Dachshunds by Bonnie Dalzell, MA . Dachshunds (Teckels) originated in Germany and are unique little hunting dogs. They are courageous little fellows and have an active hunting dog personality, not a companion dog personality. Their original purpose was to follow powerful prey such as foxes and badgers down into burrows. They are included in the AKC hound group but the FCI recognizes their uniqueness by making them a special category (FCI Group 4) all of their own. There are 2 sizes of Dachshunds: Standard (greater than 11 pounds in weight at 12 months of age) Miniature (less than 11 pounds in weight at 12 months of age) There are also three different coat textures: Smooth Long haired Wire All varieties are shown in the AKC as part of one breed. Although piebald (spotted) animals are not acceptable, almost all other dog colors are found in the breed including merle (called Dapple in Dachshunds) as well as chocolate and blue dilutes, isabellas, tan pointed blacks and brindling. For a discussion of dog coat colors see Dog Coat Color Genetics by Bonnie Dalzell. The extreme shortness of leg seen in Dachshunds is due to a simple dominant gene producing a condition generally termed "chondrodysplasia", where the cartiledge of the growth plates grows at an abnormally slow rate. The effect is that in the mature dog the bones that would normally have been the longest bones are the most greatly affected. The greatest shortening effect is on the limbs, although there is some effect on the bones of the spine and the basal part of the skull. Dogs inheriting one gene for chondrodysplasia have noticably shortened legs, dogs with two genes have greatly shortened legs. This condition may have arisen by spontaneous mutation several times in the domestication of dogs or a single mutation may have been spread around between different breeds. This matter will not be truely determined until DNA sequencing of the gene is done in several short legged breeds. There is at least one wild species of Canid, the South American bush dog, in which the short legged condition is also seen. Bush dogs are currently classified as a different genus (Dusicyon) as well as a different species from domestic dogs. Since chondrodysplasia is a dominant gene it is visible as soon as it appears and can be selected for to produce a new breed. I personally have seen a Borzoi who was such a spontaneous mutant. When the mutation occurs the limbs, although short are generally rather twisted or knucked over. Getting straight limbs in these very short legged dogs requires generations of selective breeding.

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