The sausage dog has always been an especially beloved breed of canine. Take Picasso and the aptly named Lump, Warhol’s beloved Archie, and David Hockney’s prolific paintings of Stanley and Boodgie. “These two dear little creatures are my friends,” Hockney writes in the opening of his book on the topic, Dog Days. “They are intelligent, loving, comical, and often bored.”
Dachshunds might be bored of us, but we humans will never tire of them, as evidenced by the sudden proliferation of a new variety about London: the chocolate dapple dachshund. With characteristically long bodies, floppy ears, and stout little legs, these pups swagger down the pavement with a presence that far outshines their size. Look out for a miniature dachshund with a dappled brown coat, and you’ve found him: the city’s “It” dog, as coveted as a prime table on a Saturday night at 5 Hertford Street.
Stylist Sarah Corbett-Winder may have kick-started the trend by posting pictures of her puppy, Margaret, on her Instagram page. A snappy dresser with a self-confessed love for the color brown, the chocolate dapple made an irresistible choice. “I just thought, If I were to be a dog, I would be like that,” she says. “She goes with everything I wear.”
Margaret certainly takes a good picture, an Insta equivalent of the historic dog portraits lined up at the Wallace Collection’s latest exhibition, “Portraits of Dogs.” Here we see the spaniels beloved by Queen Victoria and the sprawling corgi clan of the late Queen Elizabeth II. Each breed has its devoted followers, and so the dapples have found their niche with London’s smart style set, for whom a pooch must be pretty enough to shine on-screen.
“She goes with everything I wear.”
Beyond social media, their unique coloring means strangers regularly stop owners on the street. “Margaret has got different-colored eyes, one blue and one green,” says Corbett-Winder. “When people see that, they fall off their chair!” For her breeder, Jasmine Shelford, this has generated many referrals. “There are a lot of big names on my waiting list,” she says, coyly. Those wanting to purchase a puppy typically have to wait between six and nine months for a new litter.
Pedigree is important. Litters must be bred with just one dapple parent in order to avoid a double dapple. (Doubles can have health complications and aren’t recognized as a breed by the Kennel Club.) This highly regimented breeding means there aren’t very many chocolate dapples in circulation, which means that they are desired even more. Most are smooth or wire-haired, though Shelford’s hot tip is to go for the long-haired dapple, which promises to become, she claims, “the next big thing.”
Sociable, small, and not especially labor-intensive, they’re perfect dogs for London. Fashionable hounds congregate at Love My Human, a new restaurant for dogs and their owners on the Kings Road serving up organic eggs and puppuccinos. Dapple owner Freddie Russell stopped in recently with his dachshund, Otto, only to spot a friend who had brought his Labrador, Steve, for a birthday beef Wellington. Despite the difference in size, the pair became instant friends. With their jolly gait and dainty feet, it seems as though these little London hounds are barking well above their station.
Daisy Dawnay is a London-based writer
