The Dachshund is a lively upbeat dog. They have personality and spunk and are curious and friendly. They are brave and intelligent. They are independent and this makes them a good watchdog. They can be over courageous. They form a strong bond with their family.They are small enough to live in a house or apartment, yet large enough for the country. The Standard and Miniature Dachshund are in the same classification. The Miniatures are 11 pounds and under and 12 months of age or older. The weight of a Standard size is usually between 16 and 32 pounds. Sometimes you can get a Standard size out of Miniature parents. There are three types of hair coats for Dachshund: short hair, long hair and wire hair. The short hair is probably the most common and requires hardly any grooming at all. the wire and long hair coats require an occasional brushing to remove the dead hairs. The long haired coat is sleek and often slightly wavy. It is longer under the neck, forechest, underside of the body, ears and behind the legs. The wirehaired coat with the exception of the jaw, eyebrows and ears is covered with a uniform tight, short, thick, rough, hard outer coat but with a finer, somewhat softer, shorter undercoat. The wirehair from a distance closely resembles the smooth. The word Dachshund means badger dog in German. The Dachshund was created to hunt badgers and the wirehaired coat was produced for protection against briars and thorns. The Dachshund were also used to hunt other game and to trail wounded deer. The smaller 12 pound Dachshund were used on stoat and hare. |