Dachshund Colors
Colorful Canines
When most people think of Dachshunds, they think of a black and tan or a red Dachshund. However, a Dachshund’s coat can come in an artistic array of 15 colors (solid and combinations), six marking patterns (single and combination patterns), and three different coat varieties (i.e., smooth, longhair, and wirehaired).
Self or Base Color
The first descriptive component is the color of the Dachshund’s coat or more specifically, the coat’s base or self color. The self color of a Dachshund’s coat refers to the fur's solid base color or to a specific combination of colors (i.e., one predominant color with “point” accents). For example, although a black and tan Dachshund’s fur is predominantly black with tan accents, the self color is described as “black and tan” as opposed to “black.”
Self colors may include solid colors such as red, chocolate, black, cream, blue (i.e., gray) and Isabella (i.e., fawn) as well as color combinations (i.e., one predominant color with “point” accents) such as black and tan, chocolate and tan, blue and tan, Isabella and tan, blue and cream, black and cream, Isabella and cream.
Dilutes
Blue and Tan — Dachshund Unlimited's AKC Brooklyn
Self colors may also be further classified as “dilutions” of other colors. For example, a blue and tan self color is a dilution of the black and tan color combination; whereas, an Isabella and tan is considered a dilution of the chocolate and tan color combination.
At Dachshunds Unlimited, we not only consider solid-colored dilutes as one of our specialties but also dilutes with spectacular markings, especially dapples and piebalds.