Points.

Head, elongated, large, and combined with the neck in a rather obtuse angle. When viewed from the side, the protuberance of the occiput is not much developed; skull not high vaulted; forehead descending to the eyes without any marked stop, but eyebrows raised; space between eye and ear comparatively much wider than in the hound and pointer, owing to the ears being placed high and far back; nose straight or very slightly arched between top and root, nostrils not too large; jaw neither pig-snouted nor square, but moderately pointed by a sloping line from tip of nose to the chin, and widening gradually from there towards the throat; lips short, not overlapping the lower jaw, but with a little flew at the angles. The superior maxillary bone and the jaw muscle protrude so much as to give the face a hollow-cheeked appearance. When viewed from above and in front, the skull is broad between the ears, and only slightly vaulted (neither narrow and conical nor perfectly flat; the jaw or muzzle tapering gradually from the eyes; skin rather tight over the whole head, showing no wrinkles when the dog is not excited.

The shape of bone and muscles must be marked sharply and distinctly in the head, and this lean and plastical appearance (trockner Kopf) must remain in the head, even when the body of the dog is laden with fat.

Eyes, Ears, And Teeth

In good heads, with long jaw, the centre of the space between tip of nose and occiput will be found to be in the hind angle of the eyes. The eye should be of medium size, open, bright, intelligent, and fiery (small deep-set eyes, showing the " haw," are even as objectionable in dachshunds as protruding eyes); iris rich brown in black-tan dogs, never brighter than the tan except in the bluish varieties (wall eyes). The ear is a very important point in dachshunds, and its situation, shape, and carriage are quite peculiar to the breed; but it should by no means be noticeable in the head from its largeness, ornamental folding, and low situation. The ear of the dachshund is set on so high that its base is nearly even with the outline of the skull and neck; and it is situated so far backwards and distant from the eyes (vide head), that it covers a good deal more of the neck than of the cheeks; it should be broad at the base, of equal width, and the lower edge bluntly rounded, not filbert-shaped or pointed; it should hang down quite close and smooth to the cheek, without the slightest inclination to any twisting, folding, or curl.

The ears are of sufficient length if they are half as long as the head; they should not over-reach the outline of throat, and should cover about half-an-inch of the angle of the mouth when stretched gently towards the nose. There is no blemish in their being somewhat longer, but, as long as ears are neither useful nor characteristic of the breed, they should never be brought to an excess. The leather of the ears should be very thin, but the hair of the upper surface very short, smooth, and silky. In fighting and attacking, an ear of this description is drawn back and upwards suddenly, and knitted together so much that it is scarcely to be seen in front of the dog. When the dachshund pricks his ears they are not lifted above their usual level, but only bent forwards, until they stand out rectangularly from both sides of the face in their whole usual breadth, without any folding, the fore edge of the ear lying close to the cheek The teeth of the dachshund should be level, strong, and well shot, with sharp fangs. A peculiar arrangement of the teeth is to be found in more than one-third of our dachshunds.

The two first or corner teeth of the incisors in the upper jaw are developed to a remarkable size and strength, so as to form, with the corresponding tusk or fang, a deep and narrow notch, in which the fang of the under-jaw glides. These " double fangs " (zan-gengebiss) are not to be found in any other breed of German dogs besides dachshunds. But as this criterion of the breed seems every year to disappear more, and as there are at present so many good dachshunds without this peculiarity, it cannot be regarded as a "point," except perhaps in such a case where the judge had to decide between two dogs of equal merits.

The neck should be long, strong, clean, and flexible. When viewed from the side, it should be finer where it joins the head, and gradually widening to the full proportions of the chest. The upper outline of neck should not be much arched, the lower outline sloping from the throat down to the protuberance of the breastbone. Throatiness is very objectionable in dachshunds, only the common dog having sometimes a tendency to "looseness" of skin in the throat. When viewed from above, the neck is wide, strong, and not too much tapering towards the broad skull.

The trunk (including shoulders and haunches) of the dachshund is not at all hound-like; in many respects it is more like that of the pointer, in others like that of the greyhound. When viewed from the side, it is long; the chest very deep and roomy, with breast-bone projecting; back ribs rather short, and the flanks well drawn up; shoulders rather low, with slight drop in back behind, and corresponding elegant arch of the long and deep loins; quarters not very sloping, and stern set on rather high, these dogs being somewhat higher in the hind quarters than in shoulders. When viewed from the front, the chest is very wide between the joints of the shoulder, but, being neither barrel-like nor square, it slopes gradually between the forelegs, and is rather narrow beneath at the fore-end of the brisket, but widening again towards the belly. When viewed from above, the largest diameter of the dog is to be found in the middle of the shoulders behind the joint, owing to the powerfully developed muscles of the upper arm and blade; from there the trunk narrows gradually towards the stern. The ribs spring up well behind the shoulders, and the muscular haunches project suddenly at the quarters, but not to such an extent of width as in the shoulders, even not fully in bitches.

Dachshunds with narrow chest and wide hind-quarters are unfit for hunting underground: they are soon tired, and are very apt to get squeezed in narrow passages.