Animal lovers affectionately call dachshunds as doxies. Dachshunds are famous for their adorable and funny shape – their long bodies and short legs. But what most people do not know is that this is an adaptation engineered to make dachshunds hunting and racing dogs. There are so many other beautiful facts about doxies that are not popular knowledge and these five will blow your mind.
1. Three Coat Varieties:
Dachshunds can either have smooth, longhaired or wirehaired coats. These differentiate the breeds of dachshunds we have. Smooth dachshunds are the most popular variety in the United States. Their coats are short and shiny and need little grooming, but they need a sweater in the winter if you live in an area with cold weather.
Common colors of dachshunds include red, cream, black and tan, black and cream, chocolate and tan, blue and tan, and Isabella (fawn) and tan. Dachshunds can also have patterns in their coats, such as dapple (a mottled coat pattern), brindle, sable, and piebald.
Longhaired dachshunds have long, sleek hair and are sweet-tempered and easy to handle. They tend to become very attached to their owners and are able to read moods very well. Wirehaired dachshunds have wiry, bushy hair and bushy eyebrows and are very mischievous. They tend to set their own rules and expect their owners to live by them.
2. Jealous Dachshunds:
Dachshunds are very proprietary and seek attention. They grow very attached to their owners and may throw tantrums when not given proper attention.
Dachshunds make excellent lead dogs to blind people and their intelligence often makes them easy to train. However, they are stubborn and seem to have their own ideas about how their training should be. The funny thing is that they expect their owners to bend to their ideas on playtime rules, eating time and sleeping areas.
3. Cloned Dachshunds:
The first dog cloned successfully in Britain was a Dachshund named Winnie. Winnie’s owner entered into a competition to clone Winnie and the scientists were able to clone Mini-Winnie successfully. The owner says she looks just like Winnie when she was a pup and Mini-Winnie is doing very well.
4. Hot Dogs Were Named After Doxies:
It’s quite interesting to know that the popular hot dogs got their names from Doxies. Dachshunds are termed “wiener dogs” for of their body shape, but hot dogs actually got their name inspired by the dogs. The dog breed came first, and when hot dogs first came on the scene, they were popular as “dachshund sausages”.
5. Big appetite:
For dogs so little, dachshunds pack a lot of appetite and can keep eating if the food source is available. They never get tired or reject food and will be very happy if you keep feeding them. Obesity is one of their greatest health risks and it is up to you as the owner to make sure you feed them with healthy food and snacks in the right proportion.
Although they have many health risks because of their long spine and short legs, dachshunds live very long lives and can live up to 21 human years, which is quite awesome. They easily adapt to any role they need to perform – as family dogs, guard dogs, hunting dogs or lead dogs – and are devoted to their jobs.
Dachshunds are very amazing dogs to get to know and their very existence is a pure sensation.