THE DACHSHUND, OE GEEMAN BADGEE DOG. 151 



common dogs the feet sometimes stand out so much that the hocks touch. This is 

 a blemish, though not so objectionable as the contrary, when the hocks are turned 

 out and the feet in. Dew-claws are seldom met with in dachshunds, and should be 

 removed directly where they appear in a whelp. 



Stern, set on rather high, strong at the root, tapering slightly to a fine point, 

 short-haired, length not much exceeding that of the head, and not touching the 

 ground when hanging straight down. Carriage of stern : the root or first third 

 should be nearly straight, the two remaining thirds bent into a rather wide curve, the 

 slender point standing straight again, or even sweeping upwards a little. The tail 

 should be carried gaily, like that of the foxhound, either upright over the back, or 

 straight down when the dog is tired. Horizontal carriage is not objectionable, 

 but it usually indicates a drowsy temper ; if the stern is at the same time very thin 

 and long, it gives an objectionable appearance, when it becomes stiff and bare, 

 by old age of the dog. The common dog has the stern longer and heavier, the hair 

 on its under side longer ; the lower two-thirds of the stern are in some specimens 

 nearly straight, and the last third crooked suddenly in a short semi-circle, forming a 

 hook at the end of the stern. This is a blemish, as well as the " ring tail " and 

 much leaning to the right or left. I have mentioned already the " otter-tailed " 

 dachshund, a peculiar old strain but now seldom to be found with short, broad, 

 or flat stern, very hairy beneath, and carried straight down. 



Coat (skin and hair) : The skin of the dachshund is (with the exception of the 

 head and extremities) rather full, but of sufficient elasticity to prevent looseness, 

 which is only to be found in the common dog to a certain degree. The hair should 

 be short, glossy, smooth, but wiry not soft and silky, except on the ears, where it 

 is extremely short and thin, the " leather " becoming often quite bare and shiny 

 when the dog gets old. The longest and coarsest hair is to be found under the 

 stern, lying close to the tail in well bred dogs ; and even in the common breed 

 it should never form a perfect brush. The hair is often very scarce under the 

 chest and belly, which is not at all favourable for a dog standing so close to the 

 ground. 



Colour : black and tan is the most ancient and legitimate colour of the class ; 

 but this colour is not so constant as to prevent the accidental appearance of a 

 puppy whose colour varies into any tinge or shading, produced by combination, 

 separation, or blending of the black ground colour and the tan of the marks such 

 as Hack, chocolate, light brown, and hare-pied with blackish ears and dark stripes 

 along the back, either whole coloured or with tan marks. Sometimes the colour 

 of the marks (tan) appears alone, and produces the " whole-coloured tan" with 

 all its varieties of shading through red, ochre, fawn, and sandy. In all the darker 

 varieties of the black-tan dog the nose and nails should be perfectly black, and 

 even in the brightest whole or self-coloured tan, fawn, and sandy dogs, they 

 should be at least as dark as possible. Eosy or fleshy noses and nails indicate 

 that there is white in the breed ; they cannot be excused by the colour of the coat 

 not even in whole-coloured tan and sandy dogs or else the nails in the tan- 

 coloured paws of our black-tan dogs must also be changed into fleshy or horn-coloured 



