Dachshund (Smooth)

Feature	Rating
Trainability:
Shedding:
Energy:
Watchdog:
Children:
Popularity:

What He's Like:

The Dachshund is a bold, tenacious, devoted, loving and protective dog. He has lots of energy and can be an intense pet to live with, but he is also playful, fun, happy and outgoing. He loves to be part of everything and needs lots of attention and scratches from you. He bonds very closely to his owner and will follow you around, and can sometimes be jealous if your attention isn't on him. He's fairly sociable, but reserved and suspicious with strangers. He makes an excellent and dependable watchdog because he's a quick, relentless barker--and because his bark sounds like it's coming from a much larger dog! He's high-energy and needs a regular though moderate amount of daily exercise and play-time inside the house, or outdoors. He is not an outdoor dog, though, and shouldn't be left alone in a yard. If bored, he will dig or chew. He will chase small animals and so needs to be kept on a leash for walks. He is generally fine with other dogs, especially other dachshunds, but he should be socialized with cats while still a puppy. He is not good with younger children; he is better with older children who understand that he can snap or bite when excited. He can sometimes be possessive of people and toys. He can be mischievous: he likes to chase balls without bringing them back! He shouldn't be allowed to jump too much when he plays, or down from high furniture. He needs patience to train because he can be stubborn, and is sometimes only interested in learning what suits him. He is hard to housebreak. He can gain weight quickly, so you need to be careful not to overfeed him. He's a medium-shedder, and might not be a good pet if you are concerned about dog-hair in the house.

Appearance

The standard Dachshund is 12 to 14 inches tall (to shoulders) and weighs 16 to 32 pounds. The miniature Dachshund is 8 to 9 inches tall (to shoulders) and weighs 9 to 11 pounds. He has a short, smooth, shiny coat. His coat color can be black, tan, cream, red, brown, or a combination of colors. Dachshunds come in two sizes: standard and miniature. They also come in three coat varieties: smooth, longhaired, and wirehaired.

Grooming

He only needs to be brushed occasionally. Or more often to control shedding if it bothers you.

History

The Dachshund was first bred in Germany in the 17th century as a fearless dog who would dig for and hunt badger--"dach" means "badger" in German and "hund" means dog. He was very popular in America in the early 1900s, but interest in the breed declined rapidly during World War I. Breeders began to revive the breed after the war, and interest in the Dachshund again soared. His AKC popularity was 7th out of 157 breeds in 2007.