Zuchtschau is a conformation show where each dog is evaluated according to the FCI dachshund breed standard #148, and each dog receives a written evaluation from an FCI judge. This year the Zuchtachau was judged by Mme Agnès de France, President of the French Teckel Club (Club des Ameteurs de Teckels). She judged for the NATC before, exactly two years ago.
What is the FCI and what is the FCI dachshund standard? The Fédération Cynologique Internationale (FCI) is an international federation of kennel clubs, and currently it has 86 members countries, with one member per country. You can see which countries follow the FCI rules by clicking here or here. Perhaps you will notice that the USA, Canada, UK and South Africa are not on the list...unfortunately. You can read more about the FCI on its website. The wikipedia states that "the aims of the F.C.I. are to encourage and promote breeding and use of purebred dogs whose functional health and physical features meet the standard set for each respective breed and which are capable of working and accomplishing functions in accordance with the specific characteristics of their breed; to protect the use, keeping and breeding of dogs in the member countries."
The North American Teckel Club is part of the DTK (Deutscher Teckelklub), which is in charge of the FCI standard of the dachshund breed as Germany is the country of the breed origin. The NATC holds two conformation shows per year and you can read about them on the NATC website.
Even though on paper the AKC and FCI standards of conformation are not that different, in reality as John says "the American show judges decided, in their wisdom, that if the original dachshund from
The bottom line is that a hunting dachshund should be athletic and his built should be "especially suited for hunting game below ground, for beating the bush in search of game, and for trailing". So when you are thinking about acquiring your first dachshund for blood tracking, don't think about just his nose, tracking desire, intelligence and other hunting qualities, but pay attention to the parents' conformation too.
When I started to breed wirehaired dachshunds my first litter was a cross between a French working teckel (FC Fausto de la Grande Futaie) and American show dachshund (FC Rivendells Ruby Tuesday). Even though Ruby had a lot of hunt, her conformation was not extreme, and all the following generations of breeding involved FCI working dachshunds only, it was very difficult to get rid off the large- sized, low-stationed, long-bodied, deep-chested American show phenotype. When it comes to breeding, this type seems to be dominant over the lighter and more agile type with better ground clearance and shorter body.
This picture shows Hansi (Teuffel von Moosbach-Zuzelek), who was Ruby and Fausto's grandson and was born in June 1995. He grew up to be 35 lbs, and he had extremely exaggerated conformation. Of course, we did not use him for breeding. This is not the conformation type you want in a working dachshund...or any dachshund. However, this is the type that you see very often an American show ring.
Hansi is an example of "wrong" conformation for a working dachshund. He was too large, too long and too low to the ground. |
After this long introduction to conformation let's turn to the NATC Zuchtschau. The pictures are telling a story how a dachshund is evaluated according to the FCI standard.
Patt Nance with Viljo, who was rated "excellent". |
Stephanie Marcoux is handling Whiskey, who received the "excellent" rating. |
Dog's bite is checked thoroughly. |
And all his teeth are counted. |
Once a dog is checked on the table, a judge observes how the dog moves.
Movement should be ground covering, flowing and energetic, with far reaching front strides without much lift, and strong rear drive movement should produce slightly springy transmission to top line. Tail should be carried in harmonious continuation of top line, slightly sloping. Front and hind legs have parallel movement.
Teddy Moritz with her longhaired mini Garmin who received "excellent" rating. |
A dog's temperament is tested by observing his reaction to the loud noise. |
MmeAgnès de France Alexandra whose red mini longhaired CONGRATULATIONS to Alexandra and Jessie James! | was "Best in Show".
7 comments:
Nice post Jolanta! Very descriptive and a great educational resource. I understand and agree that when buying a dog, breeding and the right breeder are very important factors to consider. The question that arises in my mind is: Can you have both an athlete, say a weight lifter, a boxer, a runner or you name it, and can you have that athlete be a model that will present the Ralph Lauren winter collection after the match? I have not seen many athletes that are models, and vice versa. Consecutively, it is very hard to get both, the looks and the working ability on a dog. Sometimes we have to sacrifice and make decisions. Because not all dogs are of breeding quality and with great conformation we have to choose either the athlete or the model dog. In my case I will chose the athlete.
Genti,
I don't think it is a black and white issue, but I agree it is a matter of priorities. I would have a hard time compromising on the FUNCTIONAL conformation though, which is necessary for a canine athlete to function.
Not all aspects of the DTK evaluation and standard are directly related to the dachshund's function (s). You might have a good hunting dog, who is missing a tooth. Is it ideal? No, it is not, but it really does not interfere with the dog's function. Should/could the dog like this be bred? According to the DTK it depends on which tooth is missing. The policy might be too restrictive, but on the other hand at AKC shows judges just check a bite and don't count teeth at all. Maybe this is too lenient.
In the US there is really just a handful of breeders who follow DTK breeding regulations. In some cases they may have to choose to breed TO a very average dog that does not have major conformation faults and passes a Zuchtschau. This is not ideal at all. There are so many factors to consider when one decides to breed - health, temperament, working abilities, functional conformation, ability to reproduce. The list goes on and on, and one has to prioritize.
I found DTK's breeding policies too restrictive, especially the one that eliminates shorthaired dachshunds out of wirehaired parents.
But I learned a lot by attending Zuchtschaus and now know much more about dachshund's structure and movement. I am still learning.
Agreed. Will like to add here that there is no way to predict the development of a puppy conformation wise with 100% certainty. Don't let it bother you if your dog doesn't get a good rating or is disqualified, unless you plan on breeding. It is all about priorities and the relationship you have together.
Wonderful article Jolanta! I wish more people would speak up like this.
I just learned from a breeder in Europe that the German hunters are starting to complain that the size limits on the dogs are making them too small to handle larger game and the DTK is possibly going to create a larger size group of Dachshund. !!! Isn't this interesting?
Thanks for taking the time to further explain this, Jolanta. This further illustrates what you were teaching us at Trackfest. The more you explain the functional aspects of conformation, the more it makes sense.
Claire,
Thank you for bringing it up! I read about the proposal in the last issue of Teckel Talk. IMO the creation of the 4th size would be a complete disaster as it would fragment the dachshund gene pool even further. This new, over 10 kg breed, would be established out of oversized individuals that are not related, but then the stud book would be closed. I hope that it does not come to it!
Stan,
Thanks! I remember how hard it was to get information when I was starting. Actually John was just about the only source of info on the European dachshunds back then, in the early 90s. I have learned a lot in the last 20 years, and I really value opportunities to share our experience with others who are just starting.
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