Dogs 101 - DACHSHUND - Top Dog Facts About the DACHSHUND

The Dachshund is a low-legged breed of dogs, originally from Germany. Short-legged hunting dogs have been used for hundreds of years, but there are conflicting opinions on when the specific breeding of Dachshunds began. Woodcuts from 16th century Europe and written accounts from the 18th century show that dogs similar to the modern Dachshund, combining the best qualities of hounds and terriers, were used commonly to hunt small animals. The dogs would follow the animal to its quarry, enter the burrow and kill it. Different physical features were deliberately bred into different bloodlines, to suit the prey and hunting conditions. Among the different varieties of Dachshunds, the short-haired is the oldest, giving rise later to the long-haired and wire-haired ones. Apart from the standard size Dachshunds, miniature Dachshunds were also developed to hunt smaller prey, such as rabbits. Though cross-breeding was discouraged even in the early stages of the breed’s development, by the time the different varieties reached refinement in the very early 1900s, cross breeding between varieties had been stopped almost completely.