Analysis of Hair Coat of Dachshund of Longhaired, Shorthaired, and Wirehaired Variety

Abstract

The aim of the study was to analyse the hair coat of the three dachshund varieties, i.e. shorthaired, longhaired, and wirehaired, with respect to its histological structure and content of selected chemical elements. The study was conducted on female dachshunds originating from individual breeders. The study included the assessment of the contribution of particular hair fractions, measurements of hair thickness and length, and also the analysis of histological structure of particular hair fractions. A great differentiation in the parameters and structure of particular kinds of hair from the examined dogs was demonstrated. Thickness and length of hair of particular varieties showed statistically significant differentiation, as well as percentage contribution of particular hair fractions. As regard the content of chemical elements in particular hair fractions and dachshund variety, it appeared that the elements forming hair keratin were the most abundant. The findings presented in the paper may be a useful tool for the recognition of dachshund varieties based on their hair coat structure. They may be also a valuable contribution to the expanding breed standards, which lack histological hair description.

Preliminary study of guard hair morphology in four dog breeds

“…A study carried out on Dachshunds showed that the average guard hair thickness was 64.1 μm, whereas our study findings were somewhat different (mean 47.93 μm ± 18.17 μm) . Scale patterns also were different in relation to the percentage of irregular scales; this may be due to differences in the photographic technique used to examine the hair shafts.…”

“…Scale patterns also were different in relation to the percentage of irregular scales; this may be due to differences in the photographic technique used to examine the hair shafts. The same study reported the medulla cross‐sectional shape being flattened/elongated and oblong, rather than circular or oval as in our study . Our findings raise the suggestion that the photographic findings were different because they were prepared with damaged hair.…”

“…We also saw some damage on examination of cross‐sections of hair shafts. We propose that it is better to take photographs of unwashed and undried hair, due to the possibility of changes in cross‐sectional shape of the medulla and in the appearance of the hair shaft surface, following washing and or combing …”

A combined morphological and molecular approach for hair identification to comply with the European ban on dog and cat fur trade

“…Microscopic morphological identification of mammalian hairs poses several challenges due to marked somatic variation that occurs within species, breeds, individuals and among body regions in the same animal (Moore, 1988; Van den Broeck, Mortier & Simoens, 2000; Sahajpal et al, 2008; Davis, Brummer & Shivik, 2010; Czyz et al, 2012; Tridico et al, 2014). Identification at the species or even genus level requires extensive training and experience of the examiner (Ciucci & Reggioni, 2003; Tridico et al, 2014), application of multiple analytical methods (Teerink, 1991; Chernova, 2001; Chernova, 2003; Debelica & Thies, 2009) and a vouchered collection of reference specimens for comparison with questioned samples.…”

A Study of Selected Physicomechanical and Histological Parameters of Hair Originating from Three Primate Species

“…sensory hairs related to touch, or transformed hairs, such as spines formed nearly entirely of the medulla, that have a protective function. Due to the structure being characteristic for each species, the hairs may be used in animal identification [Dziurdzik, 1973;Bruner and Coman, 1974;Czyż et al, 2012], based on macroscopic and microscopic examinations. Macroscopic examination of the hair provides morphological features of hair structure such as colour, gloss, length, elongation or flexibility, while microscopic analyses involve examinations using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) allowing the description of particular hair layers, e.g.…”