Dachshund News Roundup!

So, the Olympics are half over and we still don't know whether to root for our home team or for Germany, the Motherland. These politically correct dachshunds know the right answer however in this photo titled Go World! by the fantastic flickr photographer geckoam. The Beijing 2008 Olympic Medals are awarded here according to age, 'Pepper' - Gold, 'Levi' - Silver, and 'Mocha' - Bronze, but the photographer notes: "but of course, I'd give them all Gold!" Make sure to check out more pics of the trio at flickr!

The Woodury Bulletin out of Minnesota says: Forget the Olympics in Beijing — the real athletes were taking part in the Third Annual Dachshund Dash in Woodbury on Saturday. Woof! Above, meet some contestants of the costume contest in conjunction with the races, Queen of the Harvest and Robin Hood. Read all about the charity event at the Woodbury Bulletin.

Sharon Enos cradles her 16-year-old red smooth, 'Beethoven,' at the First Baptist Church relief center on Friday after a fire forced them to evacuate the 7-story retirement home where they reside in Vallejo, California. Over 100 residents were evacuated, but we're glad to hear that no one was injured. Read all about it at the Times-Herald.

Finally, over 5,000 dog lovers attended the 14th annual Wiener Dog Nationals at River Downs in Cincinnati, Ohio. Above, 'Mister Runt' is off to a flying start from Courtney Cumminds of Maysville. Read all about the charity event and see another pic at the Cincinnati.com.

Have a great Monday!

Intense Dachshund Training

Pretty Finnish wirehair 'Harmi-Armi' learns how to track a fox through a series of mazes at the Fox Academy. Riveting stuff! Be sure to check out all the videos by tiklas at youtube, they've put together some highly entertaining dachshund videos (especially if you like Johnny Cash) including Harmi Armi as a puppy, and a whole pack of wirehairs enjoying a romp on a foggy day. Woof!

Dachshund Love Stories

Kisses! Meet red smooth 'Jasper' and his human Bernard Christelle, who hail from Sun City, Arizona. Jasper lost the use of his legs several years ago when he attempted to jump from the couch and onto a chair. He missed the chair and in the process broke one of his vertebrae and separated his spine.
Many people have asked, Christelle said, why he didn't euthanize Jasper after the dog's injuries failed to heal.
"I wouldn't even think about it because this dog means so much to me," he said.
Read all about how special Jasper is and see another pic at YourWestValley.com. Jasper is the well-deserved top story of the day!

Dachshunds Sing for Their Supper in the News

Nadine Bodnar of Fullerton, California, sings with her wirehair 'Ziggy' last night at the Dog Days of Summer talent competition in Fullerton. Tell us all about it Ziggy! Eighty-eight dogs competed for medals, and another wirehair trotted off with a medal for Waggiest Tail in the West. Read all about it and see lots of pics at the OC Register.

It's a small dachshund world; your Long and Short of it All hostess Maggie has the exact same rhinestone collar that Ziggy does not to mention the same harness with a different patch!

Mini Retires in Style

Meet little 'Mini,' who hails from the Palm Garden retirement home in Aventura, Florida. Mini has been the house dog for years at the retirement home, bringing comfort and companionship to its residents. A back injury forced her to get wheels, but that never slowed her down. Now she's retiring and moving on to live with one of the employee's of the home. We're so proud of you Mini! Read her heartwarming story and see a really nice video at CBS4. Woof!

Dakota Fighting Dachshunds

Yep, football can be a fantasy, and this is who we're rooting for. What a great team logo!

My Dachshund Knows Death Approaches

My Dachshund Knows Death Approaches
by Zoe Akins for the American Dachshund, 20th Anniversary Edition, September, 1959

A Chinese bronze was never more sturdy looking
Than my red dachshund - styled
Heavy and bold and long of body
With improbably short legs
And intelligent eyes in her beautiful hound's head
Draped by improbably long satin ears.

But slowly now she has grown old;
Slowly her face has taken on a gray look,
The bronze coat going gray here and there;
This was to be expected in time
But not yet
With all the sturdiness suddenly
Sagging out of the still sturdy-looking body.

