20 Dachshund colors you’ll love (with pictures!)
What comes to your brain when we talk about the Dachshund breed? Apart from their cute sausage-like body, you might think of their nicknames : Wiener Dog, Sausage Dog, or Doxie.
However, one of the main things that deserve more attention is their coat color and coat type. At first, you might think this breed has one coat type, brown and black, but there's so much more to them than you realize.
The Dachshund breed is known to have tan markings, patterns, different coat colors on other areas of their body, and a lot more!
To know more about Dachshund colors, keep on reading.
How many different colors of Dachshunds are there?
In total, it's believed that there are around 20 Dachshund coat types. The truth is, though, there are probably many more coat colors that exist unofficially. To help give you a better idea, here is a breakdown of their official and unofficial colors.
Official Dachshund breed colors
The main standard Dachshund breed colors are the following:
- Cream
- Red
- Black and tan
- Isabella or fawn
- Wild boar and tan
- Chocolate and tan
- Black and cream
- Blue and tan
Non standard Dachshund breed coat color
Outside of what the AKC and other kennel clubs recognize, these coats tend not to be approved as a standard color. Because of this, Daschshunds cannot compete in them due to their coat color. The non standard Dachshund colors are:
- Isabelle
- Chocolate
- Black
- Fawn
- Dapple pattern
What is the rarest color of Dachshund?
If you want a rare coat color, you might want to check out a few types. This is because the Dachshund can have a variety of marking, patterns, and color combinations. Most of the time, though, the rarest Dachshund colors often contain a hue that's not solid and a range of markings.
When looking at a rare Dachshund color, it might look appealing in comparison to other coat types. But do note that these often are a by-product of unethical breeding and many health issues. Therefore if you are interested in a unique Dachshund color, you should visit the breeder first.
Usually, the main rare Dachshund colors are sable, red, and Wheaton. The sable pattern is often seen as the rarest of them all, and only you find this coat type in the longer haired Dachshund. Usually, these dogs tend to be a red color and have furs with black tips on them. Sometimes, this sable pattern can come in various combinations and shadings of tan and black colors, too.
On the other hand, the Wheaton color Dascshund is often classed as rare. This dog breed looks to have light blonde fur similar to a cream color. Usually, you'll find this dog with a black nose, dark eyes, and black nails.
What is a multi-colored dachshund called?
If you're the type of person who can't decide on coat color, then there is one Dachshund that has a multi-colored coat; these are known as dapple dachshunds. Often these dogs have light patches on their body combined with a primary color, giving a multi-colored appearance.
You may also hear the dapple pattern being referred to as merle. It's when a Dachshund has splotches on its fur. Often the splotches are irregular, and the color underneath them is darker. To know more about the dapple pattern, keep reading as we cover this and other Dachshund coat breeds in greater detail below.
What are the different patterns of Dachshund?
When it comes to Dachshund colors, it's also important to know their different coat patterns. Generally, as per the AKC guidelines, they have three different types, which are one colored, two colored, and patterned.
The main difference when they have a patterned coat, is that they're a lot more distinct than the other two, as there are multiple colors on their coat to make up their appearance.
For dog breeders, patterns are important as it helps identify their coat type and place the Dachshund puppies into categories. Sometimes on top of their coat, they may have more markings which are referred to as striped, overlayed, ticked, or dapple.
- Striped: A brindle pattern similar to stripes on a tiger; they usually have shades of black and red.
- Overlayed: This is often referred to as shading, which can happen on the tail, ears, and back of the Dachshund.
- Ticked: In this pattern, tiny dogs are on the white parts of their body. Sometimes ticked Dachshunds vary from a few small dots to many that come together to create a roaning type pattern.
Dachshund breed colors explained
Here is a greater look into the Dachshund's coat to give you a better idea into their colors and marking. Do note that this list combines official AKC and unofficial colors too.
Red Dachshund
Many Dachshunds can come in different shades of red! However, if you look at these dogs, they often may have a dark reddish brown, making them easily mistaken for a brown color. But they're not brown; they're still red, their pigment is weaker.
There's actually a major trick to spotting a red dachshund. You have to look at its nails and nose. If they have black for both, they aren't an actual red color; instead, they're known as dilute.
Black and Tan Dachshund
One of the most common Dachshund colors is black and tan. You can spot the tan, black dog as their paws, chest, eyebrows, and snout will have darker tan markings.
