Dachshund

Germany gave the world the Dachshund, a hound built low to the ground for one purpose: going down a badger's burrow after it. The name itself says as much. Dachs is German for badger, Hund is German for dog, and the breed's long body, deep chest and short legs are exactly what that job called for. A dog that could fit down a tunnel and still hold its ground against something as tough as a badger needed a very particular shape, and that shape is still what you see in the show ring and on the lead today.

Size aside, the Dachshund does not act like a small dog. Owners tend to describe theirs as devoted, stubborn, curious and more than a little brave for its size. It usually fixes on one or two favourite people in the household and follows them from room to room. The nose still runs the show for a lot of Dachshunds: strong scenting instincts and a genuine prey drive are part of the package, carried straight over from the breed's hunting days.

Buyers can choose between two sizes, standard and miniature, and three coat types: smooth, longhaired and wirehaired. That gives a fair bit of choice in how the dog looks and how much grooming it needs, though the underlying temperament stays much the same across all six combinations.

Who it suits

A Dachshund suits someone after a small dog with a proper personality, and who is prepared to be consistent and patient in training rather than expecting instant obedience. It is not naturally eager to please, so this is not the easiest first dog for someone who has never handled a strong-willed breed before. It settles into units and houses equally well across Australian cities, provided it gets a daily walk and something to occupy its brain. Because of how its back is built, it does best in a home where jumping off beds and lounges, and pounding up and down stairs, can be kept to a minimum, so a family choosing one should think ahead about furniture access and steps.

Germany is where the Dachshund took shape, bred by hunters who needed a dog able to track and flush animals living underground. Dachs means badger, Hund means dog, and that pairing tells you exactly what the breed was for. A hunter needed something small enough to fit inside a badger sett but game enough to actually face the animal once it got there, which is why the low, elongated body became the standard shape rather than an accident of breeding.

Written German records mention dogs of this general type going back several centuries, but selective breeding towards a fixed type picked up speed through the 1700s and 1800s. Breeders selected for a deep chest to give lung capacity, short legs suited to digging and tunnel work, and a voice loud enough to carry up through the ground so a hunter above could tell where the dog was.

Three coat types developed to handle different terrain and different game. The smooth coat is considered the original. The longhaired variety is thought to trace back to crosses with spaniel-type dogs, while the wirehaired coat likely came from terrier crosses that added protection in rough cover. Breeders also split the breed into standard and miniature sizes, with the smaller dogs put to work on smaller quarry such as rabbits.

Germany formally recognised the breed by the late 1800s, and other countries followed with their own clubs and standards soon after. From there the Dachshund travelled well beyond Europe, working as a hunting dog in some places and settling in as a household companion in others, with the companion role gradually becoming the more common one worldwide. Australia is no exception: the breed is recognised here in the Hound group and has a long-standing, if modest, following among show and pet owners alike.

There is no mistaking a Dachshund for anything else. The body is long, the legs are short, and the chest sits deep with a prominent keel that gives the front end a forward lean. The head tapers along a slightly arched skull to a strong muzzle, the ears sit high and hang close to the cheeks, and the eyes are medium sized and almond shaped. For a dog this close to the ground, it still manages to carry itself with real self assurance.

Coat and colours

The smooth coat is short, dense and glossy, and asks the least of an owner in terms of grooming, which suits Australia's warmer regions well. The longhaired coat is sleek with a slight wave, longest on the ears, chest, underside and tail. The wirehaired coat is harsh and dense over a softer undercoat, finished off with a beard and bushy eyebrows.

Solid reds and creams turn up often, alongside the two-tone black and tan and chocolate and tan combinations. Dapple (a mottled, marbled pattern), brindle, sable and piebald markings all occur as well. Some colour and pattern pairings come with genuine health considerations attached, so coat colour is not something to choose a puppy on by itself.

For a dog this small, the Dachshund carries a lot of personality. It attaches itself firmly to its people, often picking one favourite to shadow around the house all day. Curiosity is constant: a scent, a sound, anything small that moves will catch its attention, which is the hunting heritage showing through in everyday life. That same heritage gives it a level of courage that can tip into recklessness around anything it decides counts as prey.

Around family the breed is affectionate, playful and keen on physical closeness. Strangers get a more measured response, and plenty of Dachshunds bark at visitors or unfamiliar noises without much hesitation, which makes them decent alert dogs even if they are far too small to back it up. Early and ongoing socialisation helps take the edge off both the wariness and the barking.

Other pets are more of a mixed bag. A Dachshund brought up around other dogs usually settles in fine, but the prey drive is real, and small pets such as rabbits, guinea pigs or birds can set off a chase response. With children it can be a genuinely good companion so long as the interaction stays calm and supervised, since rough play risks the dog's long back and may provoke a snap in return. The stubbornness is not a myth either, so owners should go in expecting a dog that argues back and responds better to patience than to force.

Looking after a Dachshund day to day is not demanding, but the breed's shape does call for a few specific habits. Grooming changes depending on coat type, and exercise needs to build fitness and muscle without putting the spine at risk, which matters more with this breed than with most.