...Always when she heard me coming
I would hear her little scampering feet
Scamper on the wooden floor
Like so many mice, and her short barks of joy.
To be always welcomed with joy
Is a lovely thing;
And a dog's welcome
Is one of the prettiest things I know.

But only her eyes can welcome me now;
She can not longer cavort about my knees
And dance on her absurdly short hind legs
As when her feet scampered like mice
To meet mine.

She does not bark at all now;
To welcome or guard me.
She does not come and wait
With her front feet on a chair
To be invited to her special place
At the foot of my bed.
Even though I call her
She does not come.
Even a strange sound in the house
Does not rouse her to protect me.

Instead she lies too quietly
On the blanket in her basket,
Not sleeping; only waiting
Her somber eyes telling me
That the fun is over.

Photo: Teckelheim 'Ibby' of Greenburg at eighteen years of age plays like a puppy for her owner, Carolyn Gill of Modesto, California.

Related: Dachshund Poetry

Dachshunds Who Live in the Past

When can we move in? Meet Joanne Massey and her dachshunds, who live in a recreation of a 1950s home in Stafford, England. Joanne is a housewife, and her husband is a graphics application designer. She says: I love nothing better than fastening my pinny round my waist and baking a cake for Kevin in my 1950s kitchen.
I put on some lovely Frank Sinatra music and am completely lost in my own little fantasy world. In our marriage, I am very much a lady and Kevin is the breadwinner and my protector.
I admit I am in retreat from the 21st century. When I look at the reality of the world today, with all the violence, greed and materialism, I shudder. I don't want to live in that world.

We hear ya, Joanne. Read all about some Time Warp Wives and see some fun pics at The Daily Mail.

Slightly related: Dita Von Teese and her Dachshunds

Wiener Takes All: DVD Release!

Finally! If you haven't seen this film on the film festival circuit, and even if you have, now is your chance to own your own copy! Wiener Takes All will be released at the end of September, and you can pre-order your copy now. It's anticipated that the first run of 1,000 DVDs will sell out quickly, so get your order in. There's talk that the film will be making an appearance at film festivals in 10 more cities soon, and that could be your last chance to see it on the big screen. There's even a rumor that the film might make it on to a television network, but don't tell anybody we told you that! Check out Wiener Takes All to keep informed about the additional screenings.

Related coverage, reviews, trailer: Wiener Takes All

Dachshund Digs Up Wallet Lost for 60 Years

Meet 9-year-old red smooth 'Bagon,' and his human Betty Burgess, who hail from Herrin, Illinois. Bagon, who loves to dig for worms, floored his family on Saturday by digging up a family wallet which had been lost for some 60 years! Good boy Bagon! The wallet had several intact items including a family member's Social Security card, a coal miner's card, a 1949 calendar, Betty Crocker coupons, newspaper clippings and two rings in the change purse. Read all about it the Southern Illinoisan.

Slightly related: UK wirehair 'Daisy' digs up mammoth dinosaur bone: Look What the Dachshund Dug Up

PS: Did someone say bacon? We could've sworn we heard the word bacon. Ahhh...BACON.

That Contagious Yawn

'Dottie' the Dachshund Yawns by Mike Propst

A study released last week in the UK reveals what you may have known all along: yawns are contagious from human to dog. Dogs yawn for many reasons, but researchers feel that your dog yawns when you do as a sign of empathy. Here is the abstract of the article published in Biology Letters by a team led by Dr Atsushi Senju of Birkbeck College, University of London: This study is the first to demonstrate that human yawns are possibly contagious to domestic dogs (Canis familiaris). Twenty-nine dogs (including dachshunds) observed a human yawning or making control mouth movements (where people just opened their mouths). Twenty-one dogs yawned when they observed a human yawning, but control mouth movements did not elicit yawning from any of them. The presence of contagious yawning in dogs suggests that this phenomenon is not specific to primate species and may indicate that dogs possess the capacity for a rudimentary form of empathy. Since yawning is known to modulate the levels of arousal, yawn contagion may help coordinate dog–human interaction and communication. Understanding the mechanism as well as the function of contagious yawning between humans and dogs requires more detailed investigation.
Personally, we think this shows that the bond between a human and their dog is essentially limitless. Does your dachshund yawn when you do?
Make sure to check out more pics of red smooth Dottie over at flickr!

