David Letterman Dachshund Zinger

"There are roving packs of coyotes in New York, and they're brazen. Today I saw one spreading mustard on a Dachshund." Late Show with David Letterman, February 9, 2010. 

Photo source:  Dachshund Treasures

Snow Dogs

Erica Collins of Valpraiso, Indiana sent in this nice photo of her creamy-dreamy Dachshund named 'Lily' to NBC Chicago.  She loves to eat snow!

On the other side of the coin, 'Roody,' an 11-year-old smooth black and tan, isn't one of the snow's biggest fans. She lives in Federal Hill, Baltimore, Maryland, and, as her human puts it, "loves the snow - for about a minute."  Source:  The Baltimore Sun

Color Him Warm

Color Him Warm
By JEAN P. ANDERTON

Dachshund! You roll the name on your tongue and the sound is good.
Maple brown they colored him. Colors have no shape in your world, but, the sound is warm.
Saddling his chin to your hand, you snuggle your cheek against his. What a long face! And a warm wet tongue that slobbers your nose, then turns dry and sticky as it seeks your ear.
Exploring fingers discover a cool, fleshy, button nose, soft as a sister's velvet ribbon. Now silky fur as you trace a path up, up past the eyes, closed by your touch, to ears that flop against his neck. Again, the touch of velvet as you pause to roll the triangular ear between thumb and forefinger.
Caressing fingers, inching along his jaw, sense the bone-crushing power of sharp teeth; gentled at playtime.
Those paws kneading your chest, the hind legs dancing on your lap, seem awfully short. A leg fits snuggly into the palm of your hand! Here his skin is so loose it folds softly over your fingers! Your thumb flicks a toenail while your little finger tickles his tummy.
Inquisitive fingers, moving again, down an elongated muscular back. Silky fur stretched over yielding skin becomes as prickly as your toothbrush when you reverse your stroke. Abounding energy pulses through your fingertips with each shift of puppy weight.
What's this? His tail! Almost as long as his body! Ropelike and sharply pointed at its thumping end. What's wagging what?
This vibrant bundle of love and vitality, from sloppy tongue to slap-happy tail, is yours! Small matter you're blind - you've seen him! Your very own Dachshund! The sound is good. Color him warm.


For the American Dachshund magazine, February, 1967
Mid-1900s vintage photo source unknown.

Celebrity Dachshund Watch: Denise Richards

Photo Source:  Denise Richards on Twitter

Wait a minute, that isn't Denise Richards, former fashion model, ex-wife of incorrigible actor Charlie Sheen, actress, and star of such films as Starship Troopers, Wild Things, and The World Is Not Enough....it's her Dad!  But that is her new 3-year-old smooth black and tan piebald rescue Dachshund named 'Moby.'  Excerpt from PEOPLE Pets:

Already mom to at least seven pups — Rose, Lulu, Sara, Hank, Tina, George and Lucy to name a few — actress Denise Richards could seriously start her own doggie daycare business. But ever the animal-lover, she welcomed another rescue pup into her home last week: a dachshund named Moby.
"He's a very sweet, loving dog," Richards tells PEOPLEPets.com. "He's part of the family already."

Denise Richards from her official site

No Dachshunds Allowed

Image by The Frankfurter Files

Thanks so much to The Frankfurter Files for letting us post their photo of this "No Dachshunds Allowed" sign which is located just outside of Frankfurt, Germany,.....the Motherland.  They note:

I pass this sign when I'm dropping M off at kinder and I always admire it. I like the way it's so specific: No dachshunds on this grass - any other type of dog ok. I also love the way the dachshund has just skillfully slid out from underneath the red line, like it's saying 'yeah, well just you try to stop me. My stumpy legs and ridiculously long body makes it easy for me to escape your stupid sign.'

Keep up with all things Frankfurt at The Frankfurter Files.

Vintage Dachshund Pride

Aren't you proud of your Dachshund?

Vintage 1960's photo source unknown.

St. Louis Goes to the Dogs

'Honey,' left, and 'Cayce,' right, attended the 17th Annual Beggin' Pet Parade along with their human Lauren Bennett yesterday in the Soulard district of St. Louis, Missouri.  What fun!  The Beggin' Pet Parade is one of many events, along with the PetSmart Wiener Dog Derby, that take place each year as part of St. Louis' Mardi Gras celebration.  See lots of really great doggie photos which are sadly Dachshund-sparse at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. 

