| Dachshunds originated in Germany and are | | | | |
| known to have existed as far back as the 16th | | | | |
| century. Dachshunds were bred to hunt | | | | |
| badgers, wild boar and other types of small | | | | Smooth |
| animals. In German, Dachs means badger and | | | | |
| Hund means dog, showing the emphasis the | | | | Wire-haired |
| breeding pattern had on the hunting of the | | | | |
| badger.Dachshunds have a fearless kind of | | | | Long-haired |
| attitude about them handed down from their | | | | |
| ancestry of hunting. The original breed was | | | | The Dachshund is known for its huge variance |
| quite large compared to the CKC/AKC standards | | | | in patterns and colours of coat - an |
| of today, averaging 30 to 40 pounds. | | | | explanation of which could be a lengthy |
| Eventually this size was branched off into | | | | discussion on its own. The two most common |
| smaller categories for individual hunting of | | | | colours - popularized by modern day TV and |
| smaller prey such as a fox or | | | | books are the red(most popular) and the black |
| rabbit.Dachshunds are unique in that they | | | | and tan.Dachshunds have enjoyed immense |
| were used to actually hunt their prey under | | | | popularity over the years resulting in both |
| ground, following it into its hole - killing | | | | the good and bad that comes with this. The |
| and retrieving it for their reward.Today you | | | | only time that Dachshunds have fell into a |
| will find two sizes of Dachshunds, the | | | | lack of popularity was during World War I, |
| miniature and the standard. According to the | | | | when the Dachshund was used as a symbol of |
| Canadian Kennel Club and American Kennel Club | | | | the Germans in Allied propaganda |
| "miniatures are not a separate classification | | | | material.Overall the Dachshund is a clever |
| but compete in a class division for "11 | | | | courageous dog that has added to humanities |
| pounds and under at 12 months of age and | | | | existence in uncountable ways. They have a |
| older." Weight of the standard size is | | | | unique personality that leans towards fierce |
| usually between 16 and 32 pounds."There are | | | | loyalty and fearless friendliness, often |
| three varieties to the coat that a Dachshund | | | | leaving dogs of larger stature taken aback. |
| is bred with: | | | | |