Sporting Dogs

The Dachshund. Translating this German name explains the dog's speciality: Dachs-badger, Hund-dog. He was bred to track a burrowing animal to earth and squeeze in after him. Such a dog needs little height, strong legs, powerful jaws, and courage to face a cornered foe. Gradually the German Dachshund evolved, combining qualities of hound and terrier. He has the hound's tracking nose and long ears and a terrier's self-reliance and bravery.

Nowadays the original badger hunters have been bred down in size. Some of them still hunt, though seldom the badger. They bolt rabbits and occasionally go to the earth after a fox. But Dachshund is mostly kept as a pet. Jokers say about this long-bodied, short-legged dog that he is "two dogs long and half a dog high", and can be patted by all members of the family at once! Actually, a well-proportioned Dachshund is three times as long as his shoulder height.

The Dachshund comes in a wide variety of coats, colours, and sizes. In general, the varieties are as follows: smooth, wire-haired, long-haired and miniatures, the latter is 7 inches high. Whatever its size, colour, or coat a Dachshund loves to play, can run longer on its short legs without getting tired than a human being can on much longer ones, is companionable.

The Deerhound. These thick-coated aristocrats, the largest members of the Greyhound family, were favourites in Scotland for many centuries. Today, with deerstalking - a sport of the past, they are less frequently seen. These amiable and affectionate giants are more than 30 inches at the withers. Colour grey, brindle and wheaten. A thick, close-lying, harsh, somewhat ragged coat is required, with a moustachs of silky hair.