'The Lonely Dog' Movie Continues Production

This mannequin is a sneak peak at what the Dachshund characters might look like in the upcoming 'Lonely Dog' film.  Artist and creator Ivan Clarke will be executive producer for the film, which could still be years away.  He states:

"Pre-production has started, but it is still at the concept stage.
"They are talking about live action with actors, but with digital replacement of the heads of the characters - a bit like in the film The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
"But I am still not sure exactly how they will end up creating the movie version of this adults' fairy tale," he said.

Read more at the Otago Daily Times.

Related:  Warner Bros. Acquires Screen Rights to 'The Lonely Dog' - Get Ready for an Epic Dachshund Movie

Dachshund Letter Holder Prop on 'Mad Men'

If you watch Mad Men on AMC, the fictional ad agency drama set in the 1960's which has won 9 Emmys and 5 Golden Globe Awards, keep an eye out for this little gem which is one of the props for the show. 

This vintage piece for a secretary's desk exemplifies an odd trend: ''The dachshund showed up a lot, for some reason,'' says set decorator Amy Wells on her research of the era. ''It was like dachshunds and poodles were the two iconic '50s/early-'60s dogs.''   Source:  Entertainment Weekly.

Thanks to our good pal 'Clancy' for sending in the link!

Dachshunds in Pop Culture: Anton Chekhov

Who?  Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904, was a Russian short-story writer, playwright and physician, considered to be one of the greatest short-story writers in the history of world literature.  His career as a dramatist produced four classics, and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics.  Chekhov practised as a doctor throughout most of his literary career: "Medicine is my lawful wife", he once said, "and literature is my mistress."
Oh yeah, he was a Dachshund Lover.  In 1892, Chekhov bought the small country estate of Melikhovo, about forty miles south of Moscow, where he lived until 1899 with his family.  In April of 1893, his sister brought home two Dachshunds; the "blackish dog" was named 'Bromine,' and the "tan bitch" was named 'Quinine.'  Quinine is a drug used in his day to treat advanced cases of tuberculosis, the disease that had killed his brother Nikolai in 1889 and would take his life in 1904.  Bromide was a sedative, as well as a cliché.  Chekhov is pictured above with Quinine at his side. 
On the day the Dachshunds came to live with him he wrote:

The Dachshunds have been running through all the rooms, being affectionate, barking at the servants.  They were fed and then they began to feel utterly at home.  At night they dug the earth and newly-sown seed from the window boxes and distributed the galoshes from the lobby round all the rooms and in the morning, when I took them for a walk round the garden they horrified the farm dogs who have never seen such monstrositites.  The bitch is nicer than the dog...But both have kind, grateful eyes.

In August of 1893 after the Dachshunds spent the day chasing hens and geese in the garden, he wrote:

Brom is nimble and supple, polite and sensitive, Quinine is awkward, fat, idle, and cunning.  Brom likes birds, Quinine digs her nose into the ground.  They both love to cry from excess of emotion.  They know why they are punished.  Brom often vomits.  He is in love with a farm bitch.  Quinine, however, is still an innocent maiden.  They love going for walks across the fields and in the woods, but only with us.  I have to smack them almost every day:  they grab patients by the trousers, they quarrel when they eat, and so on.  They sleep in my room.

And on his affection for the dogs, his sister noted:

Every evening Quinine would come up to Anton, put her front paws on his knees and look into his eyes pathetically and devotedly.  He would change his expression and say in a broken old man's voice:  'Quinine!  You poor old thing!  You ought to go to hospital, you'd feel better there.'  He spent a whole thirty minutes talking to the dog and made everyone in the house helpless with laughter.  Then came Brom's turn.  He too would put his front paws on Anton's knee and the fun would start again.
(Source:  Anton Chekhov: a life)

Find out more about Anton Chekhov at wikipedia.

Chekhov chats with Leo Tolstoy in 1900

Saturday Night Dachshund Rock & Roll Party

(Turn the volume all the way up)

We love Foo Fighters. Thanks so much to our pals 'Oscar' and 'Hans' for sending in the link! They write:

There's a DACHSHUND in the Foo Fighter's "DOA" video!

