Another Take on Mentors, Judging, Pedigrees and Changes in Dachshunds

I have tried to be sincere while I explain how I did breed better Dachshunds and show how these aspects truly created the patterns that gave me almost 300 AKC Champions, several Westmintsrer Group placers, the Top Longhair Dachshund Stud Dog of All Time, a Top Dachshund Smooth Stud Dog (#6 overall), numerous ROM/X/O’s from the DCA Register of Merit, far too many DCA winners to list and Dachshunds that have won all over the world, including many of the largest  Specialties and Dog Shows in several countries. I hope breeders and exhibitors understand the secrets I am sharing with all of you. If you are interested, try them out and see if they will work for your bloodline as it develops. I am always honest in my writing about these things, but I sometimes wonder if it makes people believe these articles are just me babbling on about crazy breeding ideas that probably wouldn’t work for them.

I have also been discussing the true differences in Standard Smooths that occurred out in California in the ’50s and ’60s, which changed the way we looked at Smooth Dachshunds when the great new Smooths from these top breeders from California were being picked out for the Show Ring. It is a serious look at how the Smooth Dachshund changed for the better (along with the Longhairs and Wirehairs who were crossed with them during that period) and some additions that were not quite good for the Breed. Again, I will be writing about specific breeders and how they used these changes in style, along with the Dachshunds that probably passed on these things as well. I will try to explain that these changes did not just happen, but were around since the very beginning of these Standard Smooth changes, and how they were probably kept at bay until they got to so many breeders who could not deal with these changes. I hope it’s something that many breeders will want to know about, and not consider it just too much information. I will publish it so it can be discussed and so people can see where these changes came from and why they were popular.  I hope these are topics that breeders may need to know about, the changes that happen when some breeders and exhibitors change the breed, and why they do.

I also have a post on the pedigree of a true game-changer in MLs, where CH Flachshund’s Exquisite ML ROMO’s qualities came from and how they were passed on. Again, this is talking about the dogs behind CH Flachshund’s Exquisite ML ROMO and the Dachshunds she was bred to, and it certainly does explain how Midge made the difference with Susan Jones’ long-range breeding program. Midge did change Mini Longs in a great way and certainly changed the way we pick out the top MLs from each litter. Having many of the great Standard Longhairs behind her also brought her qualities to the fore and made them get passed down through her offspring and show the many ways she used the Dachshunds behind Midge to bring her great qualities forward and to the front of her whelping box.  The Sleepytime Miniature Longhairs surely changed when Susan added that great bitch to her breeding program.

I also have a post about my trip to Springfield, IL, and it is about mentoring, and that is what I am going to be discussing here, along with a little chat about what I look for and why these additions are so important to me as a Judge and as a Breeder. Again, we all should want and need mentoring, but if you do want it, I hope they are breeders who have had successful experience in the Show Ring and are also breeders who looked for successful exhibitors to learn from, rather than mentors to boss around and argue with about the Dachshund’s strongest and weakest points. I believe this mentoring needs some attention if we, old-timers and new breeders, are going to use it to help the Dachshund get better and better as we go along. I hope that breeders and exhibitors, and their helpers, can explain why it is so important and so very helpful when a new breeder starts showing and, hopefully, adding some knowledge to what they knew initially about the Dachshund Breed.

As many people note, on our TDHP webpage,  I print pictures of dogs from the American Dachshund or other older dachshund magazines, and I usually point out the good things the dogs had, as, in my opinion, too much time is spent picking apart other dogs that you don’t own. My cure for that is to look at the Dachshunds pictured and attempt to see what I am trying to explain and why it is essential, and these changes would help make your dogs more valuable, as these same choices are still showing up in your bloodline. Look at the good things and appreciate those good aspects, but always remember what makes a good Dachshund a GREAT Dachshund. I also try to discuss some contact with breeders and how it is to deal with newer breeders. I hope these items are things that you would like to know about. I might suggest that you spend a lot of time looking at some of the old Dachshunds I picture a lot, because the Dachshund style, conformation, and movement I am showing in the old Dogs is the same that I still look for in the newer Dachshunds. Knowing what the old Dachunds looked like should always keep your dogs on the right track. Knowing what is good in the older dogs keeps that greatness still in the breed for us to hang onto and make even better.