Grooming

• Smooth coat: brush weekly with a soft brush or hound glove to lift loose hair and keep the coat glossy.
• Longhaired coat: brush two to three times a week to stop tangles forming, paying particular attention to the ears, chest and feathering.
• Wirehaired coat: brush weekly and hand strip or trim the harsh outer coat a few times a year; tidy the beard and eyebrows as needed.
• Bathe only when the dog is actually dirty, using a shampoo made for dogs.
• Check and clean the long, hanging ears regularly to cut the risk of infection.
• Trim nails every few weeks and brush teeth several times a week, since the breed is prone to dental problems.

Exercise

• Aim for two short to moderate walks a day, roughly 30 to 60 minutes in total.
• Add scent games and puzzle toys to give that nose and brain something to do.
• Skip repeated jumping on and off furniture and go easy on stairs to protect the back.
• Keep the dog lean, since extra weight adds real strain to the spine.

Environment

Dachshunds settle into units and houses equally well across Australia. What they do not handle well is cold: the short coat and low-slung body mean the smooth variety in particular feels a chill, so a jumper for winter mornings in Melbourne, Canberra or Hobart is a reasonable idea. Ramps or steps at the bed and sofa help the dog get up and down without jumping. A yard fence needs to go into the ground as well as up, because a Dachshund left to its own devices will dig, and it will follow a scent under or through any gap it can find, snakes and all, so a securely dug-in fence line matters more here than it might elsewhere.

A complete and balanced dog food suited to the Dachshund's size and life stage will cover its nutritional needs without much fuss. What takes more care is portion control, because this breed puts on weight easily and carries that weight on a spine that cannot really afford it. Measure meals out rather than leaving food down all day, and adjust the amount so the ribs stay easy to feel under a thin layer of fat. Standard and miniature Dachshunds need different quantities, and individual dogs vary again depending on metabolism and how active they are.

Treats and supplements

Keep treats to around 10 percent of daily calories and take that amount off the regular meal portion. Small, low-calorie treats work well for training this food-driven breed. Most Dachshunds eating a complete diet do not need supplements on top; check with a vet before adding anything for joints, skin or otherwise, especially for a dog with existing back or weight concerns. Fresh water should be down and available at all times.

The Dachshund is generally a long-lived breed, with 12 to 16 years being typical. The trade-off for that distinctive shape is a higher risk of back trouble than most breeds face. The main concern is intervertebral disc disease, where the cushioning discs between the vertebrae bulge or rupture and press on the spinal cord. Keeping the dog lean, limiting jumping and handling it correctly all cut down that risk.

Preventive care

• Book annual vet checkups, moving to more frequent visits once the dog is a senior.
• Stay on top of vaccinations and parasite prevention, including tick control, since paralysis ticks are a genuine risk in coastal parts of Australia through the warmer months.
• Keep the dog at a lean body weight with a consistent exercise routine.
• Brush teeth regularly and book in professional dental cleans as advised.
• Use ramps or steps and discourage jumping to protect the back.
• Buy from breeders who health test parents for eye and spinal issues.

Training a Dachshund is a genuine test of patience. It is intelligent and can learn plenty of commands, but it was bred to work alone underground and make its own calls, so it tends to weigh up whether a command is actually worth following. During training that independence looks a lot like stubbornness. Food motivation usually runs high, which gives an owner something to work with, but the breed bores quickly and pushes back against repetitive drilling. House training especially can drag on longer than average, and it goes better with a fixed routine and a crate.

Keep sessions short and frequent, and stop on a win rather than pushing for one more repetition. Early exposure to people, dogs and everyday situations cuts down on wariness and excessive barking later on. Everyone in the house needs to apply the same rules, or the dog will work out fast that they are negotiable.

Basics

1. Start house training early with a fixed schedule and a crate sized to fit the dog.
2. Teach name recognition and a reliable recall, since this breed will chase a scent without a second thought.
3. Build the core cues: sit, stay, down and leave it.
4. Practise calm greetings to keep barking at visitors under control.
5. Add scent games and puzzle toys so the breed's drive has somewhere legitimate to go.

Responsible Dachshund breeding starts with health and temperament, not looks. Females usually reach sexual maturity within their first year, but most breeders wait until a bitch is physically mature and has cleared relevant health screening before a first mating. Given the breed's tendency towards spinal disease and certain eye conditions, breeding stock should be checked for both, and any dog with a history of back trouble is better left out of a breeding program altogether.

Pregnancy runs about 63 days. Litters tend to be small, often somewhere between three and six puppies, with miniatures usually sitting at the lower end of that range. Whelping needs watching, and a vet should be called in if labour stalls or the mother shows signs of distress. In the first weeks the puppies rely entirely on the dam for warmth and feeding, so the breeder's job is to keep the whelping area clean and warm and keep a close eye on weight gain.

Weaning starts at around three to four weeks, and socialisation continues through that critical early window. Gentle handling, everyday household sounds and meeting new people during this period all shape how the dog behaves as an adult. Colour and pattern pairing needs particular care: mating two dapple-patterned dogs together can produce serious health defects in the puppies, so responsible breeders avoid that pairing outright.

How to register a Dachshund in Australia

Every state and territory keeps its own Companion Animal Register, and council rangers scan as a matter of course, so a Dachshund with a current record is home before dinner. Register your dog free with United Pet Club: the profile carries your details beside his photo for his whole life, and no renewal ever turns up.

A chipped Dachshund without a registration is carrying a number nobody can use. File it with United Pet Club and the number works for him: free for life, open to every chip brand sold here, searchable from any clinic or pound in the country. Microchip registration now, free account while you're at it.