As we will see in this post, not only the long body of the dachshund, but even its droopy ears, short legs and long, sturdy tail were all developed to serve a specific purpose. Quite a mouthful, that word! So, the abnormal growth of bones and cartilages gives dachshunds as well as some other breeds, like Corgis and Basset Hounds, their short legs.
The mutation caused an extra copy of a gene to be acquired, which, in turn, causes the overproduction of a protein that affects growth during the development of the fetus. The presence of this mutation in the dog genetic pool allowed dog breeders to easily develop small-sized breeds. Now, why were small-sized breeds useful? Given the traditional role of dogs as hunters and guards, larger, ferocious specimens would be expected to be more desirable.
But, hunting often involved smaller quarry like badgers and rabbits, and it was found that small-sized dogs were better equipped to move fast through thick foliage and pursue these cunning animals into their burrows.
Apart from the short legs, and in a way because of them, a long body was also found to be helpful in hunting. It gave dogs the heft needed to fight badgers and other small animals that might respond to danger with a fierce counter-attack.
Plus, the long body made it easier for such dogs to access deep burrows while keeping their hind legs on firm ground for support. A long body also made the spine of a dachshund relatively more flexible, making it easy for the dog to wriggle into tight holes.
Add other desirable features like paws meant for digging, a long tail that helps in locating and pulling the dog, droopy ears that trap scent molecules, and sharp nails and teeth, and it is easy to see why dachshunds made for some mean hunting machines. You may have heard of dogs being trained using liverwurst and dog owners obtaining amazing results. You may therefore wish to give it a try, but you need to know first whether liverwurst is good for dogs.
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There is belief that dachshund are descendants of the now extinct Saint Hubert hound. After mixing a variety of breeds, therefore the dachshund was born. With a body low to the ground, developed senses and a brave temperament, the dachshund proved its worth in hunting badgers, but not only. These little dogs were also utilized to hunt rabbits, foxes and even wild boar. The dachshund's body shape isn't the only thing that reminds us of their past as badger hunters.
These dogs still as today still engage in behaviors that are reminiscent of their past. Doxies are avid diggers who love to dig given the opportunity. Watch for holes being dug in your beloved vegetable or flower garden. And when it's time to sleep, watch where you lie down; dachshunds love to dig "tunnels" in their blankets and burrow themselves under. Dachshund are tenacious and courageous, up to the point of rashness, a quality that helped them become valuable hunters.
Their deep barks are reminiscent of their hunting days so their handlers could locate them when they were deep down in a hole.
The hunting spirit in this breed is so strong that the American Kennel Club standard mentions that "scars from honorable wounds shall not be considered a fault. At times, they may even act feisty towards strange dogs, even those 10 times larger than them. This can be dangerous and steps must be taken to protect them from getting in trouble. As seen, dachshunds have long bodies for good reasons. The long back helped them get deep down in the burrows to hunt badgers.
Their long bodies allowed them to be strong enough and heavy enough to chase their prey at a fast pace, while also being able to fight their prey with power.
This means that despite their small legs keeping them close to the ground for diving into burrows, Dachshunds were also strong enough to capture the prey they were after. The longer body was an intentional choice with many advantages for hunting. So, how did breeders enable this to happen? This is a condition which affects only their leg cartilage, allowing the rest of their bodies to develop without abnormality.
Dachshunds, as a result, appear to have a long body which is disproportionate to the size of their very short legs. In reality though, they actually just have short legs. So, there you have it! Dachshunds were bred to have long bodies so they could scrabble down into burrows quickly to hunt their prey. So although Dachshunds look like they have long bodies, they actually just have short, stubby legs! Your support for my blog and my SHOP means everything to me so, if you found this article helpful, please kindly share below.
Thank you! Alison Fleming is a creative entrepreneur and content creator from the UK. She got a dachshund in and instantly fell in love with the breed.
When not creating content or answering questions on dachshunds, she can be found at the local park with her husband Adrian and their miniature wire-haired dachshund Jimmy. You can get in touch with her via this website.
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