The View From Above

Look closely, dear dachshund readers. We love it! This satellite photo is either a sign of the impending dachshund revolution, or a 50-foot-long homage to the well-loved black and tan smooth 'Clams,' who we featured last January: CEOs Relax With Their Dachshunds. Clams is making waves again, as he was chosen as Mr. August 7th, 2008 at Dog of the Day. Way to go Clams!


Read all about the handsome 9-year-old boy in a great little article, including a few fun facts (like we didn't already know he was gorgeous!) and see another great pic at Dog of the Day.
Slightly Related: Signs of the Dachshund Revolution Surface in Washington, DC

When It's Time to Roll

Sometimes when life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. Dachshunds are among many breeds of dogs who, after a loss of the use of their legs, go on to live a happy and fulfilled life with the help of a wheelchair. Above, measuring dogs for a wheelchair requires two to three people. Leslie Grinnell (center), president of Eddie's Wheels, gets help taking eight different measurements on 'Sweet Pea' from Carole Groman and Chris Van Rooyen. 'Daisy,' the red smooth dachshund mascot of Eddie's Wheels, watches to make sure the humans are doing everything correctly. The Boston Globe offers up a great little article on wheelchairs for pets with a nice Q&A. Don't miss it.

Related: Eddie's Wheels Featured on the Today Show

Learn about dachshunds and Intervertebral Disc Disease (IVDD) at Dodger's List. What a great resource. There's always a link to Dodger's List in the links column on your right. They have a very active discussion list, and are real pros when it comes to offering advice for IVDD dachshunds and general dachshund health.

The Luxurious Dachshund

The Luxury Pet Pavilion, the world's only traveling trade show for luxury pet products, is proud to announce the winners of their 2008 Fall Show "Best of Best" awards. Meet the Best Dressed Dog: 'Magnolia,' a beautiful red smooth owned by The Davis Family and dressed by Emma Rose Design. Magnolia will serve as the official model and spokesdog for the 2009 Luxury Pet Pavilion Spring Show in Los Angeles. Find out more in this press release.

Dachshund Gene Mutation May Help Humans With Blindness

These aren't your ordinary doggles that this wire-hair is sporting. They're specially designed sunglasses to aid in his vision, as he suffers from dayblindness caused by inherited cone-rod dystrophy (CRD). In a study published online in Genome Research, researchers have identified a novel mutation in a gene associated with CRD in dogs, raising hopes that potential therapies can be developed for people suffering from these eye disorders. Let's go dachshunds! Read more about it in this press release.

Related: Day Blindness in the Wirehaired Dachshund

A Note From Joey and Maggie

We're trying to catch up! Hello, dachshund friends! Holy cow, it's been almost an entire week since we last posted, and we sure have missed you all. Dad got a loaner computer for us to work with, and we were able to save most of our files on disc from the last computer. We're still missing sound, a scanner, and good photo software, but a new computer is coming in a few weeks, so we'll be back up to speed soon. We're not exactly sure where to start posting again, but we'll just throw ourselves into the fire and see what happens. Not much new with us, but we had a nice weekend. We went to a farmer's market and a Chicago street festival. There's so much food on the ground at street festivals, it's just heaven. It's a wonder we don't get sick from what we manage to find. Dad got us some locally grown raw city honey at the farmer's market...he says it's supposed to help prevent us from getting allergies among a bunch of other things. All we know is that it sure tastes sweet on our food. Let's roll.

