The little poppet above is called Heidi and she belongs to a wonderful friend of mine, Sally Anne. Heidi is a ball of enthusiasm, she's loving and devoted, cheeky and clever, and there's absolutely nothing she wouldn't do for a tennis ball. I absolutely adore her and have dog-sat her many times. She's my inspiration for this blog on all things dachshund. 

These days Dachshunds are predominantly seen as companion pets but they were originally bred to hunt badgers - in the German language "dahks" means badger and "hund" means hound. They were scent hounds developed to chase and flush out burrow-dwelling animals such as rabbits and mice but most notably the honey badger. In the America they were even used to track down wounded deer.

So don't let their diminutive size fool you, this a determined and fearless little fella. Dress them up as much as you want, this dog has the heart of a hunter!

If you fancy a bit of Dachshund trivia, then look no further...

• Because they were developed as scent hounds, many believe doxies are the descendants of the Basset hound and the Bloodhound. They may be classified as "hounds" but their innate love of digging and their persistent personality arguably could be that of a terrier. 
• Doxies generally live a long life averaging between 12 and 15 years which is longer than most breeds. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, of the 23 oldest living dogs, three were dachshunds or mixes of. The oldest dachshund in the world prize goes to California's "Rocky" who  died a couple of months short of an impressive 26yrs! That puts him up there with some of the oldest dogs on record, ever.
• They are also some of the fattest! The world's most obese dog was called "Obie" and he came in at a startling 77lbs which is the weight of a small child. He did however go on a successful diet and lost a whopping 49lbs, hitting his target weight of 28lbs in 2013. 
• They may be super cute but intelligence is not their forte. Although reasonably bright, they will only follow a first command about 50% of the time and many says that house training this little fella requires a lot of perseverance. 
• Ever heard of the "Weiner Nationals"? Me neither but these doxie races are becoming increasingly popular in some states in America. These dogs may have super short legs but despite this, they can run surprisingly fast. The Dachshund Club of America is doing its best to oppose these events mainly over concerns these races cause long term back problems. Earth Dog Trials are another popular sport but these involve a more natural task of tunnelling to find artificial bait. 
• Doxies come in three different coats: the short-haired (smooth coated), the long-haired (think of silky strands of hair) and the wire-haired (think wild boar bristles). The latter incidentally is the most popular type in Germany and the least popular in the UK and the States. They also come in lots of different colours and patterns with the most common being red followed by black and tan. And dachshunds from the same litter may be born in different colours and patterns also depending on the parents genetic make-up.
• That curved tail and those flap-down ears have been bred for specific reasons. The curved tail came about so that hunters could see their dog's tail in high grass and it also needed to be long incase the dog got stuck in a tunnel and needed to be pulled out by its tail. As for flap-down ears, they prevent grass seeds or soil from getting into the ear canal whilst they are hunting.

• Artists in particular seem to be drawn to this little darling of a dog. Take David Hockney's two dachshunds, "Stanley" and "Boodgie", they were featured in 45 of his oil paintings, not to mention in a whole book. Then you have Andy Warhol who initially bought a dachshund for his boyfriend but became so smitten with the pup that he ended up keeping it for himself. He would bring his beloved "Archie" with him everywhere he went, especially to interviews where when faced with a question he didn't fancy answering, he would let Archie respond instead. Don't forget Picasso who met his doxie muse "Lump" (pronounced "Loompf" which in German means rascal) through his great friend, David Douglas Duncan in 1957. He instantly fell in love and Lump featured in many artworks. Duncan even wrote a book about their relationship called "Picasso and Lump: A Dachshund's Odyssey". And more recently you have Gary Larson of "Far Side" fame featuring doxies in his parody book, "Wiener Dog Art".
• Celeb love this breed. Adele is always being snapped out and about with her beloved "Louie". Then there's been Audrey Hepburn, David Bowie, Liz Taylor, Brigitte Bardot, Joan Crawford, Doris Day as well as tough guys John Wayne, Clint Eastwood and lets not forget the magnificent the David Hasselhoff. Enough said!
• They were the favoured companions of German butchers don't you know. Historians claim that the hot dog was originally called a "dachshund sausage" and was named after butcher's beloved dog. Eventually the name was shortened to "hot dog" and the rest is history. The first recorded use of this term can be traced back to Yale University and 1895 where lunch carts catering to students sold the first hot dogs!
• The first ever Olympic mascot was a dachshund called Waldi. At a Christmas party held for the organising committee behind the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics, partygoers were given modelling clay and crayons and were asked to come up with a suitable mascot. And what's more German than this courageous and athletic little dog? Officials even went as far as plotting that year's marathon route in the shape of a dachshund.
• Back in 2014, Rebecca Smith from Battersea won a unique competition worth over £60,000. She won the opportunity to have her 12 year old doxie, Winnie, cloned in South Korea. Using just a skin sample, scientists conceived an exact copy of Winnie, even down to the kink in her tail and after five months of care, "Minnie Winnie" was flown back to London and became the first cloned dog in the UK. The two were inseparable best friends until Winnie was hit by a car and died. Her legacy still lives on though and Minnie Winnie recently gave birth to two healthy pups.

And for now the most interesting dachshund trivia you'll ever read ...

• When you think of a doxie, most people undeniably link this breed to Germany, there is however a lot of evidence to question that assumption. In fact many now believe this dog doesn't ever originate from Germany, let alone Europe. It's now believed that the earliest ancestors to this breed come from Egypt! Mummified dachshunds have been found in Egyptian burial urns, this alongside hieroglyphics depicting short-legged, long-bodied hunting dogs that look exactly like our modern day dachshunds must surely question when and where this breed actually came into existence.

Either way, you can't deny how cute and clever this little chap is and what a wonderful companion he makes. So if you have fancy a lively little dog why not rescue a Dachshund. Great things come in small packages!                                              

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