Anyway, at the recent Dog Show that I judged, I saw far too many people showing Dachshunds that they really could not handle or make look outstanding in the way they were presenting them to me, as a Judge. I can look around and find the great quality if those qualities are present in the dogs being shown, but unfortunately, these dogs were just not presented that way to look their best. They were just on their own and seemed to think they were free to do what they wanted. As a result of this handling, they certainly did not usually impress me and, if you look back, I am a Dachshund Judge that loves to find quality, if I see it. That is why I love to judge and to always look for qualities that these dogs have, but first, I have to see hints that the qualities are there in the dog and that they were presented so that I can assess these qualities. I am not talking about perfection in handling, as I can forgive a few shortcomings when I see the qualities for a moment or two. I am talking about showing your dogs to make them look great, standing or moving. Before we talk about Judges’ qualifications or knowledge, let’s first get our dogs out front and showing themselves with a correct stance and gaiting with their head up and keeping that correct conformation as it moves around the Show Ring with the great outline that you hope you are presenting. Remember, at a Conformation Show, you are picking out the best dogs to use in that next generation, and so always hope to be able to understand what experienced breeders and Knowledgeable Judges want for the upcoming litters. I will have to say that my remarks from now on will be a little mentoring and some advice on what I want the Dachshunds to have and show the Judges, handlers, and breeders that are looking them over (and judging them as well). I will also try to give my advice on how to make the dog happy to be in the Show Ring.

As a Judge, I do want the best handling that you can muster in the Show Ring to let the dogs look their best, but, when I see quality there, hidden or unhidden, I will find it and reward it no matter what the dog’s handler is doing (or NOT doing) to make that Dachshund look like the best one there that day. As someone who has been judging the Breed since the early ’90s and who has been breeding Dachshunds since 1978, I want to find the best one there, and I will do anything to put that best Dachshund up if I have a chance to see the qualities it has, despite the handler’s ability to show it well. I am the Judge, and I will recognize the quality as long as I can see the Dachshund style and conformation it has.  I love to find quality in the Classes if they are shown so that I can see the pluses they have. It is your job, as an exhibitor, to show me what I should be seeing in front of me. I will do my part IF I can see the quality there before me, but you, as an exhibitor, have to show me what you think is best about your Dachshund, even though that might not be exactly right in my opinion. I can find the quality if it is shown to me in any fashion, as when I am in the Ring, exhibiting or judging, I always want to find the dogs that have the most good things to pass on.

New exhibitors can usually find someone to be a mentor if they know the long-time exhibitor’s story with the Breed and their Dachshund’s success at the larger Specialty weekends and other bigger All-Breed Shows, such as the Garden in NYC, or anywhere. The reason you are seeking a mentor is for you to understand the quality they have in the Breed and where they win, and why winning at these bigger shows normally means that they do indeed have great Dachshunds. When you decide to follow someone as a mentor, watch what their dogs look like and how they are presented, and what Judges are rewarding their Dachshunds in the Ring. Look for breeders and exhibitors who have big wins from big shows with important, successful Breeder/Judges finding their dogs. That is how you pick a mentor from their success instead of following someone who started a month or two before you and perhaps has not even finished a dog, but to their eye, that is because the Judges at the big Specialties are crooked and don’t know what they are looking at. Mentors can do this as owner/exhibitors or use a Top handler, because they know that the best dog, presented well, is always going to win if the Judge is competent enough to find the great qualities of Dachshund style, conformation, and movement. It does take all three to win what we are after in the Show Ring.

