History of Miniature Dachshunds

Video Transcript

"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."