I walk by a home with a small statue of a dachshund in the place for a flower bed beside the front porch. The residents either had a beloved dachshund that passed away and this is the commemorative statue, still has one or more beloved dachshunds and the statue proclaims their love of the animal to all passersby or they really can’t manage a real live dachshund right now and are satisfied with an outside statue. Whatever the reason, dachshunds are adorable creatures who seem perpetually peppy. Every year — except during the pandemic — the town I live in has an Oktoberfest celebration. It involves wiener schnitzel, lederhosen, polkas, biergartens, dachshund races and much more. The races are a hoot since many of the dogs come dressed in German costumes, along with their owners. Whether you have a dachshund in your home or a statue of one outside your door, let’s find out more about them.
According to Wikipdia, the dachshund — also known as the wiener dog, badger dog or sausage dog — is a short-legged, long-bodied, hound-type dog breed. They may be smooth, wire or long-haired. The standard sized dachshund was developed to scent, chase and flush out badgers and other burrow-dwelling animals, while the miniature dachshund was bred to hunt small animals such as rabbits and mice. In the Western United States, they have also been used to track wounded deer and hunt prairie dogs. Dachshunds also participate in conformation shows, field trials and many other events organized through purebred organizations such as the American Kennel Club. According to the AKC, the dachshund was ranked 12th in popularity among dog breeds in the United States in 2018.
History The dachshund is a creation of German breeders and includes elements of German, French and English hounds and terriers. Dachshunds have been kept by royal courts all over Europe, including that of Queen Victoria, who was particularly enamored of the breed.
The first verifiable references to the dachshund — originally named the "Dachs Kriecher" ("badger crawler") or "Dachs Krieger" ("badger warrior") — came from books written in the early 18th century. Before that, there exist references to "badger dogs" and "hole dogs," but these likely refer to purposes rather than to specific breeds. The original German dachshunds were larger than the modern full-size variety — weighing between 31 and 40 pounds — and originally came in straight-legged and crook-legged varieties; the modern dachshund is descended from the latter. Though the breed is famous for its use in exterminating badgers and badger-baiting, dachshunds were also commonly used for rabbit and fox hunting, for locating wounded deer and in packs were known to hunt game as large as wild boar and as fierce as the wolverine. Badger-baiting is a form of blood sport in which badgers are baited with dogs. A baiting session typically results in the death of the badger, and possibly serious injuries to the dogs.
There are huge differences of opinion as to when dachshunds were specifically bred for their purpose of badger hunting, as the American Kennel Club states the dachshund was bred in the 15th century, while the Dachshund Club of America states that foresters bred the dogs in the 18th or 19th century.
Double-dapple dachshunds — which are prone to eye disease, blindness or hearing problems — are generally believed to have been introduced to the United States between 1879 and 1885.
The flap-down ears and famous curved tail of the dachshund have deliberately been bred into the dog. In the case of the ears, this is to keep grass seeds, dirt and other matter from entering the ear canal. The curved tail is dual-purposed: to be seen more easily in long grass and in the case of burrowing dachshunds, to help haul the dog out if it becomes stuck in a burrow. The smooth-haired dachshund, the oldest style, may be a cross between the German shorthaired pointer, a pinscher and a Bracke — a type of bloodhound — or to have been produced by crossing a short Bruno Jura Hound with a pinscher. Others believe it was a cross from a miniature French pointer and a pinscher; others claim that it was developed from the St. Hubert Hound, also a bloodhound, in the 18th century, and still others believe that they were descended from Basset hounds, based upon their scent abilities and general appearance. Dachshunds can track a scent that is more than a week old. The exact origins of the dachshund are therefore unknown. According to William Loeffler, from “The American Book of the Dog (1891),” in the chapter on dachshunds: "The origin of the dachshund is in doubt, our best authorities disagreeing as to the beginning of the breed." What can be agreed on, however, is that the smooth dachshund gave rise to both the long-haired and the wire-haired varieties.
There are two theories about how the standard long-haired dachshund came about. One theory is that smooth dachshunds would occasionally produce puppies which had slightly longer hair than their parents. By selectively breeding these animals, breeders eventually produced a dog which consistently produced long-haired offspring, and the long-haired dachshund was born. Another theory is that the standard long-haired dachshund was developed by breeding smooth dachshunds with various land and water spaniels. The long-haired dachshund may be a cross among any of the small dog breeds in the spaniel group — including the German stoeberhund — and the smooth dachshund.
