“One of our own dogs, a smooth-haired called Zinzi, loved to come shooting and was good at putting up the ‘right’ sort of birds.
“My grandmother had them, as does my mother, who always takes hers beating and expects them to cover as much ground as a spaniel,” she says. Another time, Otto found her and I dug her out of a hole 4ft down.”įor Lucy Meager, dashing dachshunds are a family tradition.
#WIREHAIRED DOXIE SKIN#
“Birke would take herself off on hunting trips, however, and once came back skin and bone after two weeks. She’d dig moles out of the garden for fun following the run and then laying in wait,” he says. “She had highly tuned instincts and a great brain.
And that’s nothing compared to a smooth-haired miniature I used to see that would drag birds bigger than itself back to its owner.” David acquired Birke, an imported bitch, at the same time as Otto. One of David’s dogs, Otto, regularly went beating: “A particularly proud moment was when he picked-up a duck and brought it back to me under the keeper’s eye. They have a protective coat that keeps them warm and dries quickly, floppy ears like a spaniel to protect the eyes and a nose virtually at ground level.” “Although they might appear unlikely sporting dogs because of their size, physically they are a proper little package. In Germany they are required to carry out tests covering a variety of skills, from following a 40-hour-old blood trail to retrieving a duck from water,” he says. The tank never seems to run dry,” claims Bernd.ĭavid Logan used to train spaniels but was led into teckels through stalking – and a client who had wirehaired dachshunds. I believe they have a higher adrenalin level than most other dogs: they appear to have a higher pain threshold and unbelievable stamina. “Teckels are wonderful trackers and never give up. “They clamber over 4ft walls like monkeys.” TECKELS ARE ADRENALIN JUNKIES They also lack the massive front often seen with show dogs. “Working dachshunds are less hefty and higher on the leg, so even a long coat doesn’t dangle on the ground. “A wire coat is what we’re striving for but smooth and longhaired dogs can also work they tend to be used more for trailing,” he says. “In Europe there’s no real division between animals for working and showing, they’re all purpose,” he says. Say “dachshund” and what springs to mind is probably a comical sausage dog capable of nothing more athletic than lifting its leg but Bernd, who lives in the north west, believes this is because in Britain a show type prevails that is almost unrecognisable from the original breed. “In their native Germany, all dachshunds are called teckels, and dogs of all coat-type and size are used for hunting – flushing and retrieving game, tracking wounded animals and for finding, bolting and despatching vermin,” says Bernd Kügow of Waldmeister Dachshunds.
Strictly speaking, a teckel is any dachshund but in Britain it usually means the working wirehaired variety. Actually, it’s a hunting powerhouse that comes in a pint-sized package. A teckel? What the heck’s that, you may be wondering. If you fancy the idea of a full-on sporting dog for everything from stalking to ratting but would prefer not to fight for space on the sofa or spend a fortune on food, a teckel could be just the ticket. And they can compete for prowess when ratting with terriers. Their mischievous and charming nature makes them one of the best country house dogs. Teckels are small dogs with a big personality. Teckels: the wire-haired dachshund is a sporting sausage dog
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