Developing an Eye for Type in Dachshunds
Download this page in PDF formatThe development of an eye for type is not something which one gains overnight, and an ability to judge the dog as a whole is something that takes most people many, many years to learn…if they ever do! It is an acquired ability that is not achieved easily and is always a work in progress. My experience is that most exhibitors go through a series of stages in learning about Dachshunds, and many seem content to stop at one of the early steps along the way.
Step One: The average novice quickly learns to discern two things about the Dachshund: a level topline and square rear end. Let’s face it, if you have any aesthetic sense at all, you learn to quickly perceive a straight line or the lack of it, and seeing if a dog’s rear legs stack and go away in a reasonably parallel fashion comes next. While topline and rear are not to be discounted, the true quality of a Dachshund can, and must, encompass so much more! This level of learning is frequently associated with a fascination for ‘Big and Red.’ A big Dachshund is an impressive Dachshund, and a flashy red color helps as well. It may be surprising, but there are many people, including a number of well-known judges, who have never seemed to move past this stage. It doesn’t much matter what the dog looks like or how bad the front is, they can be counted upon to put up big with a level topline and square rear end. Yes, over time, these people’s horizons may broaden to include a general concern about how a dog looks coming at them, but rears remain their primary consideration. As judges, they are easy to spot in the ring because, ultimately, even in the best of competition, they make their decisions on what they perceive to be fine distinctions of dogs going down and back, rather than watching them go around the ring from the side, where you can discern type, overall quality and outline along with reach, drive and smooth, fluid movement.
Step Two: Along the way, a number of people get past Step One and discover that many knowledgeable people perceive Dachshund fronts as being more important than rears because they are harder to breed and keep in a breeding program. Fronts are also much harder to learn. Subjective points, such as whether the dog is properly set under itself with a prominent forechest, has an oval chest or is clean in the shoulders, are elements that must be perceived as opposed to simply measured. Thus, the objective elements as opposed to the subjective points are the ones most people learn first. In other words, people start to discover shoulder layback and length of keel. Both are important elements, but, unfortunately, these too often become the only basis for a decision. Still not able to discern type or evaluate the overall dog, these people are content with an objective measure. Unsure what to do? Just see which has the tightest shoulder blades or the longer keel and make your decision. Sometimes, Step Two people can even do a halfway decent job of judging because most knowledgeable breeders take shoulder layback and keel into account when breeding. But, so many times, this form of judging produces some very ridiculous decisions when really poor specimens of the breed go up simply because they have a tighter shoulder or a longer keel. The winner might be incredibly set forward, have a bad topline and walk underneath itself, but be assured the shoulder is tight and the keel is long! These folks have no concept that the concern with shoulder is based upon a more fundamental concern–that is, with the ability of the dog to move well. A tight shoulder which doesn’t result in the dog moving well isn’t actually worth much in and of itself. They also don’t realize that one of the Dachshund breed’s absolute necessities is that prominent forechest. ‘Achieving’ length of keel by pushing the shoulder assembly forward gains you nothing, but, in fact, makes you lose one of the hallmarks of the breed–that very prominent, dimpled forechest.
Step Three: Ultimately, there is a group of people who step from itemized evaluation of particular parts of the dog and eventually develop a reasonable knowledge of overall soundness. This is a great step to make, but someone who never looks beyond soundness usually ends up being a ‘fault picker,’ who, again, is unable to evaluate the overall dog. There is a strong tendency here to pick the dog with the fewest faults instead of factoring in the strengths. This often results in a very mediocre dog going up, not because he has any real virtues to offer, but just because he isn’t really bad anywhere. Perhaps my breeding philosophy is different from most, but I would much rather have a bitch with lots of ‘pluses’ and with an obvious fault or two, than a mediocre one who must be improved on just about everywhere. The bitch with lots of virtues who needs fixed in one or two places can be bred to fix those places. The bitch that really isn’t that good anywhere–merely mediocre–can’t be expected to counter a stud’s faults (and they all have them). And you can’t expect any stud to improve a bitch everywhere.
Step Four: Along the way, there are a few people who finally start to understand type. Far too often, critics of type proponents believe that type is nothing more than a good head and neck. Thus, we often hear these critics say “a dog doesn’t walk on its head.” That’s absolutely true, but to characterize type as nothing more than the look of the head and a general ‘prettiness’ is to miss the point. Type includes the entire outline of the dog, not just standing, but also moving. For example, if the forechest disappears when the dog is moving, you’ve lost outline, and you’ve also lost the typey silhouette which is vital to a correct Dachshund. While type obviously includes head and neck, you can certainly have a typey dog whose head isn’t as good as you could wish. We also have a segment which believes that type is governed by size. Again, a complete fallacy, as a typey dog can come in any size–as we should all realize, especially since our breed comes in two sizes! Unfortunately, we also often come up with those people who, like the ‘shoulder pinchers’ described in Step Two, recognize the importance of quality, but fail to understand it in practice. I never cease to be amazed at the number of people who have come to believe that type in dachshunds is somehow color-linked (preferring one color over another) or size-linked! As we all should recognize, a typey, correct dog can come in any recognized color as well as ANY size within the parameters called for in our Standard.
Step Five: This is the level where people finally achieve the ability to evaluate the Dachshund on an overall basis for type and soundness. Here, the whole dog is judged, weighing type and virtues first, and then acknowledging faults. Quite frankly, I believe that only a minority of the fancy achieves this level, and few judges achieve it in any breed. To truly appreciate type, I feel you need to study pictures of the breed’s greats as well as seeing the best the breed has to offer in person and really think about the qualities they possess that make them great and look for the distinctive qualities these great Dachshunds have in common.
Obviously, these comments are generalizations. The progressions through the steps I described are not always orderly. Honestly, there are some people who never develop an eye for a dog. Some just do not make the commitment necessary to see the best specimens and discover what makes them great, and some let extraneous factors like ownership and personal animosity factor into their judgment. I believe these steps described occur with enough frequency that some may benefit by recognizing themselves as only having taken a step or two along the way. If nothing else, if you just remain open to learning , you may help improve your eye for a dog. Many may disagree with my viewpoint, but perhaps my thoughts will stimulate a few people to reassess their own growth as ‘judges’ of Dachshunds and, as a result, we may all develop a better understanding of the breed we love and on whom we spend so much time and money.