We’ve gone on record in how we feel about standardizing breed standards: We don’t like it. As convenient as it may be for a judge evaluating a dog, our sentiment is that much would be lost by altering or removing the words and phrases that breeders and fanciers use to describe their breed. We think the Dachshund is a fine example.
The AKC breed standard for the Dachshund calls for a well-balanced dog with a bold and confident head carriage, and intelligent, alert facial expression. It goes on to say that the Dachshund is clever, lively and courageous to the point of rashness. We don’t think there’s another word that can adequately replace,“rashness.”
Another American registry, the United Kennel Club, details the Dachshund as “hardy, vigorous, tireless, alert and responsive. It adds that the dog is often described as “half-a-dog high and a dog-and-a-half long.”
The FCI describes this confident attitude as a dog with a “cheeky, challenging head carriage and alert facial expression.” Cheeky. How wonderful!
Leave it to the French, however, for making everything sound classy. The French call the important characteristic of exuding confidence, “de l’allure,” which essentially means zest, and a striking presence.
The Dachshund is fits every description above, and then some!
Image: “Dachshund In Paris” by DJ Rogers – k9artgallery
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Different words in different standards are fine. If different countries want different characteristics in their breed, judges need to understand the differences. The issue is because breeders breed to a particular standard. For an Australian judge to judge dogs bred to the English Standard under the US standard when judging in Australia causes all sorts of problems. Of course judges are meant to judge to the standard of the country where they are judging, but experience shows that many judges are influenced by their country of origin. Social media has made this worse, with a preponderance of dogs bred to one standard flooding the internet, and few people recognising thise dogs are just examples of ONE type bred to ONE standard, not the ONLY standard.
It is not helped by breeders boasting how their dogs ARE the standard, or ARE correct, without identifying what standard.