Whereas the black color will be on their tail, ears, back, and on their head. If you see just a black Dachshund, though, they'll often be black and tan. This is because there is no official black Dachshund; it's just often the case the tan Dachshund has lost its coloration.
Black and cream Dachshund
The black and cream Dachshund is also seen as a rarer type coat color that is either long haired or smooth.
Usually, you can spot them with a full black body with light cream patches on their eyebrows, chest, feet, face, and tail underside.
They have slight similarities to the black and tan Dachshund; however, the main difference is black and cream has lighter patches than them.
Cream Dachshund
If you're the type who likes to follow the trend and have what's popular, then this cream dog is one of the most common colors. They often will have black rims around their eyes, black noses, and dark brown eyes. It's important to know that this type of Dachshund will never have any red tint to them and will never be diluted.
The reason why they have this unique cream color is that they usually are born grey or black. Then, as they age, their coat lightens into a cream color. Sometimes there are chances they can still have black hair on their ears and back.
Blue and cream Dachshund
There are blue and cream doxies, where they don't have any black; it's just blue. You can usually spot these dogs as they will have a blue and grey color on their body, and on their face, feed and chest, they will have a cream color.
Chocolate and tan Dachshund
Another popular Dachshund you might come across is the chocolate and tan Dachshund.
Usually, their body is a shade of deep chocolate brown, and then they have tan markings on their feet, chest, and head.
One good tip to look out for when spotting this color is that chocolate and tan Dachshund will have brown nails and nose. Their eyes, however, will vary a great deal in color.
Fawn and tan Dachshund
Another type of Dachshund coat color combination is the tan and fawn Dachshund. Often fawn coat color is commonly called isabella, too, so you might hear breeders referring to it as Isabella and tan.
This coat color is different as their body tends to have a greyish brown-like color. Whereas their eyebrows, feet, face, and chest have a tan color similar to what you see on a black and tan Dachshund.
Blue and tan Dachshund
The blue and tan Dachsund looks slightly similar to a Black and Tan one.
However, the main difference is that their whole body looks grey, but it's not. Their body is blue, which looks like a gunmetal color.
They'll also have on their snout, eyebrows, feet, and chest tan patches too. To help identify them further, you'll want to check their nails, eyes, and nose; they should all be grey.
Chocolate and cream
These dogs have a dirt brown color on their tail, ears, forehead, and back. They also have cream colors on their paws, eyes, snout, and tail.
Fawn and cream
Another coat color you might be interested in is the fawn and cream Dachshund. This dog is similar to the chocolate and cream version, except that the fawn is a diluted version of chocolate.
Wheaton Dachshund
As highlighted earlier, this is one of the rarest Dachshund colors. Wheaton is in the middle of a white and golden brown color.
Previously, this color was only available in Dachshunds with wiry hair; however, they're found in all coat types today. Due to their light coat color, they often require more maintenance when grooming, etc.
Fawn Dachshund
Sometimes you might also get a Dachshund that has a fawn coat color. The reason they get this light color is due to recessive genes from their parents causing diluted brown pigments. Alongside this, they'll tend to have brown nails, paw pads, a cream face, ears, and feet.
Wild Boar Dachshund
There are smooth haired Dachshunds and ones with a wire coat that have a wild boar color. While this name might sound unusual, they tend to have a coat color that is patterned and comes in various colors. It's mainly common in smooth haired Dachshunds and not usual in long haired or wire-haired ones.
Usually, this coat color looks black and tan from afar; however, up close, you'll notice it has different shades of black, brown, and grey. Their faces, chests, and feet will resemble black and tan Dachshunds.
Black Dachshund
If you want to look for one of the rarest Dachshunds, you might want to get a pure black Dachshund. The reason why they're so rare is that they have a recessive gene in both parents. They're only a true black color if they have no markings on their body.
Chocolate Dachshund
The Chocolate Dachshund is a non-standard type of Dachshund which is dark in color with lots of pigments on it. With this dog, you won't find any shades of cream or tan on its body. Their dark chocolate color is because it's a recessive trait of both parents. You can mainly find this color in Dachshunds with smooth and short hair.
Albino Dachshund
Another non-standard Dachshund coat color is the albino Dachshund. Like humans, this dog has a plate white coat color because it has no pigmentation. It often gets mistaken sometimes for other colors like cream, wheaten, and white, but these are pigments.
