Dachshund

(Sausage Dog, Weiner Dog, Dachie, Zwergteckel, Normalschlag)

Loved by children around the world because of its strange proportions, the Dachshund can be an excellent (if independent) companion. They make a good family guard dog, but care should be taken with young children.

Training your Dachshund

Dachshund Care

The Dachshund is a very popular dog breed today. It is often referred to as the wiener dog or hotdog dog because of its unique shape and size. Dachshunds make great companions and are pretty easy to care for!

This dog is originally from Germany. It was developed to hunt badger there hundreds of years ago. 'Dachs' means badger in German, which is how they got their name. Dachshunds have short legs and long bodies in order to go inside the badger burrows and dig the prey out. Later, the miniature dachshund was bred to hunt hare and stoat. Today, this breed is mainly kept to be a companion though.

The coat of the dachshund comes in three different types: smooth haired, longhaired and wirehaired. The longhaired variety has long, straight hair. The smooth haired variety has short, straight and smooth hair that is the same length all over the body. The wirehaired variety has coarse, wiry, harsh hair. The coat comes in many colors, such as sable, cream, red, black and tan, chocolate and tan, gray and tan, fawn and tan, or brindle. There are also three different sizes of the dog, standard, miniature and toy. The standard size usually weighs about twenty pounds; the miniature size usually weighs about nine pounds and the toy size usually weighs about eight pounds.

The Dachshund is very lively, affectionate, bold, curious and mischievous. These dogs are very intuitive and smart. Because of this, they may try to train their owner rather than the opposite. This makes them fairly difficult to train. They can be stubborn when you are training them so be sure you are firm and consistent. Dachshunds love to bark and actually have a pretty loud bark, despite their size. If you let this dog outside, you will need to watch it because dachshunds are obsessive diggers.

Dachshunds absolutely love to be around people. They are very friendly and outgoing. They are also never aggressive or timid. However, because of this dog's love for people, it can easily become jealous. The Dachshund is not recommended for small children, but it will do fine with older children. They will also usually get along well with other pets, but be careful if you have a large dog because the dachshund can easily get hurt.

The biggest health risk these dogs face is obesity. A dachshund gains weight very easily and if they get overweight this puts far too much strain on their tiny body. You must be careful to ensure that they do not overeat. Some other common health problems of this breed are spinal disc problems, heart disease, diabetes and urinary tract problems. Try not to let this dog jump too much so that they will not hurt their spine.

The Dachshund is very lively, but it actually doesn't need that much exercise. A short walk once a day or a session of play is enough. They tend to get tired very easily so try not to go on a long walk or play for a long time. Dachshunds will do fine without a yard, so they can even be kept in apartments.

If you own the long haired variety of this dog, you will need to brush the dog every day. The wire haired variety needs to be professionally trimmed twice a year. The smooth haired variety just needs to be rubbed down with a damp cloth every now and then.

Overall, the Dachshund is a great dog to own. They are lots of fun and are very loyal to their owners. Just make sure they are right for you before purchasing one.

Michael Russell Your Independent guide to Dogs.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Michael_Russell

More About Dachshunds:

Dachshund fans should check out The Hotdog Blog, where weenies rule! Also have a look at WikiFido's very informative dachshund page.

Dachshund - Dog Breed Profile

Miniature Dachshunds