Colors
RED- Red dachshunds are widely known and recognized for their beautiful range of red coloring. From a deep mahogany red to a pale golden and all shades of brownish red in between, the array is truly splendid. Red dachshunds may be a clear red or they may have black hairs in their coat. Some reds have black trim around their eyes and ears and along their backs. This darker trim often fades as the puppy gets older. The reds should have black noses and nail color and brown eyes.
BLACK/TAN- Black/tan dachshunds are also widely known and recognized. They have a shiny black coat and have tan or reddish brown markings on the face, chest, four feet and under the tail. The nose pad and nails should be black. The eyes should be a dark rich brown and the markings should be deep tan and even- not pale red or indistinct. Note that BLACK/CREAM dachshunds are the same except markings are a light cream instead of reddish-brown points.
BLACK- Occasionally the tan points on a black/tan dachshund do not show due to one of two things: Either they are brindle which only shows in the tan points on a black dog so muddles and hides most or all of the tan OR they are genetically not carrying the tan points so appear solid black. A black and tan dogs genetics will read At/At where a solid black dog will read a/a These black dachshunds are quite uncommon in the dachshund breed and highly regarded by pet owners and breeders alike. They are recognized by AKC for registration.
CHOCOLATE- Like the solid blacks and for the same reasons solid chocolate can appear to have no tan markings. These chocolate dachshunds are recognized by AKC and are highly regarded and desired.
CHOCOLATE/TAN- Chocolate/tan dachshunds are similar to black/tan dachshunds but their main body color is a rich dark chocolate to a light milky chocolate. Chocolate/tan dachshunds often have brown or hazel eyes and a liver colored, self colored, or deep dark brown nose pad, nails and tan markings.
CHOCOLATE/CREAM- Chocolate/cream dachshunds are similar to black/cream dachshunds- their main body color is a rich dark chocolate to a light milky chocolate and their points are a lovely cream color. Chocolate/cream dachshunds often have brown or hazel eyes and a liver colored, self colored,or deep dark brown nose pad, nails and tan markings.
BLUE/TAN- Blue/tan dachshunds are dilutes of the black/tan colors. The dachshunds main body color is a battleship gray or steel gray along with muted tan markings as a result of diluting factors. Their eyes are usually a grayish color and the nose pad and nails are a pale gray.
ISABELLA/TAN- Isabella/tan dachshunds, often described as Fawn colored with tan markings are another form of dilute color. Isabella/tan is a dilution of chocolate/tan. The main body is a silvery fawn color and the markings are a diluted tan. The eyes are usually a light greyish green and the nose pad and nail colors are pale liver-colored.
ENGLISH CREAM- Cream dachshunds do not have any red tones in their coat. They often appear almost buff to gold at birth and mature anywhere from creamy white to golden as adults.
SHADED CREAM: Shaded Cream dachshunds do not have any red tones in their coat. They often appear grayish to black at birth and lose most of their dark overcoat to mature golden with a few black hairs in their coats- around the eyes, ears, and along the back. True creams trace their lineage to England, or South Africa.
True English and Shaded creams will test as cream/cream on the MFSD12 locus.ee RED also known as AMERICAN CREAM: ee red colored dachshunds often appear white to pale blond at birth and can come in smooth or long hair. As they get older, they often appear to be strawberry blond or beige tone. They are the result of the recessive E gene causing a black dog to lighten to red or gold. Whereas an English cream is genetically a red dog being lightened.
The easiest way to tell is English creams start out dark and mature lighter whereas a ee Red starts light and will darken or gain more red hue with age.
Patterns
BRINDLE- The brindle pattern in Dachshunds appears like a series of stripes(like a Zebra) along the base color. One parent must be a brindle in order to have the pattern appear.
DAPPLE- Dapple Dachshunds show patches or spots of lighter color mixed in with patches of the self-color. If the dapple pattern appears across the face, one or both eyes may have blue specks or be entirely blue. In order for dappling to occur in a puppy, one of the parents must show the dapple gene.
DOUBLE DAPPLE- Double Dapples usually have larger irregular areas of white on their bodies in addition to their base color and patches/spots. Whereas a dapple piebald will have more uniform patches of white. Eyes may be completely blue and they may have white on their heads, white nail tips, white on their feet, on their undersides and their sides. Breeding double dapples can be dangerous as deafness, reduced eye size and blindness can occur. Double dapples are produced when two single dapple parents are bred together.
PIEBALD- Piebald dachshunds show a white spotting pattern over the base color. Piebalds should never have blue eyes. If they do, then they should be registered as dapples. They should also have no shading within the white areas but can have small black spots called ticking within the white areas. The amount of white varies, ranging from a white-collar, white chest, underside, tail, and feet to almost pure white. Generally a piebald will have white on all four feet, and tail tip, however with advancing genetic testing we are learning that is not always the case. White just on the chest typically means a dog carries the pieblad gene but again not always.
SABLE AND WILD BOAR
WILDBOAR- Wildboar dachshunds have a light brown base coat and a black overlay. The wildboar color is noted by its light color base showing through the nose area, around the eyes, and also the underside of the belly. Wildboar is the term used in wirehaired dachshunds. SABLE- True sable dachshunds are very difficult to describe. The red overlay is so dark as to appear black. The whole body except for the face and feet are seen with the base color of the dog with black tips at the ends. The face and feet are usually the base color. Therefore, a Red Sable will have red at the base of the hair with black tips- the face and feet will be red. One parent must show the sable pattern to produce a sable puppy. This pattern shows on the A locus as Aw.Please note that AKC will not register more than one pattern per Dachshund. (exception is a Brindle Piebald.)