Saturday, September 25, 2010

How Much Is That Dachshund in the Window?

This working dachshund is a rescue with a fine nose and a booming voice.

I like Dachshunds, but they are not the dog for everyone.  

Too many people forget that these dogs started off as small, turbo-charged working dogs designed to go down holes and face off against Badger (aka "the dachs").

Today most Dachshunds are pretty far from their working roots, but the genetic code for prey drive does not always wash out neat and easy.

When genetic prey drive is mixed in with unsupervised children, ignorant owners, and the natural fear of a small dog overwhelmed by much larger people careening around it, you get what you have with Dachshunds:  the breed of dog MOST likely to bite a human.

Is a Dachshund bite likely to be fatal? 

No, of course, not. 

That said, it is sure to be painful, and in a small child it might also be disfiguring.

Jack Russell Terrier owners go out of their way to warn people off of their breed.  This is a hunting dog, they let the world know. 

Dachshund owners?  Not so much.  

And so, time and time again, Dachshunds are acquired by people who are "totally surprised" to learn their "little wiener dog" is a very loud barker and perhaps a biter to boot.

Dachshunds come in three sizes, three coat types (smooth, long and wire) and a variety of colors.

  • Standard Dachshunds tend to be oversized and poorly bred in the U.S. and in the U.K.  Under Germany's FCI rules, however, a standard Teckel or working Dachshund is supposed to have a chest measurement of 35 cm, or 13.78 inches. This is about the same size as the chest span of the average red fox.
  • Miniature Dachshund or Teckels are supposed to have a chest circumference of 30 to 35 cm when measured at the age of 15 months or older. This smaller chest allows the dog to follow even a very small vixen to ground in a very tight earth.
  • Rabbit Teckels are rare in the U.S., but in Germany this size is supposed to have chest circumference of up to 30 cm measured when at least 15 months old.   As the name suggests, these dogs are sometimes used for rabbiting, and many have chests as small as 10 inches around.

How about health?

Dachshunds tend to live fairly long lives, but not so long as their analogs in the working terrier world, such as Jack Russells, Borders, and non-Kennel Club Patterdale and Fell terriers.

The main reason Dachshunds tend to die 2-3 years younger than their terrier counterparts is that Dachshunds are more likely to be plagued with congenital and acquired joint and spine problems -- the kind of thing you should expect to find in an achondroplastic (dwarf) breed with an unnaturally long  back.



As Embrace Pet Insurance notes,
The most common health issues in the breed are back problems. Conditions severe enough for hind-end paralysis are so common that Dachshunds are one of the breeds most likely to spend part of their lives in “canine wheelchairs”: wheeled carts that support the rear of the dogs.

Because of their long, low-slung spines, normal canine behavior like jumping off the sofa may result in a slipped, pinched, herniated or ruptured disc. Dogs can be injured even in relatively mild play, and will sometimes show defensive or apparently aggressive behavior at other dogs – or children – who are nearby. In fact, a study done at the College of Veterinary Medicine at the Ohio State University approximated that Dachshunds are 57 times more likely to suffer from a herniated intervertebral disc than all other breeds.

Data from Embrace Pet Insurance is incomplete, and does not seem to cover spinal surgeries.   What data they do present, however, suggests that owning a Dachshund comes with a high chance of having a multi-thousand dollar veterinary bill presented to you some time in the future.


So how do you feel about Dachshunds now?

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