Episodes > 103 > Top Dogs/Top Cats

Get a Loooong Little Doggie

What is a half a dog high and a dog and a half long?

At some point in our lives we’ve all said…”Look, there’s a weiner dog” and we weren’t talking about a ballpark frank! Or we ran into a magician who make’s balloon dog’s that looked like a weiner dog. But what are “weiner dogs?”

Weiner dogs of course are Dachshunds!. Dachshunds originally came from Germany about 300 years ago, although similar looking dogs have actually appeared in Egyptian art more that 1000 years ago. They were originally bred to sneak into small places to flush out badgers and other ferocious animals…hence the name “Dachs” meaning badger and “Hund” meaning dog.

They come in a smorgasbord of varieties and colors…standard, miniature, smooth-coat, long-coat, wire-haired, black and tan, red and dapper. Although they were originally bred to be fearless and scrappy, the Dachshund of today is a “people dog”.

They are also energetic, playful, make good watchdogs and are sociable with other family pets.

Their weiner-like body though doesn’t come without some health problems. Here are a few that you might encounter …back problems and disc disease. Always remember when picking up a weiner dog protect it’s back by cradling it’s rear and supporting it’s trunk at the same time. After all, I’ve never heard of dog chiropractors.

Weiner dogs, hot dogs or sausage dogs, whatever you call them you’re bound to love them. To quote a long time Dachshund owner…”Once you have owned one, you will never be without one and once you have been owned by one…there’s no hope for you.”