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History of the Dachshund |
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The Dachshund, or "Badger dog" in German, is a facinating breed. These dogs are scent hounds that are very independent thinkers. The Dachshund is believed to originate from Egypt. It is believed that the magnificant queen of Egypt, Cleopatra kept a long, short-legged dog that very much resembles the dachshund of today. She introduced this hunting dog to the Romans. The talented, tenacious, and entertaining hounds showed up in great numbers Europe in the 16th Century. In Southern Germany, the small dogs were used to hunt badgers for their masters. By the 17th Century, began crossing the breed with other dogs to change the look of the dog. They used terrier and spaniel to change the coat texture and color of the animal. |
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During the 18th Century, the Dachshund began to show up in other countries. By that time, the two varieties of Doxie, smooth and wire haired, were now also either red or black and tan. In 1885, the American Kennel Club recognized the breed. The German Dachshund Club of America began sponcering trials for the little hounds. They were not only earth dogs, but were also known as "tree climbers." |
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This vibrant, loving dog soon became a favorite until World War I. While the dog was not affected terribly, its popularity lagged. During World War II, thousands dachshunds were killed because of its connection to Germany. Adalph Hitler owned a champion dachshund and competed with him in many dog shows. Unfortunately, it was not until 1993 that thhe dog returned to its popularity in this country. |
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The Dachshund has been the choice of K-9 companionship by some of history's famous people. Napoleon Bonaparte owned a teckel (dachshund) and even posed with it for artists. Another warrior, General George Patton also owned a dachshund named Ryan. A trend said to begin with William Shakespeare, poet, playwrite, and actor, many other stage and big screne stars have owned dachshunds. Stars like Marlon Brando, Clark Gable, Errol Flynn, Carol Lumbard, Joan Crawford, and even the tough and rugged "Duke" himself- John Wayne owned dachshunds. Elizabeth Taylor acuired an entire litter of the little hounds and gifted her husband Richard Burton with them after they finished filming Hollywood's blockbuster version of Cleopatra. Another little known fact is that the original dog in The Wizard of Oz was not the Norwich Terrier, Toto. It was a little doxie named Otto. Unfortunately, because of the war, the film exects thought it best not to use the dachshund because they feared Americans would not accept the dog. |
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Dachshunds have showed up everywhere since Otto's disappointment. Not only were they the mischievious co-star for the Disney movie The Ugly Dachshund, the co-star of MGM's animated movie All Dogs Go to Heaven was a dachshund called Ithy, and the little pooch that dug the hole for Tramp in Lady and the Tramp was also a dachshund. Beside movies, dachshunds have appeared in many commericals advertizing a cellular telephones and companies such as the comerical where the man calls up and orders oxen and mistakenly receives 200 dachshund. Most recently, Woolite has their "Flirty Shirt" advertizement featurinng a woman and her little red dachshund. |
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