Short-legged, long-bodied, low-to-ground;
sturdy, well muscled, neither clumsy nor slim, with audacious carriage and intelligent
expression, conformation pre-eminently fitted for following game into burrows. (From the
Standard)The Dachshund is popularly known as a dog of Germany
although its origins can be traced throughout Western Europe. Some theories hold that the
sculptured reliefs of the Tekel Dog on Egyptian tombs are either ancestors of this breed.
The very name of this loyal breed signifies its purpose
("dachs" meaning badger and "hund" meaning dog.) The Dachshund was
bred to hunt and draw the badger, a formidable twenty to forty-pound vicious adversary.
This dog possesses confidence and courage bordering on recklessness. He is well-suited
physically and temperamentally to pursue his prey above the ground and also under the
ground.
It wasn’t until 1888 that the German Dachshund Club or Deutscher
Teckelklub was founded to standardize the conformation of the breed. The aim was to
produce a dog whose beauty is commensurate with his intelligence.
The medium-sized, smooth-haired Dachshund, which has been the best known
in this country, offers the city dweller the optimum of companions. The breed offers a
range of three coat varieties; smooth, wirehaired, and longhaired. The breed also appears
in two sizes — the medium or standard, and the miniature.
