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The American miniature dachshund with its very pleasant size is ideal as a loyal everyday companion for families or adventurous singles. Like every dog, the dwarf also wants to be with its human at all times and not sit around alone for 6-8 hours a day. We therefore only place our puppies with people who regard a dog as a fully-fledged member of the family and are prepared to adapt their needs to those of the dog.
What is the American type?
The American Dachshund is characterized above all by its bright colours and compact build. There are two varieties: the miniature dachshund and the standard dachshund. Here, the final weight of the dog after the first year of life is decisive. Up to 6 kilos it is a dwarf, above that it is a standard. As the American Dachshund has a rather muscular chest, the classification here is not determined by the chest circumference, as is the case with the other subdivision into rabbit, dwarf and standard Dachshunds.
Is the American Dachshund a fashionable variation?
No – the American Dachshund has been bred in the USA since 1895 (founding of the Dachshund Club of America) and is therefore not a new fad in the dog world, but has a long tradition. However, the American Miniature Dachshund is still quite new in Germany and there are few official breeders.
What colors are available in the American Dachshund?
All colors are permitted in the American type. This makes breeding particularly interesting. If the parents already carry the widest possible range of genes, you can plan beautiful, colorful litters or just a special coloring.
From a purely mathematical point of view, according to the theory of heredity, the percentage of colors in the litter is determined – but Mother Nature has the last word here. Some inheritances are autosomal dominant, i.e. they only have to be passed on from one side for the trait to be expressed. For example, a dapple (merle/tiger = M/m) mother can either produce no dapple offspring because she does not give back her M, or the whole litter will be dapple. Equally dominant are S (Schenkung/Piebald), L (Kurzhaar), B (basic color black/wild type) and I (pheomelanin intensity), as well as the E locus (= pigment production). The dominant form allows the dog to produce eumelanin, which leads to black pigment). The A locus (= agouti is divided into four alleles that influence pigmentation) also plays a role in the expression form.
Other colors, however, must be inherited from both parents in order to show up in the coat, as these are only inherited autosomally recessively. These include, for example, Dilute (Isabella/blue = d/d), chocolate (b/b variant), hardly any color intensity (i/i) and light cream (e/e). The K-Lokus (Brindle) is not present in my breeding.
Therefore, a dog in this color variation should only be purchased with a pedigree (tested dogs, no accidental double dapple mating and known colors of the ancestors) and from a genetically educated breeder who can also explain his colors.
Dachshund coat types
Dachshunds come in longhair, shorthair and roughhair. In my breeding program, the focus is on the shorthair type.
To improve the coat quality, I have decided to use two longhair males and one shorthair male as sires. Here again, the variation carried by the dam is decisive. As the LH males can only pass on one I (longhair), all puppies bred to a homozygous shorthair dam will always be genetically heterozygous, but will be shorthair in appearance. When bred to a heterozygous bitch, both LH and KH puppies are born.
There are no rough-haired dachshunds in my breeding program.
Character traits of the American Miniature Dachshund
Dachshunds (whether standard or dwarf) are considered to be extremely intelligent. This means that if it doesn’t listen – it doesn’t want to listen. Dwarf breeds in particular need to be properly educated and trained right from the start. Ideally right from the start. Anything that manifests itself in a puppy but is still considered cute can become a problem in an adult dog. This is because the Dachshund is not automatically submissive, but knows how to express its own opinion and should not be allowed to get away with it.
The dachshund is a lovely breed and doesn’t want to do anything wrong. But some things are more important or more appealing at certain times than the recall or the owner’s command. Anyone who lets this ignoring (ears on the alert) get away with it will be annoyed later. It is therefore worth accommodating the stubborn little dog right from the start (training with toys and treats), but setting clear boundaries and commands and sticking to them. What the dachshund has learned properly once, he will also implement in puberty, so that a lot of stress on both sides of the leash is spared.
In the house, the miniature dachshund is a perfect home office employee. They like to sleep long and soundly or occupy themselves with suitable chew toys. Please don’t miss out on buying these – otherwise the dog will look for alternative sources of nibbles (window frames, floor, shoes, etc.).