The wire-haired dachshund, the last to develop, was bred in the late 19th century. There is a possibility the wire-haired dachshund was a cross between the smooth dachshund and various hard-coated terriers and wire-haired pinschers, such as the schnauzer, Dandie Dinmont terrier, German wirehaired pointer or perhaps the Scottish terrier.
Classification While classified in the hound group or scent hound group in the United States and Great Britain, the breed has its own group in the countries which belong to the Fédération Cynologique Internationale or World Canine Federation. Many dachshunds — especially the wire-haired subtype — may exhibit behavior and appearance that are similar to that of the terrier group of dogs. An argument can be made for the scent or hound group classification because the breed was developed to use scent to trail and hunt animals, and probably descended from the Saint Hubert Hound like many modern scent hound breeds such as bloodhounds and Basset hounds; but with the persistent personality and love for digging that probably developed from the terrier, it can also be argued that they could belong in the terrier or "earth dog" group.
Coat and color There are three dachshund coat varieties: smooth coat or short hair, long-haired and wire-haired. Long-haired dachshunds have a silky coat and short featherings on legs and ears. Wire-haired dachshunds are the least common coat variety in the United States — although it is the most common in Germany — and the most recent coat to appear in breeding standards. Dachshunds have a wide variety of colors and patterns, the most common one being red. Their base coloration can be single-colored (either red or cream), tan pointed (black and tan, chocolate and tan, blue and tan or pale grey-yellow or parchment and tan) and in wire-haired dogs, a color referred to as wildboar. Patterns such as dapple or merle, sable, brindle and piebald also can occur on any of the base colors. Dachshunds in the same litter may be born in different coat colors depending on the genetic makeup of the parents.
The dominant color in the breed is red, followed by black and tan. Tan pointed dogs have tan or cream markings over the eyes, ears, paws and tail. The reds range from coppers to deep rusts, with or without somewhat common black hairs peppered along the back, face and ear edges, lending much character and an almost burnished appearance; this is referred to among breeders and enthusiasts as an "overlay" or "sabling." Sabling should not be confused with a more unusual coat color referred to as sable. At a distance, a sable dachshund looks somewhat like a black and tan dog. Upon closer examination, however, one can observe that along the top of the dog's body, each hair is actually banded with red at the base near the skin transitioning to mostly black along the length of the strand. An additional striking coat marking is the brindle pattern. "Brindle" refers to dark stripes over a solid background — usually red. If a dachshund is brindled on a dark coat and has tan points, it will have brindling on the tan points only. Even one single, lone stripe of brindle is a brindle. If a dachshund has one single spot of dapple, it is a dapple. The Dachshund Club of America and the American Kennel Club consider both the piebald pattern and the double dapple or double merle pattern to be nonstandard. However, both types continue to be shown and sometimes even win in the conformation ring.
Size Dachshunds come in three sizes: standard, miniature and kaninchen, German for "rabbit." Although the standard and miniature sizes are recognized almost universally, the rabbit size is not recognized by clubs in the United States and the United Kingdom. The rabbit size is recognized by the Fédération Cynologique Internationale or World Canine Federation, which contain kennel clubs from 83 countries all over the world. An increasingly common size for family pets falls between the miniature and the standard size; these are frequently referred to as "tweenies," which is not an official classification. A full-grown standard dachshund averages 16-32 pounds, while the miniature variety normally weighs less than 12 pounds. The kaninchen weighs 8-11 pounds. According to kennel club standards, the miniature — and kaninchen, where recognized — differs from the full-size only by size and weight, thus offspring from miniature parents must never weigh more than the miniature standard to be considered a miniature as well. While many kennel club size divisions use weight for classification, such as the American Kennel Club, other kennel club standards determine the difference between the miniature and standard by chest circumference; some kennel clubs, such as in Germany, even measure chest circumference in addition to height and weight.
H. L. Mencken said that "A dachshund is a half-dog high and a dog-and-a-half long," although they have been referred to as "two dogs long". This characteristic has led them to be quite a recognizable breed, and they are featured in many jokes and cartoons, particularly “The Far Side” by Gary Larson.