To be honest, I always went after the knowledge that and followed the great Dachshund people such as Dee Hutchinson, the Moffetts, Hannelore Heller, Mary Howell, Fran Colonna, Bobby and Jane Fowler, John Cook, Ann Gordon, and others with that kind of reputation. They will all help you if you are around and listen to them talk about their Dachshunds and other Dachshunds as well. I rarely asked them questions as I would rather look at what their eyes looked at when looking at their dogs and other dogs shown by other breeders. I was always wanting to know MORE about the Breed. I used Hannelore Heller as a handler when I started showing Dachshunds, and Hannelore was a great friend, but I always wanted to show them myself, so I wanted to learn about the look that the Great Dachshunds had and what they perhaps did not have currently, but needed to add to become a great one. Always remember, you are wanting this help from your mentor and, again, it is not to argue with them or teach them where their knowledge fails, but to listen and learn about the Breed. Always remember, they have been much more successful than you and for a longer time in the Dachshund Breed, so if you are honest about being mentored, you should always follow what they say if it sounds good. If it does NOT sound good, I would probably think about it and perhaps try it out to see if it does work as the mentors said it would, but never tell them their idea is wrong as I have heard many mentors complain about the person who wants instruction, but then decide to try to prove the mentors wrong with every bit of advice they gave. The mentor’s advice is always put out to help you and make your dogs and your handling better, never to be labeled wrong and out of touch. You should always seek the mentor’s opinions and guidance, and never argue with them about their advice and craft. Mentoring helps everyone because we all should want every generation to always be better than the ones that produced it.

As for newer breeders and exhibitors, they can also help you learn more about the breed. When I started, as a new person in the Dachshund breed back in the late ’70s, I became great friends with Wally and Mary Jones of the Walmar Kennel and we always travelled together to shows and we both, at that time, used Hannelore Heller as our mentor and, to be honest, Hannelore instilled in the Jones and me what a great Dachshund had to have to be a top winner. Wally and I spent so much time on the phone, I can’t imagine my dog chores ever got done, but, since we were both newcomers (in fact, Wally and Mary and I went to the same show to pick up our first Show dogs, DC of the Great Lakes in June of ’76).  We were all quick learners and helped each other gain so much knowledge back then. I have to say that what we learned back then is still the way we all look at Dachshunds to this day. Also, back in the ’70s, Susan Jones was living near St Louis, and we soon became friends, and I also became friends with Dr Asa and Karen Mays and their son Mark and their friends Dr Ron and Carol Spritzer with Andrea and Mark along as helpers. I have spent hours with all these people and many hours eating with them and watching the shows. We all talked about many things, but we all wanted to have great Dachshunds, too. Later, Martha Grantham (Bermarg), Bob Bray (Brayton), and John Brading (Bradauch) were added as well, and much information was talked about and discussed. To be honest, that was a great time to be joining the Dachshund Fancy, as there was so much to learn if you took your time. All of them had different ideas about the Breed, and we soon were discussing how each problem could be solved.  As a breeder, I wanted to get rid of the bad qualities and replace them with improvements for the next generation.

Now, when I am judging, I like to first see the dogs trot around the ring so you can see which ones catch your eye and which ones you sort of skim over. I like to see that free and easy movement with their head up and on a well-arched neck, great powerful front with a lot of forechest sticking out in front of that well-laidback shoulder with the neckset further back on the body with a well-placed position right over where the front feet are on the body, with a level topline and a beautiful under-carriage, blending into a powerful rear with well-placed short hocks and a straight-moving rear with a well-set tail, wagging if possible. I certainly don’t demand that all the time, but I certainly do want to see the correctness and carriage moving easily around the Show Ring. I truly want that in any Dachshund Variety and hope to always find that in my real winners in the Dog Shows that I judge. I always say these things, and I hope that most breeders and exhibitors do understand that modern look is the classic that I always fall back on. When judging, you hope you can find it or not, but the great Dachshunds always have it. Showing a young dog at some of the larger Shows and specialties, exhibitors can hope the Dachshund will be happy and look great going around the Ring. Always make it fun for the Dachshund who might be a newcomer, but still (sort of) follow them around. The Dachshund has to be happy with its head up and a level topline, in control of its space, and NEVER let the dog think you are in charge.

