Huntersbroad Crest
Download this page in PDF formatThe Huntersbroad Crest
~ submitted by Elaine Hanson, from The American Dachshund April 1972 and October 1972 issues
Huntersbroad Crest on one of the Rigol Miniature Wirehairs from France
April 1972 by Barbara N. Lehr, Utah, Nevada
You might not have seen the attached clipping from the Dachshund column of the English newspaper, “Dog World” for December 3, 1971.
Article from English “Dog World” with by-line credited to Jo Lawley:
After reading the interesting article by Mr. Warner Hill in “Dog World” of November 12 on the Ridgeback’s ridge, I was reminded of the ridge running down the neck of many Miniature Wires. This ridge, which amongst the six varieties only occurs in the Miniature Wires, varies from a slightly raised and thicker line of hair going the same way as the the rest of the hair on the neck, to a full outward growth, exactly like a horse’s mane which has been ‘hogged’ or cut level. Known as the Huntersbroad crest, it is understood to be inherited through the Huntersbroad line. For instance Ch Redenhall Yewberry’s pedigree carries Huntersbroad Firefly, Minoru and Graphite in the fourth generation, and Yewberry has a full crest. It would be interesting to hear more about it, especially as it only appears in the one variety. I certainly have not heard of it in Standard Wires. Perhaps some knowledgeable breeder may care to throw some light on it. I know that only occasionally is it inherited in Yewberry’s puppies, but pops up again in the next generation.
[Note: The inter-breeding of coat varieties and sizes here in the United States has allowed the Huntersbroad crest to appear in all varieties and sizes of our dachshunds. ~ Jeanne Rice]
I wonder if there are American Dachshund fanciers who have run across this “Huntersbroad Crest” as I have two widely separated purchases.
My first encounter with this ridge was in the spring of 1971 when I received a blue and tan Standard Smooth bitch pup which was purchased by correspondence from New Jersey. She was obtained primarily for her color with no real plans to show, so I was not unduly disturbed by the crest. Her breeder was not able to give any information about it, and this was the fourth generation she had owned. I dismissed the crest as a probable body-cell chromosome change (not carried on the sex-cells) and let it go at that.
Identical crest in Mini Wire dapples from France
In December 1971 a long coveted pair of Miniature Wirehair dapples arrived from their breeder in France. Imagine my surprise when I found an identical crest on the back of the neck of the bitch pup. What a coincidence, I thought, but began to believe more and more that it must be hereditary in nature and possibly connected to the gene for dappling. The blue came from a dapple breeding and the Wire is a dapple.
I had never heard or read of this cowlick-like crest in Dachshunds before, though I have read most of the standard reference materials, both American and English. When I read the article in “Dog World” the pieces began to fall into place. The Miniature Wire pup does carry the Huntersbroad prefix in her background, albeit several generations back.
How to explain the Smooth Standard blue though? She comes from American breeding for at least ten to twelve generations, probably more. Way back in her pedigree English imports, both Smooth and Wire, do appear. She is a product of a nephew ex aunt breeding, so perhaps the crest is caused by simple recessive genes and there is no connection with the dappling. Whether or not the Huntersbroad bloodlines are involved I cannot as yet determine.
The local operator of a boarding kennel tells me that he has boarded a Smooth Standard red bitch who has the crest, so maybe it is fairly common in this country.
The crest or ridge on both my dogs looks like an elongated cowlick starting at the base of the skull and extending down to the withers. On both my dogs approximately halfway down the neck the ridge has narrowed and changed so that the hair all grows the same way and resembles more the ridge that grows down the side of the dog’s neck from the back of the ear. By the time the neck joins the shoulders. the ride has disappeared.
At least one English Champion has the crest, so apparently it is not considered a very serious fault. Wonder how it would be considered in this country? If my little Wire bitch continues to show as much promise as she does now, I may find out.
October 1972 by Mrs. Adrian Maloney, “Huntersbroad”, Essex, England
Recently I was sent a copy of the April edition of your magazine, but perhaps my notes on the Huntersbroad Crest may still be of interest to breeders of Miniature Wires whose pedigrees go back to the Huntersbroads.
In the early fifties, my husband, Adrian Maloney, imported Barro au der Waldmannskhouse (Miniature Wire brindle) and Aggi (Miniature Wire Silver dapple) from Germany as foundation stock for the establishment of this variety in Britain. One of the reasons we chose these two was because both carried the blood of Mrs. Sandstrom’s world famous “Sports” kennel in Sweden – previously disbanded.
Barro was mated to Aggi and their son, Huntersbroad Graphite (silver dapple) was the first Wire dapple (standard or Miniature) bred in this country. He had a narrow ridge of extra harsh wire coat, slightly reversed, from the apex of his skull down his neck. This ridge in slightly varying forms re-appeared occasionally in H. Graphite’s progeny in a completely haphazard way and from varied matings. Amongst these were two bitches, (small Standards) from Mrs. Benson’s Ballyteckel kennel in Ireland. They were strongly Sports in breeding, their pedigrees containing amongst other famous names, that of International and English Champion Wigden Sports Primavera. We learned then learned from Mrs. Besson who had wide experience of the Sports stock and breeding that the ridge was a heritable characteristic of the Sports Kennel and was regarded as a hallmark of excellence – I hope it will remain so.
The Hunterbroad Crest, well described by Barbara Lehr in Letters to the Editor (pages 8 and 9, April 1972) sometimes disappears with the puppy coat and sometimes lasts a lifetime.
October 1972 by Suzanne de Bernes, France
I was very interested to receive from Mrs. Adrian Malony the April edition of The American Dachshund because I mated my red Miniature Wirehiared bitch, Wegs of Cisne, to Huntersbroad Graphite and in the issue one of the puppies bore the “Hunterbroad Crest.”
That was in the mid-fifties. Since those early days of the Miniature Wires in England, I have bred many puppies which carried the crest, and now that I am in France the crest continues to show up in my bloodlines. It has even appeared on puppies in litters sired by my dogs mated to completely outcross bitches here on the Continent. One point I can certainly clarify: It is not only confined to dapples. I have had the crest on brindles, reds, chocolates and tans and black and tans – including my black and tan English Champion Rigol Willy Dhu.
Huntersbroad Crest on Smooth Black and Tan (photo courtesy of Storm Britton Ilouno)
It has been my experience that the crest is not always inherited from a parent bearing it; more often it occurs on the “skipped generation.” I have never known it to be considered a fault.
One point of particular interest; although the crest normally appears on the back of the neck…I had one dog which carried the crest under the chin, the ridge was about 2 – 2.5 inches long and was placed where the hair normally grows outwards.
This particular dog sired several puppies which carried the crest on the top of the neck. One of these puppies is the Miniature Wire Umbra From My Phantoms which I sent to Barbara Lehr in December 1971 and which she mentions in her letter in the April issue.
 Crest on the muzzle of a red longhair (photo courtesy of Lynne Dahlen) |
 Crest on Muzzle of Black and Tan Longhair DC Nexi’s Lone Star Express ML CD TD CGC VC; 2001 National Field Trial Absolute winner (Photo courtesy of Sandi Myers) |
 Unusual double crest on the back of the neck of a red smooth miniature dachshund. (Photo courtesy of Linda Cockburn, Copia Dachshunds.) |