Temperament Dachshunds are playful, but as hunting dogs can be quite stubborn, and are known for their propensity for chasing small animals, birds and tennis balls with great determination and ferocity. Dachshunds are often stubborn, making them a challenge to train. Being the owner of dachshunds, to me a book on dog discipline becomes a volume of inspired humor. Every sentence is a riot. Some day, if I ever get a chance, I shall write a book, or warning, on the character and temperament of the dachshund and why he can't be trained and shouldn't be. I would rather train a striped zebra to balance an Indian club than induce a dachshund to heed my slightest command. When I address Fred I never have to raise either my voice or my hopes. He even disobeys me when I instruct him in something he wants to do. —E.B. White Dachshunds can be aggressive to strangers and other dogs. Despite this, they are rated in the intelligence of dogs as an average working dog with a persistent ability to follow trained commands 50% of the time or more. They rank 49th in Stanley Coren’s “Intelligence of Dogs,” being of average working and obedience intelligence. They can have a loud bark. Some bark quite a lot and may need training to stop, while others will not bark much at all. Dachshunds are known for their devotion and loyalty to their owners, though they can be standoffish toward strangers. If left alone too frequently, some dachshunds are prone to separation anxiety and may chew objects in the house to relieve stress. Dachshunds can be difficult to housebreak, and patience and consistency are often needed in this endeavor. According to the American Kennel Club's breed standards, "the dachshund is clever, lively and courageous to the point of rashness, persevering in above and below ground work, with all the senses well-developed. Any display of shyness is a serious fault." Their temperament and body language give the impression that they do not know or care about their relatively small size. Like many small hunting dogs, they will challenge a larger dog. Indulged dachshunds may become snappy or extremely obstinate.
Many dachshunds do not like unfamiliar people, and many will growl or bark at them. Although the dachshund is generally an energetic dog, some are sedate. This dog's behavior is such that it is not the dog for everyone. A bored, untrained dachshund will become destructive. If raised improperly and not socialized at a young age, dachshunds can become aggressive or fearful. They require a caring, loving owner who understands their need for entertainment and exercise. Dachshunds may not be the best pets for small children. Like any dog, dachshunds need a proper introduction at a young age. Well-trained dachshunds and well-behaved children usually get along fine. Otherwise, they may be aggressive and bite an unfamiliar child, especially one that moves quickly around them or teases them. However, many dachshunds are very tolerant and loyal to children within their family, but these children should be mindful of the vulnerability of the breed's back. A 2008 University of Pennsylvania study of 6,000 dog owners who were interviewed indicated that dogs of smaller breeds were more likely to be "genetically predisposed toward aggressive behavior." Dachshunds were rated the most aggressive, with 20% having bitten strangers, as well as high rates of attacks on other dogs and their owners. The study noted that attacks by small dogs were unlikely to cause serious injuries and because of this were probably under-reported.
Sports Some people train and enter their dachshunds to compete in dachshund races, such as the Wiener Nationals. Several races across the United States routinely draw several thousand attendees, including races in Germantown, Tennessee; Bossier City, Louisiana; Buda, Texas; avis California; Phoenix, Arizona; Los Alamitos, California; Findlay, Ohio; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; OklahomaCity, Oklahoma; Kansas City, Kansas; Palo Alto, California; and Shakopee, Minnesota. There is also an annual dachshund run in Kennywood, located in Pittsburgh, Pennylvania, called the Wiener 100, in Huntington, West Virginia called the Dachshund Dash and in Lovettsville, Virginia as part of the town's annual Oktoberfest celebration. Despite the popularity of these events, the Dachshund Club of America opposes "wiener racing," as many greyhound tracks use the events to draw large crowds to their facilities. The DCA is also worried about potential injuries to dogs, due to their predisposition to back injuries. Another favorite sport is earthdog trials, in which dachshunds enter tunnels with dead ends and obstacles attempting to locate either an artificial bait or live but caged — and thus protected — rats.
Notable dogs and owners
John F. Kennedy bought a dachshund puppy while touring Europe in 1937 for his then-girlfriend Olivia. The puppy, named Dunker, never left Germany after Kennedy started to get allergic reactions.
Grover Cleveland, the 22nd and 24th President, had a dachshund in the White House.
William Randolph Hearst was an avid lover of dachshunds. When his own dachshund Helena died, he eulogized her in his "In The News" column.
Lump, the pet of Pablo Picasso, was thought to have inspired some of his artwork. “Picasso & Lump: A Dachshund’s Odyssey” tells the story of Picasso and Lump.
Andy Warhol had a pair of dachshunds, Archie and Amos, whom he depicted in his paintings and mentioned frequently in his diaries.
Carole Lombard and Clark Gable had a dachshund named Commissioner.
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