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