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| Westphalian Dachsbracke Westphälische Dachsbracke | |||||||||||||
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| Other names | Westphalian Hound | ||||||||||||
| Origin | Germany | ||||||||||||
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| Dog (domestic dog) | |||||||||||||
TheWestphalian Dachsbracke is a small, short-leggedscenthound, abreed ofdog originating inWestphalia, a region ofGermany. The Westphalian Dachsbracke was used in Sweden to develop theDrever.
The Westphalian Dachsbracke (Westfälische Dachsbracke,German forBadger hound) is a small, short-legged version of theDeutsche Bracke, and very similar in size and appearance to theDrever (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.)[1]
The Westphalian Dachsbracke stands about 30 to 38 cm (12 to 15 in) high at thewithers. It has medium-long drooped ears, short legs, and a long tail which is set high and carried up. Thecoat 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 theDachshund's chest, and the legs are longer.[2]
The Westphalian Dachsbracke was first described as a variety of German Hound in 1886. It was recognized by theVerband für das Deutsche Hundewesen (German Kennel Club) in 1935 with its current name, and by theFédération Cynologique Internationale as breed number 100 in Group 6 (scenthounds), Section 1.3 (small hounds).[3] The Westphalian Dachsbracke is the ancestor breed of the Swedish scenthound, the Drever. Of the major kennel clubs in the English-speaking world, only theUnited Kennel Club in the US recognises the Westphalian Dachsbracke, in itsscenthound 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.
Dachs is German forbadger, a term used for hunting dogs with short legs. The nameDachsbracke may reflect that the Dachsbracke dogs were bred down in size bycrossbreeding long-legged Bracken with theDachshund.[4] Historically, the term Bracke was used in German to mean the scenthounds.Brack is an oldLow German word for acoastal marsh periodically inundated by storm surges with salt water (related to the English wordbrackish).[5] 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 calledBrackade. The Dachsbracke are used for hunting today mainly in Scandinavia and in alpine regions.
TheDeutsche Bracke (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. TheAlpenländische Dachsbracke (Alpine Dachsbracke, breed number 254) is from Tyrol, inAustria. The Drever, breed number 130, is also called theSwedish Dachsbracke.