You can usually identify this type of Dachshund by its blue eyes and pink paw pads. This is an extremely rare type of Dachshund to own, though, and its coat is associated with major health problems like skin cancer and sunburn.
Brindle Dachshund
There are also brindle Dachshunds, which look a bit like a tiger as they have stripes on their coats. Only one parent must have the dominant brindle gene for this to occur. Because of this, the brindle Dachshund is quite a common one to have.
Usually, their pattern will have a lighter coat with cream, tan or red base. Sometimes the stripes on brindle piebald dachshunds are black, chocolate, or dark, causing them to stand out.
Double dapple Dachshund
As mentioned previously, double dapples are quite a rare type of Dachshund with white markings on their fur. They also have a coat pattern slightly similar to a Border Collie. While the double dapple puppy might be stunning to look at, there's a lot of controversy surrounding it in the dog world.
Piebald Dachshund
Another non standard Dachshund coat color you might be interested in having is the Brindle Piebald Dachshund.
This dog has a recessive gene, meaning only one parent needs to have this gene to produce this color. You can usually find these coat types in smooth, long, and short haired Dachsunds.
Typically, they will have a white or cream base on their body, with random dark spots on top. Such dark spots can either be tan, brown, or black.
Brindle piebald Dachshund
Brindle piebald Dachshunds are a non standard Dachshund. They come into existence as they have a combination of both piebald and brindle genes. This is also a very rare coat color and is difficult to see in the dog world. This non-standard dog breed has a white coat with piebald markings and brindle stripes.
What are the types of Dachshund coats?
Alongside Dachshund colors, there are a few different types of coats that you should know about. The most common types of Dachshund coats are the following:
Smooth haired Dachshund
Out of all Dachshunds that is the most noticeable is the smooth-haired breed. Usually, this coat is easy to identify as the hair is shiny and sleek. The coat should feel soft and plush when you touch its fur.
Long haired Dachshund
Like its name suggests, the longhaired Dachshund is known for their long hair flowing past its body. Most of the time, the hair is quite wavy, almost having a feather-like appearance around their legs and ears. Compared to other types of coats, the Dachshund requires a little bit more upkeep.
Wirehaired Dachshund
When it comes to the wire-haired Dachshund, their coat is quite new in comparison to the other two. The main difference is they have a bristly surface on the outside like a wire, and it's quite rough when touching it. Moreover, when groomed, they undergo hand stripping, keeping their color and texture the same.
Can certain colors affect a Dachshunds health?
It's important to know that Dachshunds have different genes influencing their coat color, pattern, or markings. But in addition to this, these genes can also affect their development when it comes to their health.
This is especially the case when a Dachshund carries a diluted and recessive gene, causing their coat to have a white color and blue eyes to go with it. If you see this in a Dachshund, it might be a sign of deafness.
Dachshunds who have this are not allowed to compete in shows. Moreover, those that have certain markings and patterns may have health concerns.
What patterns are linked to health issues in Dachshunds?
You should consider their coat colors first to reduce the risk of getting a Dachshund with health problems. In particular, any diluted colors, also known as recessive like a fawn (type of dilute chocolate) or blue (a dilute of black), are linked to skin sensitivity and color dilution alopecia.
In particular, this condition can trigger sunburn, allergies, sensitives, thinning coat, and skin infections. Dachshunds with this condition have a higher risk of skin cancer and immune issues, decreasing their life span.
Are markings associated with health issues?
It's not always guaranteed, but sometimes Dachshunds with a dapple, double dapple, or piebald coat can have some health problems, such as:
- Deafness
- Blindness
- Seizures
- Missing eyes
- Reduction in eye size
- Skin disorders
Final thoughts
Overall, there's no best Dachshund color type that exists for these dog breeds. The truth is, their coat color can be a completely personal preference; it's their characteristics that should be considered. But if you want to enter them for shows, you should stick to ones recognized by the AKC, not ones with patterns or markings.
Do note when buying a Dachshund puppy, sometimes their coat changes as they grow into an adult, so it might not be what they look like when you first buy it. Therefore a good rule of thumb is to see their parents before buying.
What interests you about the Dachshund? Let us know in the comments.
Alex Wrigley is a professional writer and blogger who loves travel, technology and dogs. She is originally from the UK but currently lives in Nepal with her three dogs: two pugs and a golden retriever.
