The Dachshund breed of dog is a lively breed with a friendly personality and an extremely sharp sense of smell. With their distinctive long, low bodies and short legs, they are one of the most popular breeds in the U.S. The Dachshund breed of dog comes in three coat varieties (Smooth, Wirehaired or Longhaired) and two different sizes: miniature and standard size. Low to ground, long in body and short of leg, with robust muscular development, the Dachshund breed of dog exemplifies the hunting spirit in a distinctive form. His exceptional nose, loud tongue and unique build make him well-suited for both below-ground work and beating the bush. The head of the Dachshund breed of dog tapers evenly to the tip of the nose. His eyes are medium size, almond-shaped and dark-rimmed, with a pleasant expression; very dark in color. The bridge bones over the eyes are strongly prominent. His ears are set near the top of the head, not too far forward, of moderate length and rounded. When the dog is animated, the ears are carried with the forward edge just touching the cheek. His skull slightly arched and slopes gradually to the slightly arched muzzle, giving a Roman appearance. His lips are tightly stretched. The teeth of the Dachshund are powerful. Dachshunds have a scissors bite. The neck of the Dachshund breed of dog is long, muscular and clean-cut, and flows gracefully into the shoulders. His trunk is long and fully muscled. When viewed in profile, the back forms the straightest possible line between the withers and the loin. In order for the Dachshund to work effectively underground, his front must be strong, deep, long and cleanly muscled. His forearms should be short, with hard yet pliable muscles and tightly stretched tendons. The joints between the forearms and the feet (wrists) are closer together than the shoulder joints. The Dachshund's front feet are full, tight and compact, with well-arched toes and tough, thick pads. They may have a tendency to turn a bit outward. The hindquarters are likewise strong and cleanly muscled. The legs turn neither in nor out. His hind paws are smaller than the front paws. The rear feet point straight ahead. Dewclaws may be removed on the front legs and should be removed on the rear. The Dachshund's gait is smooth. His forelegs reach well forward, without much lift, in unison with the driving action of hind legs. The thrust of correct movement is seen when the rear pads are clearly exposed during rear extension. The above delineated standards for the three varieties of Dachshunds (Smooth, Wirehaired, and Longhaired) are the same. The following features apply to each specific variety: For the smooth Dachshund, the coat should be short, smooth and shiny. The tail should be covered with hair, but not too much. A brush tail is a fault, as is a partly or wholly hairless tail. With regard to color, certain patterns and basic colors predominate for the smooth Dachshund breed of dog. One-colored Dachshunds include red and cream, with or without a shading of interspersed dark hairs. Two-colored Dachshunds include black, chocolate, wild boar, gray (blue) and fawn (Isabella), each with deep, rich tan or cream markings over the face, front, sometimes on the throat, inside and behind the front legs, on the paws and around the anus, and from there to about one-third to one-half of the length of the tail on the underside. The nose and nails are black (in the case of black dogs) or dark brown (for chocolate and all other colors). Self-colored is also acceptable. The smooth Dachshund also may be dapple (merle), which appears as lighter-colored areas contrasting with the darker base color, which may be any acceptable color. Nose and nails are the same as for one- and two-colored Dachshunds. Partial or wholly blue (wall) eyes are as acceptable as dark eyes. A large area of white on the chest of a dapple is permissible. Brindle is a pattern (as opposed to a color) in which black or dark stripes occur over the entire body, although in some specimens the pattern may be visible only in the tan points. Finally, the sable pattern consists of a uniform dark overlay on red dogs. The overlay hairs are double-pigmented, with the tip of each hair much darker than the base color. For the Wirehaired Dachshund breed of dog, the whole body is covered with a uniform tight, short, thick, rough, hard, outer coat, but with finer, somewhat softer, shorter hairs (undercoat) everywhere distributed between the coarser hairs. The absence of an undercoat is a fault. Distinctive facial traits include a beard and eyebrows. On the ears the hair is shorter than on the body. The general arrangement of the hair is such that the wirehaired Dachshund, when viewed from a distance, resembles the smooth. The tail of the wirehaired Dachshund breed of dog is thickly haired, gradually tapering to a point. The most common colors are wild boar, black and tan, and various shades of red, but all colors and patterns listed above are admissible. Wild boar (agouti) appears as banding of the individual hairs and gives an overall grizzled effect. Variations include red boar and chocolate-and-tan boar. Nose, nails and eye rims are black on wild-boar and red-boar dachshunds. On chocolate-and-tan-boar dachshunds, nose, nails, eye rims and eyes are self-colored, the darker the better. Finally, the coat of the Longhaired Dachshund breed of dog is shiny and slightly wavy, longer under the neck and on the underside of the body, the ears, and behind the legs. The coat gives the dog an elegant appearance. His tail is carried gracefully, forming what amounts to a flag. The color of the Longhaired type of the Dachshund breed of dog is the same as for the Smooth type. The nose and nails are likewise the same.