When I go over the Dachshund on the table, I always want to see a great head, and some people think I have always had that head. To be honest, I must say that the dogs I got from Dee Hutchinson, Hannelore Heller, and the Moffetts ALWAYS had great heads and, if you breed carefully, you always WILL have that very correct head if that is what you want; however, sometimes you get a plain one. Trust me, if the new Dachshund has a plain head, it can be corrected in one breeding. Unfortunately, some times the heads that show up are NOT that perfect and so you let them go as pets, but sometimes a great one comes along, such as CH Boondox Forrest Gump ROMX who did NOT have the beautiful head that I wanted, but he did have everything else that a great Dachsund needed. I, of course, kept him and later sold him to Wally and Mary Jones, where he produced Wally and Mary’s great CH Walmar’s Casanova ROMO, who DID have the great head along with all the other things that Forest Gump passed on, especially when bred to the fabulous CH Walmar’s Jasmine. By that time, I knew that if we bred Forrest Gump, a Dachsund whose head was a little plain, to a great-headed bitch that the great heads would prevail and so I never worried about breeding the lesser-headed one because the great head would certainly bounce back in the next generation. These are things I think of when judging, and, knowing how that less-than-great head is easy to correct, I put that far back on my plate when picking out my winners. These are things that newer exhibitors probably need to think about when showing to breeders who have been showing (and winning) for a long time. As I have made clear, I sought mentors in successful Dachshund breeders and exhibitors, and also newer exhibitors who were just starting at about the same time as me. If you do get mentored, the results will always stay with you, and it is something you think about while judging or just picking dogs out to show as they are growing up.

That long, arched neck should be placed far back on the topline, which gives you more layback to the shoulders, which means that dog will have more reach and drive and a much freer ability to pass on that great movement. Here again, this is something that takes a few generations to change, but the more layback is truly completely necessary, and you note and reward it when it shows up on the dogs you are examining. In my mind, something that is hard to improve always gets more attention from me as an AKC Judge and as a mentor, and exhibitor. Look at the shoulders and where they are placed, as, again, you want a lot of forechest sticking out in front of those shoulders, and in looking at the dog from the front, that body can be nicely oval, but narrow and tightly put together from the front. I want those shoulders also to be far back on the body with the shoulder set right at the neckset and with the upper arm ending right over the front legs, which again should be under that all-important neckset. Again, I want that whole front assembly to be correct on the body, with lots of forechest and wonderful layback. I also want that underline to be well past the front legs and blend beautifully into the gorgeous body that I also plan to see later. It is easy to write all this down, but a lot of changes have to be made to get that beautiful front on the dog I am looking at. When I see all that in action, I certainly do give it as much recognition as I can because conquering that front takes a lot of work from knowledgeable breeders. As a mentor and a breeder-judge, I want the great front to always be recognized, and I also need all the work that breeders did to make the lovely dog standing before me taken into account. When I am reading the Dachshund Standard and am working on the front with all the parts you have to work together to get all those aspects where they belong and working, that much attention to detail makes me give MUCH more improtance to all the things that start at the neckset and making them all work, to me anyway, makes that Dachshund important to recognize. Remember, fixing that front, the angulation and placement, and where the whole system works to make the dog a Dachshund who loves to gait around the ring and show off what it has. This is NOT one thing, it is a combination of MANY aspects which should help you know a great Dachshund when you see one in your whelping pen or the Show Ring.

Next, I like to feel the undercarriage, which should have its greatest depth of chest where the front legs come out from the body, as that is where the support usually goes to make it move better and carries so much weight there as well, whether standing still or moving. I always like to see a Dachshund who is smooth back to the croup and appears healthy and eager to please, and happy to be looked at. Handling a dog who is correct in weight and eager to please makes a Dachshund always feel good to go over. Many dogs are uneasy at their first shows and so consider that when going over them, but seeing the dog in action sort of shows its true colors and its lack of training (which I certainly look past)  and maybe also its temperament, I always like a happy dog, but a little unease is worth it if you can see that it is new to showing and does not show the look that we see as bad temperaments are being exhibited to win. As a rule, bad temperament is not something that I reward, and I am always on the lookout for it. When you are working with a mentor, temperament should always be a concern, as it is not wanted by Show breeders or Field breeders. Stopping that behavior should always be at the forefront, and the mentor’s way is something that I would note and fully comprehend, so that you can find out what they consider important.

