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A hunting or companion dog, the Dachshund is a very idiosyncratic
breed, as the only one to have an FCI group all to itself: group 4. The Dachshund is included in the Hound group of the UK
Kennel Club and the American Kennel Club.
This small dog with a particular morphology has become very popular
since the 1970s. In its German homeland the breed’s selection has been determined by a very strict respect for the rules
of hunting. The Dachshund (also known as Teckel and Dackel in German) has been around since the Middle Ages. Ever since the
Bracken, dogs have been bred especially to hunt underground. Of these bassets, the dachshund distinguished itself as one of
the most versatile hunting breeds.
On the ground it achieves remarkable results, using its bark effectively, to track game. The
oldest breed club is the Deutscher Dachshund Klub, founded in 1888.
It all started with the shorthair
As talented in driving game as driving hares and badgers out of their lairs, the Dachshund is the eternal companion
for humans. Its origins and history are that of the shorthaired Dachshund up to the eighteenth century. Only then did the
other two strains – the longhair and the wirehair – see the light of day, in response to slightly
modified needs. Nowadays, the Dachshund is one of the most profuse breeds of dog, combining with great panache the qualities
of a companion, a hunter and a dog of the show rings.
In most countries, the Dachshund exists in two different sizes; Standard Dachshund and Miniature Dachshund
(Kaninchen Dachshund, a Dachshund bred to hunt rabbits is also recognized in some countries) and three coat varieties (shorthaired,
wirehaired and longhaired). The diversity of the breed covers six varieties, which means the Dachshund can meet a huge number
of different needs. From the little Kaninchen to the standard – the template of the breed – every amateur will
find a suitable companion.
While knowledge of the Dachshund goes back to antiquity, it was only
really in the fourteenth century that the Dachshund started to win the world’s heart. It was first recorded in the studbook
of Britain’s venerable Kennel Club in 1873. The fame of the Dachshund in Britain even spread to the aristocracy.
Queen Victoria herself
was most amused by the breed. In Germany, it was midway through the fifteenth century before enthusiasts began to get
involved in the breed’s selection. Forest rangers played a decisive role in introducing the breed’s selection
criteria. One of their first works is the publication of a standard (1879), ahead of the founding of the Deutscher Dachshund
Klub.
In the early days of German dog fancying, the standard was mostly in the majority, especially the shorthaired
variety, which was considered by the experts to be the pure-bred Dachshund. In the 1920’s the wirehaired variety
started to work its charm on amateurs, but ultimately it was the longhaired variety that won the popularity contest, and it
remained at the favorite for decades. Nowadays, the wirehaired Dachshund is regaining its predominance in Europe and even
elsewhere.
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