Dog Breeding & Pregnancy : History of Miniature Dachshunds
Hi, my name is Pam Nichols. I’m a veterinarian
in Bountiful, Utah at the Animal Care Center,
www.utahanimalcare.com. I just want to talk
to you today about miniature dachshunds and
their history and how they are today. Miniature
dachshunds were bred as hunting dogs as early
as the 1600’s in Germany. And these guys are
burrowers. They chase badgers, they chase
rats, they actually were known to chase foxes.
So they were active, active little dogs. And
they were known as the crooked legged species
back then. Today there are multiple varieties,
long coat, short coat, excuse me, long coat,
smooth coat and wire coat and lots of different
colors. And they’re really wonderful little
dogs. Not very many of them hunt today. In
fact, one of the biggest problems we see with
dachshunds is that as they age and become
more and more sedentary, they have a number
of problems related to their long backs and
short legs that can be really, really important.
Dachshunds tend to have a problem with paralysis.
Their backs are so long and their so weak
these days that they can injure their backs
and become paralyzed relatively simply. So
it’s really important if you have a dachshund
that you remember that they were bred to be
hunting dogs and they’re bred to be super,
super active. Keep your dachshund lean and
muscular and you’ll never have a problem with
paralysis.
