Canine Spotlight: Dachshund

So... wiener dogs. That's right! The dog known as the dachshund is the famous puppy who greatly resembles the famous American hot-dog. Allow me to tell you more specifics about them before we move into the silly stuff.

I actually had a little trouble finding out size information for this dog. Every time I did a search for it, they threw its weight at me. I did end up figuring it out though. The dachshund is generally about 5 to 6 inches at the shoulders but can go as tall at 8 or 9 inches. They average from 16 to 32 pounds. Their bodies are generally long with short, stubby legs on both ends. If the name didn't give it away, they originate in Germany.

I bet you didn't know these dogs were bred for hunting. As silly as they look, they are perfect for invading animal burrows to root out rabbits and the like. Their primary purpose was to flush out badgers so that the hunters could get a good shot. That is actually where its name came from. Dachshund literally translates into "badger hound." I also found out that the original name for this dog was Dachs Krieger which means "badger warrior." It sounds a lot more epic that way, doesn't it?

Personality-wise, dachshunds love playing with humans and other dogs; however, they need a lot of training when it comes to hunting. They tend to get detracted by things far too easily. A random squirrel or passing bird will get them off track. Happily, they really do make wonderful pets. I discovered a vast array of celebrities have owned dachshunds. I have included my favorite photo of the bunch: David Hasselhoff.

Dachshunds are also raced. These dogs are a far cry from any greyhound; however, they are still very popular. I think people just like seeing the little sausages run around the field. Either way, these races are not supported by the Dachshund Club of America due to the large number of injuries that occur in them.

Dachshunds are all over fiction but rarely the main characters in anything. As I mentioned in the last spotlight, "The Ugly Dachshund" features a Great Dane which was raised by a dachshund mother. He spends a lot of time with his "family," and it is very cute.

In the 1942 Disney short cartoon "The Sleep Walker," a dachshund named Dinah was introduced, and she was remarkably adorable. Generally, she was placed as a love interest for Pluto. She was in a decent number of cartoons before disappearing for a very long time. She appeared again in 2001 in the short "Big Bad Wolf Daddy."

Dachshunds are usually shown in cartoons in various wiener gags. These gags often will show the dog as ridiculously long or resting inside of a hot-dog bun. Sometimes a hot-dog will come to life and take on the appearance of a dachshund. These gags have been going on in cartoons since before motion pictures even existed.

My ideal dachshund would waddle around and be detracted by everything. Kind and pleasant but ultimately a ditsy dunderhead. I think he would be super cute to be friends with.

Have a look at these adorable pictures of the famous dachshund. They are Hasselhoff approved!

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