The Westphalian Dachsbracke is a small, short-legged scenthound, a

breed A breed is a specific group of domestic animals having homogeneous appearance (phenotype), homogeneous behavior, and/or other characteristics that distinguish it from other organisms of the same species. In literature, there exist several slig ...

of dog originating in Westphalia, a region of Germany. The Westphalian Dachsbracke was used in Sweden to develop the

Drever The Drever is a Dog breed, breed of dog, a short-legged scenthound from Sweden used for hunting deer and other game. The Drever is descended from the Westphalian Dachsbracke, a type of German hound called ''Bracke''. The breed name Drever was c ...

Appearance

The Westphalian Dachsbracke (''Westfälische Dachsbracke'', German for ''Badger hound'') is a small, short-legged version of the

Deutsche Bracke The German Hound (''Deutsche Bracke'') is a breed of dog originating in Westphalia, a region of Germany. The German Hound is of the scenthound type, used for hunting both large and small game. Appearance The German Hound is a small hound ...

, and very similar in size and appearance to the

(FCI No. 130), but 2 cm shorter (the Drever was first registered in Sweden in 1910 as the Westfälische Dachsbracke; the name was changed in 1947.) The Westphalian Dachsbracke stands about high at the withers. It has medium-long drooped ears, short legs, and a long tail which is set high and carried up. The

coat A coat typically is an outer garment for the upper body as worn by either gender for warmth or fashion. Coats typically have long sleeves and are open down the front and closing by means of buttons, zippers, hook-and-loop fasteners, toggles, a ...

has short fur, usually tricolor (red to yellow with a black saddle), with white markings called Bracken marks - a white muzzle, chest, legs, collar, and tip of the tail, and a blaze on the head. The chest is more narrow than the

Dachshund The dachshund ( or ; German: "badger dog"), also known as the wiener dog, badger dog, and sausage dog, is a short-legged, long-bodied, hound-type dog breed. The dog may be smooth-haired, wire-haired, or long-haired, and comes in a variety of c ...

's chest, and the legs are longer.

History

The Westphalian Dachsbracke was first described as a variety of German Hound in 1886. It was recognized by the '' Verband für das Deutsche Hundewesen'' (German Kennel Club) in 1935 with its current name, and by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale as breed number 100 in Group 6 (scenthounds), Section 1.3 (small hounds). The Westphalian Dachsbracke is the ancestor breed of the Swedish scenthound, the Drever. Of the major kennel clubs in the English-speaking world, only the United Kennel Club in the US recognises the Westphalian Dachsbracke, in its scenthound group. The Westphalian Dachsbracke also may be recognised by any of the many minor registries, rare breed groups, hunting clubs, and internet dog registry businesses under its original name or variations on the name. Hunting use of the Westphalian Dachsbracke has been mostly supplanted by the Drever, and the Westphalian Dachsbracke is seldom seen even in its home country; purchasers of dogs represented as Westphalian Dachsbracke should research the dog's background, especially if it is registered with one of the minor clubs that require little to no documentation before accepting a dog or litter for registration.

Names and etymology

''Dachs'' is German for badger, a term used for hunting dogs with short legs. The name ''Dachsbracke'' may reflect that the Dachsbracke dogs were bred down in size by crossbreeding long-legged Bracken with the

.History, Deutscher Bracken Club (in German)
/ref> Historically, the term Bracke was used in German to mean the scenthounds. ''Brack'' is an old

Low German : : : : : (70,000) (30,000) (8,000) , familycolor = Indo-European , fam2 = Germanic , fam3 = West Germanic , fam4 = North Sea Germanic , ancestor = Old Saxon , ancestor2 = Middle L ...

word for a coastal marsh periodically inundated by storm surges with salt water (related to the English word ''brackish'').Schwarze Brack (in German)
/ref> In Europe, scenthounds are usually separated into running hounds (free running packs, which either drive the game back to the hunter, or the hunter follows as they run, or the hunter waits until the dogs' cries communicate that game has been found and held, and then goes to that spot) or leash hounds (which follow the game or track wounded or dead game while being held on a leash by the hunter.) The Bracke are usually used as running hounds, in packs, to hunt rabbits or foxes in a type of hunt called ''Brackade''. The Dachsbracke are used for hunting today mainly in Scandinavia and in alpine regions. The

(German Bracke, also called the German Hound, Fédération Cynologique Internationale breed number 299) is another breed of Bracke, the first one registered as a separate breed, in 1900. The

Alpenländische Dachsbracke The Alpine Dachsbracke (german: Alpenländische Dachsbracke) is a small breed of dog of the scent hound type originating in Austria. The Alpine Dachsbracke was bred to track wounded deer as well as boar, hare, and fox. It is highly efficient at f ...

(Alpine Dachsbracke, breed number 254) is from Tyrol, in Austria. The Drever, breed number 130, is also called the ''Swedish Dachsbracke''.

References

{{German dogs FCI breeds Scent hounds Dog breeds originating in Germany

Appearance

History

Names and etymology

See also

References