The Dachshund, also known as the or , is a German breed of short-legged, long-bodied dog of hound type. It may be smooth-haired, wire-haired, or long-haired, in various colors.
It was bred to scent, chase, and flush out badgers and other burrow-dwelling animals. The miniature Dachshund was bred to hunt small animals such as rabbits.
Etymology
The name Dachshund is of German origin, and means 'badger dog', from ('badger') and ('dog, hound'). The German word Dachshund is pronounced . The pronunciation varies in English: variations of the first and second syllables include , and , , . The first syllable may be pronounced as by some English speakers. Although is a German word, in modern Germany, the dogs are more commonly known by the short name . Working dogs are less commonly known as .
Because of their long, narrow build, they are often nicknamed the wiener dog in the US and Canada or the sausage dog in the British Isles and Australasia.
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.Der vollkommene teutsche Jäger (The Complete German Hunter), Johann Friedrich von Flemming, 1719–1724, Leipzig. Prior to 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 , 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.
There are huge differences of opinion as to when Dachshunds were specifically bred for their purpose of hunting badger, as the American Kennel Club states the Dachshund was bred in the 15th century, while the Dachshund Club of America states that the dogs were first described in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Dachshund was officially recognized as a breed by the American Kennel Club in 1885.
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.
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, the Dandie Dinmont Terrier, the German Wirehaired Pointer, or perhaps the Scottish Terrier.
Symbol of Germany
Dachshunds have traditionally been viewed as a symbol of Germany. Political cartoonists commonly used the image of the Dachshund to ridicule Germany. During World War I, the Dachshund's popularity in the United States plummeted because of this association. As a result, they were often called "liberty hounds", just as "liberty cabbage" became a term for sauerkraut mostly in North America. The stigma of the association was revived to a lesser extent during World War II, though it was comparatively short-lived. Kaiser Wilhelm II and German field marshal Erwin Rommel were known for keeping Dachshunds.
Owing to the association of the breed with Germany, as well as its particular popularity among dog keepers in Munich at the time, the Dachshund was chosen as the first official mascot for the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, with the name Waldi.
In the German sitcom Hausmeister Krause, the main protagonist, Dieter Krause, is portrayed as a typical German square and fuddy-duddy, who embodies many German stereotypes, and his obsession for Dachshunds is one of them. The important role of Dachshunds in the series even led to a new rise in popularity of Dachshunds in Germany.
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 (World Canine Federation). Many Dachshunds, especially the wire-haired subtype, may exhibit behavior and appearance similar to 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.
Characteristics
Appearance
A typical Dachshund is long-bodied and muscular with short stubby legs. Its front paws are disproportionately large, being paddle-shaped and particularly suitable for digging. Its skin is loose enough not to tear while tunneling in tight burrows to chase prey. Its snout is long. Its ears are disproportionately big and droopy.
Coat and color There are three Dachshund coat varieties: smooth coat (short hair), long-haired, and wire-haired. Longhaired Dachshunds have a silky coat and short featherings on legs and ears. Wire-haired Dachshunds are the most common coat variety in Germany and the most recent coat to appear in breeding standards. Short-haired Dachshunds have two types of coats, silky and smooth. Silky short hairs have a very shiny, glossy, and soft to the touch coat, while smooth short hairs have more of a coarse and prickly coat. Dachshunds have a wide variety of colors and patterns, the most common one being red. Their base coloration can be single-colored (either red, cream, or brown), tan pointed (black and tan, chocolate and tan, blue and tan, or isabella and tan), and in wire-haired dogs, a color referred to as wild boar. Patterns such as dapple (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 Dachshund Club of America (DCA) and the American Kennel Club (AKC) consider Double Dapple to be out of standard and a disqualifying color in the show ring. Piebald is now a recognized color in the Dachshund Club of America (DCA) breed standard.
Dogs that are double-dappled have the merle pattern of a dapple, but with distinct white patches that occur when the dapple gene expresses itself twice in the same area of the coat. The DCA excluded the wording "double-dapple" from the standard in 2007 and now strictly uses the wording "dapple" as the double dapple gene is commonly responsible for blindness and deafness.
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 (World Canine Federation) (FCI), 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 typically weighs , while the miniature variety normally weighs less than . The kaninchen weighs . 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.
Eye color Light-colored Dachshunds can sport amber, light brown, or green eyes; however, kennel club standards state that the darker the eye color, the better. Dapple and double dapple Dachshunds can have multi-coloured "wall" eyes with fully blue, partially blue or patched irises owing to the effect of the dapple gene on eye pigmentation expression. "Wall" eye is permissible according to DCA standards but undesirable by AKC standards.
Temperament Dachshunds can be stubborn and refuse commands, especially if chasing a small animal which they have a propensity for. As Dachshunds were originally used as badger hunters they have a keen sense for chasing smaller animals. Dachshunds are often stubborn, making them a challenge to train.
Dachshunds 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 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 can be standoffish toward strangers. A Japanese study found the Miniature Dachshund to have higher rates of refusing to move whilst on a walk, barking at outside noises whilst inside, barking at strangers visiting their home, separation anxiety, inappropriate elimination (faecal and urinary incontinence), hesitancy to approach unknown humans and canines, and aggression towards family members, highlighting the breed's stubbornness and aggression.