Most short-haired Dachshunds features are distinctively noticeable such as its fur. It should be short, fairly thick, glossy, and smooth. No bald patches should show anywhere on the body. The tail should taper slowly to a curve. The hair on the tail may be a little thinner then that on the body. The short-haired Dachshund has a long back, nose, and tail. Its ears droop down to its shoulders and are flat and  usually curved at the ends. Most Dachshunds are fairly broad chested, however, it is not a fault. Dachshunds almost always seem to have a puppy look in their eyes.

On the wire-haired Dachshund, fur is a close-fitting, dense, wiry coat that covers all of the boy except for the muzzle, eyebrows, and ears. This breed is also equipped with a under coat which is fine, smooth, and short.

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Three main breeds of Dachshunds are recognized by The Canadian Kennel Club and the American Kennel Club. The distinction between these types is mostly coat type. Size variations are also considered. These types include include the smooth (short-haired) Dachshund, the wire-haired Dachshund, and the long-haired. Originally in the 1500's the Dachshund was bred as a smooth haired dog. The long and wire-haired varieties came later through selective breeding. Click on the picture thumbnails to view the larger picture. Then click your back button to return to this page.

In Canada and the US, there two main sizes for Dachshunds; standard size and miniature. The standard size is approximately 16 pounds, while the miniature size weighs about 11-12 pounds. In between sizes of 12-15 pounds are not considered outside outside the breed specification and are often referred to as Tweenies. You might say that a miniature Dachshund is the size of your average house cat and a standard would be close to the size of a Beagle. For physical dimensions, a miniature will be around 8 inches (20cm) tall at the shoulders, 20 inches (50cm) long, nose to rump and 6 inches (15cm) wide. Standards will be 30-40% larger. Taking into account the two sizes and three coat types the CKC and AKC recognized 6 distinct Dachshund types.

Long-haired Dachshunds are very much the same as smooth, except  for one main thing. They have longer, silkier hair, which causes them to have a different appearance. The long-haired Dachshunds hair is actually quite like that of a collies unlike the wire-hair which is like a poodles. Its longest hair is on the underside of the tail. The tail is carried in a graceful plume formed by the spine.

Dachshunds come in a variety of colours. Smooth Dachshunds are most often found in a reddish-brown colour. Other colours include a light chestnut shade, or black and tan, in which case the tan is usually around its mouth, on Its chest, and sometimes on its feet. Long-haired Dachshunds are often red and black, with the black on the ends of the ears. They also may also be chestnut brown and black with about the same pattern. The wire-haired Dachshund is often a wild pig colour. Other colours that occur though not as often, black and white, cream and gray.

Europe has a different scheme for sizing, as 3 sizes are considered as standard breeds. Standard, Miniature and Rabbit. These references to size reflect the chest circumference rather than weight. Rabbit, chest up to 12 inches (30cm), Miniature, chest up to 14 inches (35cm), and the Standard, those larger.