I would then feel the neckset and see the way that the shoulders blend in and see the well-arched neck join in where the topline comes into that neckset, and all these parts should meet at the same place on the body, which is called the withers. From that neckset, I should be able to see where the arched neck and the well-laidback shoulders merge with the topline and form the glorious topline going back to the croup. The current Dachshund Standard, starting on January 1, 2018, says the back lines up in the straightest possible line between the withers and the short, very slightly arched loin. That does not mean looking for an straight line between the withers and the croup even though some newer breeders and exhibitors like that common straight line, because as I said in another article I wrote about judging and type, that seeing a straight line is very easy and they believe that straight line will always be important and everyone should show nothing but level toplines. If it were only that easy and level toplines solved everything, I would be all for it. However, many problems in the neck, shoulders, and angulation can be helped and changed by doing things that affect that wonderful neckset and that perhaps might throw the actual topline off a little. Again, as the Dachshund Standard says, the perfect topline could be a little off, but it still should appear great going around the ring or being stacked. Straight lines are very easy to see and many unsure people admit that straight line is what they are after in a topline, but, as for myself, there are many things in the topline, shoulder and neckset area that can be perhaps making that topline look not quite as great when it is moving or standing still, but the whole look of soundness and correct structure would proabaly satisfy me as a Judge and breeder, since I know how many parts are being put to work there and also know how many have to be fixed when changes are made. A level topline is great to have and strive for, even though the Dachshund Standard calls for the topline being “the straightest possible line between the withers and the slightly arched croup”.  Striving to get better offspring is always what I am after in each new breeding, and, as an exhibitor, mentor, and AKC Judge, it is something you can discuss and find out what most people think is correct and doable. Remember, toplines can also be fixed in one generation as you work on making better Dachshunds for your Kennel. Also, as someone who did show a lot through the ’70s to the present, many Dachshunds had perfect toplines and showed brilliantly, but so many seemed to go down in the back during their show career. Back then, in the early ’80s, I decided, as a breeder and later an AKC Judge, who also likes an almost perfect topline, that I could be a little forgiving if the topline has some give to it. I know that the mobility of the dog is always what should come first to me, as I like my dogs to not have that disc disease hanging over them, and having a great topline should be there, but, to my way of thinking, should not be the whole purpose in breeding Dachshunds. It is one aspect of being perfect, but does not, in my opinion, make that perfectly straight topline the only thing to consider when judging dogs. There are many things to think about and a lot to put importance on to get the best possible, healthy, and sound Dachshund to be your entry in the Show Ring. These are things that I do consider in putting the Dachshunds that carry my Kennel name into competition and, I hope, everyone has that same outlook as we all need to breed sound, typy, healthy Dachshunds to represent us. And, again my opinion, we all need them to remain healthy and sound while we are showing them and after we are done, and they are retired into the whelping pens. All these decisions are there for us to make while breeding and discovering the most important parts that the great Dadchshunds HAVE to have. As we go along, these aspects should become more plain as you keep adding all features, both big and small, to the Dachshunds that you are producing. It is not a small task, and it does take so much preparation that you should always be aware of the long journey you are going to be on. Showing Dachshunds is NEVER easy.

When you get past the neckset, you want to see a longer Dachhund and one with a deep chest that goes smoothly back to the very correct rear croup and, as it goes back from the front and shoulders, it does get a little wider and does have the rear legs providing a strong base for ending it with strong driving motion. The dog, as noted in the Standard, is fit tightly together in the front and gets a little wider as it heads for the rear and again this is something that you can discuss with mentors (and by mentors, I do not mean newcomers but breeders who have been succssful at breeding great Dachshunds for a long while and truly understand the difference in thickness as the body moves to the rear, especially when you think about the great rear with its short little hocks who is pushing the Dachshind around the Show Ring). That movement which, again, is all-important really expains itself when yo nad feel and touch the differences. That is something that I personally can talk all day about and explain the differences in a great Dachshunds look and feel as well as some not-so-great things that you have to avoid.

The rear itself is on that topline and we should want a strong powerful rear with the pelvis, the thigh, the second thigh and a rear pastern in right angles down to the ground. Many People read this and it does not make an impession on them, but it is something I have always believed in. Looking at Dachshunds standing and looking around certainly shows how their rear legs set themselves up. The rear is strongly (and smoothly) muscled and, when given a chance, that power will always be there. The rear legs will be almost square and really makes that body move. The tail  should be long and strong and also a continuation of the spine and should not be kinked, knotted and not carried too gaily.

