Breed Information

Golden Gate
Dachshund Club

About Dachshunds

If you have lived with Dachshunds before you

already

know

what a great breed this is.

Dachshunds, when

properly

bred and

raised are

outgoing, friendly, confident

and

intelligent dogs.

Dachshunds are bred in three varieties smooth (short

coated),

longhair (with hair not unlike a golden

retriever)

and wire haired

(have stiff wiry hair like a

terrier) and two

sizes standard (over 11

pounds) and

miniature (11 pounds

and under).

Properly socialized Dachshunds with sound

temperaments

typically will get along fine with

children who are kind and

appropriate with dogs.

The key is supervising the

interaction to

make sure

that both the child and the dog are

interacting

appropriately and to ensure that everyone is

being

safe. Keep in

mind that the miniature Dachshunds

are much smaller and can

be fragile around toddlers

and

small children.

Despite the smaller size of the miniature Dachshunds

they

are

NOT toy dogs (which are bred for

companionship).

Both the

miniature and standard

Dachshunds are working

dogs. They

have a desire

to work and use their natural

abilities and instincts.

Dachshunds were originally produced to "go to

ground"

which

means to follow the badgers into the

earth. They

were also used

to track and do scent

work. When you

consider the original

purpose of the

breed it makes total

sense how and why the

Dachshund is the way it is. Think

about how they

love to burrow

under your covers and

push

their way

into small spaces. It's

because they were

earthdogs.

Think about how they love to use

their noses

and

sniff things on the ground. It's because they are

scenthounds. This is all natural to Dachshunds. It is

hardwired

into their makeup to have these traits.

A Dachshunds working ability can be tested today

through

Dachshund Field Trials and Den or Earthdog

Trials.

In field trials, Dachshunds are tested on their ability to

track

rabbits (jack or cottontail). The dogs are

released in

braces

two dogs (who are drawn

randomly) on rabbit

scent

lines. The

Dachshunds are

judged on their ability to

the scent line,

how

committed they are to following it

and

working it and

how

accurate they are on where the

rabbit

went.

In earthdog or den trials, Dachshunds are released

into

man

made dens that contain caged rats at the

end. The

dogs must

get to the rats in a certain

amount of time, and

"work" the rats

(bark, claw,

scrape, scratch) for a certain

amount of time. The

dogs are separated from the rats by

the cage AND

bars and are

not permitted to get to and hurt

the rats.

Dachshunds with a correct temperament are clever,

lively

and

courageous to the point of rashness.

Dachshunds are

sometimes labeled "stubborn" and

"difficult to train", both

labels

that are not really fair if

you think about it.

Dachshunds are not

stubborn,

they are simply bred to do a

specific task (go to

ground or do scentwork) and when we

attempt to

interfere with

their work by asking for something

else,

it is sometimes difficult

to convince them that we are

right. I call this commitment and

dedication.

Dachshunds

tend to have a pretty strong work ethic

and asking them to

stop when they are working can

challenging. So, I will

admit that they can be

challenging at

times, but all that

means is that we

need to be better trainers and

creative in

convincing them that we are worth listening to.

Blaming the animal for our shortcomings as trainers

unfair and

unreasonable.

If we are going to choose a breed to spend our lives

with,

have to learn to embrace

all

the traits that

come along

with that

breed. People tend to love the

fact that

Dachshunds are

courageous and confident

and that they

have a great sense of

humor, but then

call them "difficult"

when the dog wants to

chase a

squirrel instead of coming

when called. Not fair, you

must accept and respect

all

the

things that make a

Dachshund a

Dachshund.

When trained with positive training techniques that

make

sense

to the dog they are not that difficult to

train. The key

is making it

worth the Dachshunds

while. Teach him you

are worth listening

to and you

will have a good relationship

with your dog.

Pros and Cons of living with Dachshunds

The Cons

1. Dachshunds are hunting dogs, if they are to live

with

small

animals (cats, rabbits, birds), it's best if

they are

raised with them.

2. Dachshunds are scent hounds and can easily get

sidetracked

by interesting smells. They must be

taught a

reliable recall if they

are to be permitted off

leash.

3. Dachshunds tend to enjoy food very much, owners

must

sure to properly ration food to keep dogs at

a healthy

weight.

4. Dachshunds can be prone to having back

problems.

Keeping

your dog at a healthy weight and

well conditioned

can help keep

him healthy.

The Pros

1. The Dachshund is a dog with a great sense of

humor.

They

are fun to live with and are sure to make

you smile

every day.

2. Dachshunds tend to be very adaptable. When well

cared

for

and trained, they are great companions to

the

whole

family.

3. With the two sizes and three coat types, there are

many

varieties to choose from.

4. There is a wide variety of activities that you can do

with

your

Dachshund (conformation, obedience, field

trials,

earthdog, rally,

agility....)

5. Because they tend to enjoy food, they are easily

motivated for

training with food.