I think I saw an Ace of Cakes on this once. They put the dog on a hot dog bun that cracked down the middle.
But anyway...I think the body was just an oval and the head was probably carved styrofoam covered in fondant. The rest was probably all fondant attachments.
I have this one, from http://www.dachshundfriendshipclub.com/ ...scroll down almost halfway on the right, if you can't see the copy I posted.
It looks as if it were made with a jelly roll for the body, 4 smaller ones for the legs, and a cupcake or egg shape for the head.
That may help you with some ideas.
I don't have any dachsunds in my photos, but I have some dog cakes in there that might give you an idea of where to start.
Deanna
Since it's free-standing, I'd made a support base for it (nails or screws/dowels (larger than what you use to support cake tiers), a board or foam board for the body) and build the cake on that. Use rice treats for the legs and cover in fondant, I'd also use some support/angled dowels for the neck/head and use treats for that as well if possible.
I have done a few "free standing" 3D cakes, and you will need to also screw the legs to the board so the weight of the head won't pull the dog over or have it topple during transport.
Standing cakes are challenging, but as Duff does, you need to have a good base support for it first, then it will be easier on you to make.
Is it possible to have a molded dog on top of the actual cake since there won't be a lot of servings with making it 3D? Just a thought, but it's what the client wants.
Make sure to post some pictures if you can once you get it done. Sounds like a fun/challenging cake to make.
I'm not sure what you mean by free-standing, but the one I did I used large soup cans for the body and it worked great. The Head was RKT, and the legs and tail were fondant.
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