After that, I move up and check the bite and the head again. Then I send the Dachshund down and back and around the ring by himself. Many people do not understand what I am looking for when I move them but I want to see how good they are n the down and back and see how they use their legs soundly. When I watch the Dachshund move around the ring, I want them to cover ground smoothly and easily and gave a nice forward reach fom the front and a great push-off from the rear, The head should be up looking around and, as the speed starts coming through, I like to see the dog be happy in doing its job. I want a great front and rear movement to watch from the side.  I really get a lot of help from that side movement as a Judge sees sho many objects working in harmony from the side.

Then I look at the whole field again and start moving many of them, separately and together, to come up with the top ones in their classes. It takes awhile, but I always want each dog to have an equal chance. It is a long day, but it is something I like to do. Looking at them individually lets me find any things I may have missed earlier.

When you are showing here, think about what your mentors said in teaching you and hope that you are maintaining their (and  now your) strategy to produce the very best. It has to be fun for all the work we do for this hobby to be enjoyable.Trust me, showing my Dachshunds and having them look their best was always fulfilling for me. I hope that the people who mentored me and taught me about the Breed were also happpy with the results they passed along and I also hope the exhibitors and handlers know enough to appreciate how much information that they shared with me, too. I would hate to think I arrived here with no help from others, because there are just so many things to think about. When I approach the Dachshund on the table, my eye is drawn to its neckset at the withers and how so many things are connected to it and how well it is put together. That is my focus although I, of couse, look at so many things on the body when posed.

When you are going over and showing your Dachshunds, I also hope that will be satisfactory for you as well. When you are showing the Dachshunds, they should be thinking it is fun as well. If they are on lead gaiting or stacked or on the table, they should think it is all their idea and the attention from everyone should always be what they are after, but, remember, they might THINK they are in charge, but we all should know you are leading the way. It is a great feeling showing dogs you love at these bigger shows and having the Dachshund’s enjoy it should be most of the fun. Having enough knowledge is what we all should be striving for all the time we are breeding, showing and judging.

It takes a lot of mentoring by several breeders who are trying to give you everything you need to have and/or change in your Dachshunds. You have to listen to most of them and especially the ones who have been extremely successful with dogs who are always winning at the bigger shows as, even though you may not believe it, their dogs do possess all the things that great Dachshunds have and that, IMO, is what we all should be after. When I was showing, I had bred for about ten years before I ever bred to one of my Dachshunds because I always considered that all these Top Producers out there should be used first to keep their qualities going on. I was extremely pleased to have the choices of using Georgi, Midas, Java, and Gerolf, as they were great ones in my eyes, and I was always more than satisfied whenever I used them. Then, I came up with PJ and truly did love him so much, but would not use him on my Dachshunds, even though I always loved his type, structure, and temperament. I just thought there were better ones for me to use, BUT that did not account for all the people I was breeding with who did want to use him and, after a lot of stalking of PJ by Wally and Mary, Martha Grantham and John Breading, I gave in and I even bred a pet bitch to him ( a “pet” bitch who was a litter sister to Orchid and Onyx). When I saw what PJ produced, I finally gave in, which made me later use Sting, Yorktown, Astaire, and all those others that I bred.  From then on, I was a real breeder in my eyes, and what I produced in males showed me that the choices I made early let me have the choices that I have today. By telling this, I am not bragging on my dogs, I am telling you to listen to people around you and, when you have seen their success and know they realize what they have now,  they also are mentors who like the same type, movement, and health that you insist on. Always work with newer breeders and exhibitors and the older mentors that you started with because you should all be striving for that same conformation, style, movemet and health. Sharing that goal with other breeders makes it even better.

Again, this is all about what you readers want, and probably wondering if I am trying to do too much. I want to write (or NOT write!!) about the qualities that you all want to read. I can also take some time off if that is what you guys prefer. It is all up to the readers, and I do not want to go into deeper things if no one is going to read about what I write. I can either keep writing or stop, as it is up to you guys what I do. (BTW, I know many people want me to stop writing about Dachshunds, but I do not listen to that opinion anyway).

Pubished on May 7, 2025

writteh by Dan Harrison