Dachshund
The dachshund , also known as the wiener dog, or sausage dog, badger dog, doxen and doxie, is a short-legged, long-bodied, hound-type dog breed. The dog may be smooth-haired, wire-haired, or long-haired, with varied coloration.
The dachshund 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.
The dachshund was ranked 6th in registrations with the American Kennel Club in 2024. The AKC describes the breed's personality as bold, brave and vivacious. The breed can be aggressive to strangers and other dogs.
Etymology
The name dachshund is of German origin, and means 'badger dog', from and . 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 incorrectly pronounced as by some English speakers. Although Dachshund is a German word, in modern Germany, the dogs are more commonly known by the short name Dackel. Working dogs are less commonly known as Teckel.Because of their long, narrow build, they are often nicknamed wiener or sausage dog.
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. 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 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, long-haired, and wire-haired. Longhaired 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 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, tan pointed, and in wire-haired dogs, a color referred to as wild boar. Patterns such as dapple, 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 and the American Kennel Club 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 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. 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 , 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 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 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 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, hesitancy to approach unknown humans and canines, and aggression towards family members, highlighting the breed's stubbornness and aggression.
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.
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 behaviour". 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.
Health
The breed is prone to spinal problems, especially intervertebral disk disease, due in part to an extremely long spinal column and short rib cage. The risk of injury may be worsened by obesity, jumping, rough handling, or intense exercise, which place greater strain on the vertebrae. About 20–25% of dachshunds will develop IVDD. Dachshunds with a number of calcified intervertebral discs at a young age have a higher risk of developing disc disease in later life. In addition, studies have shown that development of calcified discs is highly heritable in the breed. An appropriate screening programme for IVDD has been identified by Finnish researchers and a UK IVDD screening programme has been developed for breeders with the aim to reduce prevalence of spinal problems.Treatment consists of combinations of crate confinement and courses of anti-inflammatory medications, or chronic pain medications, like tramadol. Serious cases may require surgery to remove the troublesome disk contents. A dog may need the aid of a cart to get around if paralysis occurs.
A minimally invasive procedure called "percutaneous laser disk ablation" has been developed at the Oklahoma State University Veterinary Hospital. As of 2003, the procedure was used in clinical trials only on dachshunds that had suffered previous back incidents.
In addition to back problems, the breed is prone to patellar luxation where the kneecap can become dislodged. Dachshunds may also be affected by osteogenesis imperfecta. The condition seems to be mainly limited to wire-haired Dachshunds, with 17% being carriers. A genetic test is available to allow breeders to avoid breeding carriers to carriers. In such pairings, each puppy will have a 25% chance of being affected.
In some double dapples, there are varying degrees of vision and hearing loss, including reduced or absent eyes. Not all double dapples have problems with their eyes and/or ears, which may include degrees of hearing loss, full deafness, malformed ears, congenital eye defects, reduced or absent eyes, partial or full blindness, or varying degrees of both vision and hearing problems; but heightened problems can occur owing to the genetic process in which two dapple genes cross, particularly in certain breeding lines. Dapple genes, which are dominant genes, are considered "dilution" genes, meaning whatever color the dog would have originally carried is lightened, or diluted, randomly; two dominant "dilution" genes can cancel each other out, or "cross", removing all color and producing a white recessive gene, essentially a white mutation. When occurring genetically within the eyes or ears, this white mutation can be detrimental to development, causing hearing or vision problems.
Other dachshund health problems include hereditary epilepsy, granulomatous meningoencephalitis, dental issues, Cushing's syndrome, thyroid and autoimmune problems, various allergies and atopies, and various eye conditions including cataracts, glaucoma, progressive retinal atrophy, corneal ulcers, nonulcerative corneal disease, sudden acquired retinal degeneration, and cherry eye. Dachshunds are also 2.5 times more likely than other breeds of dogs to develop patent ductus arteriosus, a congenital heart defect. Dilute color dogs are very susceptible to color dilution alopecia, a skin disorder that can result in hair loss and extreme sensitivity to sun. Since the occurrence and severity of these health problems is largely hereditary, breeders are working to eliminate these.
Factors influencing the litter size of puppies and the proportion of stillborn puppies per litter were analyzed in normally sized German dachshunds. The records analyzed contained data on 42,855 litters. It was found that as the inbreeding coefficient increased, litter size decreased and the percentage of stillborn puppies increased, thus indicating inbreeding depression. It was also found that young and older dams had smaller litter sizes and more stillborn puppies than middle-aged dams.
A study in Japan found the Miniature Dachshund to have lower rates of glaucoma than other breeds. With 2.4% of cases belonging to the breed but the breed making up 10.1% of visits to the veterinary hospital.
Dachshunds are predisposed to hypothyroidism.