outwards, to enable him to 

 clear his way in the burrow. Terrier-like fore feet cannot be 

 tolerated in the Dachshund, as great speed is not required, the 

 great essentials being : a good nose for tracking ; a conformation 

 of body that will admit of his entering the badger earth, and 

 adapting himself to his situation ; and a lion heart and power to 

 grapple with the quarry, in the earth or in the open and these are 

 no small requirements. We are frequently told So-and-so's Terrier 

 has finished his badger in some very small number of minutes. But 

 there are badgers and badgers baby badgers ; and if we are to 

 believe a tithe of what we hear on this head, the supposition is 

 forced upon us that a great many badgers die in their infancy. 



We do know that the premier Dachshund of the present 

 day has drawn a wild fox from his fastness, and finished him, 

 unaided, in about four minutes ; but an unsnubbed, fully matured 

 badger of five or six summers is an awkward customer, and with 

 him the result might have been quite different. 



What are called Dachshunds may be picked up in most 