He makes several appearances...and even has a "speaking role" at 3:34. :)


Rock Bark on.

The Sad Story of Matthew the Wirehair Puppy

(Pre-surgery)

Things are looking up for this handsome fellow - now that he's in the good hands of Dachshund Rescue of North America.  Thanks so much to Barb, a DRNA volunteer who helped transport this sweetie last week, and wanted to share his troubling story. 

When people hear Matthew's story they shake their heads, tear up a little and say things like "what type of monster would do this to a puppy" (along with more colorful statements about the person and what should be done to them). You see, Matthew was thrown out the window of a moving vehicle in Virginia Beach, VA and he was then hit by a truck last Wednesday. A witness to this offense stopped and collected the standard wirehair Dachshund puppy and rushed him to a nearby Animal Emergency Hospital. The Vets there stabilized him, made him comfortable and contacted Dachshund Rescue of North America (DRNA) to see if they would take Matthew into their care and get him the extensive surgery he needed to survive. After a few phone calls Matthew was transported 3 hours north to a Specialist at Springfield Veterinary Referral Center the next morning in the care of DRNA. Additional x-rays showed the extent of Matthew's injuries. Along with road rash, Matthew has 2 fractured rear femurs involving growth plates and a fractured rear tibia that all required pins. And sacroiliac joint dislocation, this is where the hip bone, iliac bone, connects to sacrum or where the hip joins the spinal column. This needed to be fixed with 2 hip screws. He also has a fractured right hip socket that currently they are hoping with crate rest will repair itself; otherwise will require a later surgery to pin. All this damage to a puppy Veterinarians estimate to be 9 months to a year old. Surgery was performed on Friday and it went very well. They are unable to cast his back legs because he needs daily physical therapy on his rear legs to prevent quadriceps contracture. Throughout all this Matthew has charmed everyone he has been in contact with. Even when he was in pain all he wanted to do is to give kisses. Matthew was discharged from the Hospital on Monday and is in loving DRNA foster care. Please keep this little dachshund in your thoughts and prayer as he begins his road to recovery.

If you would like to donate towards Matthew's surgery and future physical therapy, please go to http://www.drna.org/ and note "Matthew (DRNA # 04032)" on the donation.

(Post-surgery)

Dieting Dachshunds Lose 43 Pounds!

Wow.  We're so proud of these beautiful rescue girls: 'Pretzel' and 'Schnitzel!'  In just 4 months, Standard Pretzel has gone from a staggering 60 pounds to a svelte 27 pounds, and Mini Schnitzel from 33 to 17 pounds.  This special duo is available for adoption to the right family at the Humane Society in Lansing, Michigan.  Read more at WILX.
If you're having trouble viewing this embedded video (like we are! - there is a conflict with another news video on the page), you can click on the title of this post and try viewing it there, or trying at the link to WILX.

Photobooth Dachshund

Our friends Kyley & 'Ammo' write:

Hi Joey and Maggie,

My Dachshund, Ammo, and I really enjoy reading your blog. (Ammo especially loves the videos you find with Dachshunds in them). We found your blog because a while ago you had featured one of my videos of Ammo playing with my pony (which coincidentally has since been shown on Animal Planet - America's Cutest Dogs).

I thought I would share with you one of my famous works of art that features Dachshunds (via Etsy).

My "Photobooth Series" was a finalist in the 2006 Adobe Design Achievement Awards. This particular set features my own Dachshund, Ammo. I found that out of all the animals I photograph, the Dachshund is by far the most expressive and easy to capture on camera.

Anyway, just wanted to share...thought you might like it! :-)

Kyley & Ammo

Hey thanks for sending in the great photo set, and congratulations on its success.  We love it!  Ammo is quite the Dachshund - we enjoy his videos! 

Keep up with Kyley & Ammo on their fun and informative blog:  The Trick Ponies of Chincoteague

Riddle Me This

Q:  Why did the Dachshund bite Rush Limbaugh in the ankle?

A:  Because he couldn't reach any higher.

Would You - Could You - Debark Your Dachshund?

