Pet Dachshund vs. Working Dachshund

The topic came up in another thread that I didn't want to hijack, so here's my post on working vs. pet dachshunds.

I've been a huge dachshund fan going on 20 years but don't currently own one myself. My wirehaired standard unfortunately died last year. Here's a pic of her:



While I love the breed, I really don't like the direction a lot of breeders have taken, especially here in the US, where the dachshund was/is barely used for hunting anyway. It's always sad to see breeds split up into "show lines" and "working lines", but I think there are few other breeds out there affected as much as dachshunds are.

Here's a comparison table, the dogs on the left are all AKC pointed dachshunds, on the right dogs from german working lines who have either scored "sehr gut" (very good) or higher in German conformation shows, but also have performance titles and are actually used for hunting (fox, raccoon, badger etc.) and tracking:
http://mordanna.com/dachshund/dachshund.html

There are a few breeders in the US who breed to the German patent breed club's standard, but most of the "regular" breeders seem to prefer producing dogs that don't look anything like what a dachshund is supposed to look like.

The German ones have a lot longer legs...wow. They might actually be able to move!

I really do love those German Dachs!

PS - You mistyped "longhair" on the AKC Smooth Dach on that link.

Bleh - typo fixed. lol

Those dogs can move like nobody's business. My dachshund outran many larger dogs.

Wow, great pics! Looks like the working lines are much "sportier" looking than the show lines.

WOW I love how much sportier the German Dach look...

wow!! Now THAT it what a Dach should look like!! Absloutly GORGEOUS! I especially like the black and tan smooth coat pictured.

This is how I've felt the last 20 years in the Golden Retrievers..... why they shorten the legs, gets me !!! I read an article then in the National Mag. by a judge who even said then that their natural gait was being ruined ! Such a sorry lot that so many in " the ring " go by what the " Judges " are looking for .... I can't blame them for Championships ... ( it's their life ) .... but when I look back to my pictures of the 1945 Golden Hall of Fame ... Rip ... he wouldn't even be allowed in the ring today ! ( My Point's Dad ! )

Mordy, thanks for this post. I was unaware of the differences but now that I see them side by side, I realize that Tibbetts does look different then many Dachshunds we see when walking. He looks exactly like the german smooth, not the AKC smooth. He has the longer legs, stronger face, etc.

I have been considering training Tibbetts for field trials. His attention span is great and he loves training. Well, anyway, thanks again Mordy.

The difference is quite stunning, especially when you actually see those dachsies moving.

thoughts_refracted, if Tibbetts loves training, definitely go for it. You'll have fun and your dog will have a more fulfilled life.

I never got into dog sports with my Ellie, but I know she would have enjoyed it. She would have had a blast doing agility too.

For those of you who haven't seen it in the other thread, here's a pic of my "dream dachshund" - a dog from a litter of the sire and dam I'd really like a puppy from:



He's on the small side, the type earthdog people prefer - approximately 11 pounds. In Germany dachshunds are classed by chest circumference at a minimum of 15 months old:
- 30 cm (11.8 inches) and under: Kaninchenteckel (translates to "rabbit dachshund", for hunting rabbits)
- 30 cm to 35 cm (11.8 to 13.8 inches): Zwergteckel (miniature )
- over 35 cm (13.8 inches): Teckel (standard dachshund), the upper limit for weight is around 19.8 pounds, 16-18 pounds are average for a standard.

I like the longer haired ones! Their gate really flows. Much sleeker looking dog. Not like a corn dog No offense but everytime I see a round lil dog I think of a corndog Shoot Ivy my lab is fat and she gets called corndog all the time
Anyways I like the long hair!

Wow, that smooth dachsie is gorgeous. I feel bad for some AKC ones I see, they can hardly move. They have to take about 6 little steps to catch up with one of their owner's big step, the ones on my street.

I definatly prefer the look of the the German working doxies. The long haired one is just beautiful! I would love to have one. Our doxie isnt as low to the ground as the AKC ones, but isnt as high up as the German ones. Our friends have an extremly long legged one. It looks more like a MinPin then a doxie!

Oh my goodness those German ones are nice!! It''s quite sad the split that has occurred between working and show lines in so many breeds.

I'd never seen a working one, and let me say...They have LEGS!! Lol I always see those show Dachsunds that have like 2 inch legs, and its pitifull, the little guys 'male part' practically drags on the ground. My friend has a chocalte and tan longhaired whos legs are longer, and I always though he was out of standard...lol

That just goes to show that the AKC has influenced so much that when you see a 'true' breed specimen you think of him/her as being a poor specimen.

The show dogs are the poor specimens!

For those of you interested in the differences between the AKC standard and FCI standard (which is based on the decisions of the parent breed club in Germany):

http://www.akc.org/breeds/dachshund/index.cfm

http://www.canadasguidetodogs.com/hounds/dach_fci.htm
(the only site with an English version I found )

Note all the details that are actually eliminating faults written into the FCI standard (that's how it should be, IMO), while the AKC standard only has one.

Mordy, do you have any experience in earthdog, i wanted to get into it with harley my border terrier but i couldnt because there isnt any clubs around me

Wait, that can't be, the AKC has nothing to do with keeping breed qualities, they're only a registry (big f'ing time sarcasm if you can't tell)

Ah, Mordy . . . those little wire-haired ones really get to me I ran into a guy in the vets office one day who had one that resembled the German dogs. What an attitude he had, lol! He let Shiva know right away that just because she was much too tall and way too big for a proper dog he wasn't going to let her look down on him You could tell his ancestors had spent their time chasing badgers

Tell me about it.

It's no surprise to me that the US aren't a member of the FCI...