Dachshund Colors
click on underlined colors to see color

(Not to be reproduced in any way, however feel free to link to this site from your web site.)


RED (can appear in all coats): The most familiar and common of dachshund colors. A red dachshund can be any shade of red from blonde to a deep dark mahogany -- all of which is just red, not cream or wheaten or mahogany. You can have a clear red which means no dark hairs anywhere in the coat or you can have black hairs interspersed --either and it's still just red. They should have a brown eyes (the darker the better), black nose and black nails. Occasionally, a dilution gene will creep in and cause the eyes to be hazel (greenish-brown), and the nose and nails to be brown or liver-colored. These dogs do not have tan markings and are not chocolate dogs (THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A CHOCOLATE RED!!) - They are red dilutes who may or may not carry the chocolate/tan gene. For a red to produce black/tans it must carry the tan point gene. A red that does not carry the tan point gene can not ever produce anything but red puppies. It is an AKC recognized color.

BLACK/TAN (can appear in all coats): The second most familiar dachshund color. A black and tan dachshund will be black all over with tan points (tan on feet, over eyes, on face around muzzle, on chest, under tail). It will have black eyes, black nose, and black nails. Black/tan is recessive which means a black/tan bred to a black/tan will produce all black/tan unless they both carry the red gene which might produce a red puppy. It is an AKC recognized color.


BLACK (can appear in all coats): A black dachshund will be black all over without any tan points. It will have black eyes, black nose, and black nails. This is not the result of continuous breeding of black/tan to black/tan. Black breeds true and appears to breed dominant over the black/tan. The black is simply the 'B' gene lacking the tan point gene. It is an AKC write in color.

CHOCOLATE/TAN (can appear in all coats) : A chocolate and tan will be from milk chocolate brown to a dark chocolate brown with tan points (tan on feet, over eyes, on face around muzzle, on chest, under tail). It will have a brown to light brown nose and nails. A true chocolate/tan will NEVER have a black nose. It will have brown to light brown eyes and on occasion green to hazel eyes. Chocolate and tan dogs often "sunburn" in the summer after spending many hours outdoors, and the tips of the hairs long the neck and back turn an unattractive, dull reddish color. This will go away when the dog sheds and a new coat comes in. This is a recessive color it must be showing or carried in both parents to appear. It is an AKC recognized color.


CHOCOLATE (can appear in all coats): A chocolate will be a dark chocolate brown all over without any tan points. It will have a brown to light brown eyes, nose, and nails. This is a recessive color it must be showing or carried in both parents to appear but breeds dominant to chocolate/tan. It is an AKC recognized color.


CREAM (only applicable to long and smooth coats): A true cream will be from a platinum blonde to butter yellow in color and will not have any reddish tint to their coat whatsoever. It will have black eyes, black nose, and black nails. True creams are born grayish black and gradually lighten to cream as they mature. A puppy that is born cream colored may be nothing more than a very dilute red, and may have greenish eyes and brown nails. So far most true creams are only in the long hair variety and have a lot of English/British lines in their pedigree's. Cream is recessive and you must mate two creams (or two dogs carrying cream together) to produce a cream puppy. It is an AKC recognized color.


BLACK/CREAM (only applicable to long and smooth coats): A black and cream dachshund will be identical to a black and tan dachshund except it will have a pale cream color instead of the tan (cream on feet, over eyes, on face around muzzle, on chest, under tail). It will have black eyes, black nose, and black nails. It is an AKC recognized color.


WHEATEN (only applicable to wire coats): A wheaten will be from a platinum blonde to light red in color. It will have black eyes, black nose, and black nails. This is a recessive color it must be showing or carried in both parents to appear. It is a recognized AKC color.

WILDBOAR, (or "agouti") (applicable to wire and smooth coats) It is debatable as to whether wild boar is a color or a pattern. Most body hairs on a wild boar appear to be banded with three or more color's or shades. Red wild boar is the most common color and appear black & tan from a distance. Dilution factors or the chinchilla gene may produce some of the silvery fawn-looking wild boars which are seen occasionally. Wild boar may actually be the same as the sable pattern in a longhaired dachshund this is currently a topic of discussion among dachshund breeders.


BLUE/TAN (can appear in all coats): A blue and tan is a diluted black and tan. It will be a gun metal blue color with tan points. Its color should resemble a blue Doberman. It will usually have gray eyes, gray nose, and gray nails. This is a recessive color it must be showing or carried in both parents to appear. Be cautious buy only with a lifetime skin disorder guarantee, they have a tendency to have coat problems such as very thin coats, or skin that is subject to allergies. Check out the info on color mutant alopecia for more information on this problem.


ISABELLA(fawn)/TAN (can appear in all coats): An isabella and tan is a diluted chocolate and tan. It will appear to be a washed out chocolate and tan. Its color should resemble a Weimaraner but with tan points. It will have usually have a pale grayish-green eyes, and nose and nails are pale pinkish-chocolate. This is a recessive color it must be showing or carried in both parents to appear. Once again be cautious buy only with a lifetime skin disorder guarantee, they have a tendency to have coat problems such as very thin coats, or skin that is subject to allergies. Check out the info on color mutant alopecia for more information on this problem. They can also have a shorter life span than the other color's.

Click here to go to our Pattern Information Page.