Could you debark your dog?  That's the question thousands of dog lovers are answering all over the country after this article was published in The New York Times on Tuesday.  Meet 'Nestlé,' right, a Dachshund-terrier mix who had his vocal cords cut by a veterinary surgeon after a neighbor in the family’s apartment building on New York's Upper East Side threatened to complain to the co-op board about the noisy dog. His human, Dr. Mike Marder, who is also a veterinarian, says that the new addition to the family, 'Truffle' will also probably be debarked unless she quickly learns to play quietly.  Excerpt from The New York Times:

Although there is no reliable estimate as to how many dogs have had their vocal cords cut, veterinarians and other animal experts say that dogs with no bark can readily be found — but not necessarily heard — in private homes, on the show-dog circuit, and even on the turf of drug dealers, who are said to prefer their attack dogs silent.
The surgery usually leaves the animal with something between a wheeze and a squeak. The procedure, commonly referred to as debarking, has been around for decades, but has fallen out of favor, especially among younger veterinarians and animal-rights advocates.
Dr. Marder said that Nestlé’s surgery stopped the neighbor’s complaints, and “it really did not change the dog’s personality whatsoever,” adding, “He’s certainly a tail-waggy, happy guy.”

Read all about it, see another photo, and listen to Nestlé "bark" at The New York Times.  Thanks to our pals at Flying Dachshunds Films (one of our favorite videographers!) for sending in the link.

Vintage Dachshund Fun: Good Housekeeping Magazine

(click image to enlarge)

Thanks so much to our pals 'Peaches' and 'Piper,' who write:

Dear Joey and Maggie,

We were watching Rachel Ray this morning and they were talking about Good Housekeeping's 125th anniversary. As they were showing old covers, we spotted one with a Dachshund! So cute!!! While looking for that one on the internet, we came across this one (above).

This is the one (Nov. 1950) we saw on the show.  Artist: Alex Ross

Note:  The November 1950 issue is available now on e-Bay, starting at $9.99!  Would look great framed! 

Vintage High Fashion Hermes Dachshund Scarf

Time to clean out your closets.  If you've got one of these laying around and you ain't wearing it, it might bring some much needed cash during these troubling times.  This vintage 1960's Hermès silk scarf designed by Xavier de Poret recently sold at auction for $616.54.  Do you wear it or frame it? 

If you're the new owner of said scarf, email your Long and Short of it All hostess 'Maggie.'  She wants to borrow it.

Nevada Firefighters Rescue Dachshund AND Pay The Vet Bill

Need a feel-good story?  As if it's not enough that firefighters risk their lives every day protecting people and the community, but finding $680 in funds to pay for a Dachshund's veterinay bill?  Awesome. 
Meet 'Tango,' a red smooth Dachshund who was rescued from a burning apartment building last Thursday in Reno, Nevada, along with humans, a chihuahua, and a hamster.  Tango is seen here receiving oxygen after the tragedy, which caused over $60,000 in damages.
Tango was taken to Klaich Animal Hospital for further treatment, and is expected to fully recover.  The funds used for Tango's veterinary care were from The Reno Firefighters’ Community Assistance Program (CAP).  Excerpt from the Reno Gazette Journal:

“While funds raised by Reno firefighters for CAP are usually used to pay for basic needs for individuals or families impacted by fire and other emergencies throughout the year, this kind of financial support for a family experiencing the trauma of a fire can be just as critical, especially since pets are usually considered a part of the family,” CAP Chairman Dale Kiriaze said in a statement.

CAP originated many years ago to assist family members of injured firefighters being treated at distant regional burn centers with expenses not covered by insurance such as travel, car rental, motel and meal expenses. However, the organization has evolved to serve a broader purpose in addition to the original program concept. Funds to support CAP are raised through direct donations to the non-profit organization, through its annual 49ers vs. firefighters basketball game, through raffle items offered at firefighter retirement dinners, and other special events, as well as through the sale of the off-duty RFD logo items.

Read more and see another photo at the Reno Gazette Journal.

Is Parvo On The Rise In Australia?

Veterinarians in Ipswich, Queensland are warning dog owners to make sure that their pets are immunized against the deadly parvovirus after a recent spike in cases.  Dr Scott Campbell from the Booval Veterinary Hospital, seen here examining our black and tan hero 'Digby,'  said last year he saw six dogs with the deadly virus.  But in a worrying trend his clinic has seen four cases in the past few weeks alone.  Find out more at The Queensland Times.