Technical Difficulties; Please Stand By

So our computer crashed, but we'll be back soon with more dachshund news and culture. Joey is working his tail off on the hardware (imposable thumbs would be SO nice right about now!), and Maggie's paws are doing overtime trying to extract the hundreds of dachshund files that were saved for future posts. You can't cry over spilt milk, but we're hoping the files can be saved. A word of advice: do NOT do a google search for "vintage leather dog collar," no matter how nice it would be to have one. The long and short of it is that you'll get a really nasty virus.

We'll see you soon!

Yours in dachshund love,
Joey and Maggie

Dachshunds in Pop Culture: Richard Barthelmess, Continued

Who? Read all about Richard Barthelmess and see more photos in last month's post: Dachshunds in Pop Culture: Richard Barthelmess. Above, the screen actor, his wife, and their dachshunds arrive at Grand Central Station from California on January 5th, 1936.
We love it when humans travel with their dachshunds; we're so portable. It's no wonder we get upset when we're left at home....we'll be good, we promise! We wish they still made sharp coats like that by the way....the dog coats, not the fur.

Dachshunds in History: Hark! Hark! The Dogs Do Bark!

(click image to enlarge)

While we aren't too thrilled with the abuse we suffered at the hands of a few during the first world war, what a beautiful piece of dachshund history. Thanks to BibliOdyssey for posting and painstakingly transcribing the text of this satirical map, which was published in London in 1914. Here's an excerpt of the text: "The Dogs of War are loose in Europe, and a nice noise they are making! It was started by a Dachshund that is thought to have gone made -- though there was so much method in his madness that this is doubtful. [NOTE FOR THE IGNORANT: The German for Dog is Hund. The English for German is Hun. Dachshund means badger-dog -- and he is sometime more badgered than he likes.] Mated with the Dachshund, for better or for worse, was an Austrian Mongrel. By the fine unwritten law of Dogdom big dogs never attack little dogs. There are, however, scallywags in every community, and, egged on by the Dachshund for private ends, the Mongrel started bullying a little Servian. And the fat was in the fire, for the little Servian had a great big friend in the form of a Russian Bear, and he stood up for his pal. And that was what the Dachshund wanted. He hoped that a big row would ensue, and in the confusion he intended to steal a bone or two that he had his eye on for some time. He got what he wanted -- and a little more. For the Russian Bear had friends too. There was a very game little Belgian Griffon, and there was a great big French Poodle, a smart dandified fellow, and there was a Bulldog.
Read the rest and see more great pieces of history at BibliOdyssey.

Life With Dachshunds

Proving yet again that dachshunds are such an important part of our lives and families, here's a dachshund news roundup on a wet, yet soon to be sunny Friday, August 1st, 2008. Above, they met at a Morrissey concert in Seattle, married, and are moving back to Long Island, New York: meet Melissa and Jason White, son Antonio, and their dachshunds. Read all about their house hunt at the New York Times.



Who's Morrissey? He's our hero. In this video to his 1988 song Suedehead, Morrissey heads to Fairmount, Indiana to fondle some James Dean artifacts. A previous dachshund of ours, Louie (RIP), got to meet Morrissey once, and got a good scratch on the belly from the man.


Jessie Nordstrom, 17, center, helps Kyle Severin, 20, with his miniature dachshund 'DeWALT' Wednesday during the Larimer County Fair parade in Loveland, Colorado. The two rode aboard and walked alongside the Wranglers 4-H Club float with a theme of a bountiful garden. Source.


Red smooth 'Lance,' who hails from Miami, Florida, is a special dachshund who doesn't let his new wheels keep him down. Lance is now a certified therapy dog who visits pediatric patients and the elderly in wheelchairs twice a month. “He gives them so much hope and joy,” his human says.“I don’t think there’s anything more fulfilling than walking down the hospital corridor with this little guy. He is a superhero.” Read all about the wonderdog at the Sun-Sentinel.


Monica and Marcy Bock play with two of their dachshunds in their Yakima, Washington home. The couple will be registering as partners under Washington's new domestic partnership law. In the past year, nearly 5,000 couples have registered as domestic partners in Washington. Read more about the new law at Yakima-Herald.

Fashion designers Traver Rains and Richie Rich with their smooth piebald (click to enlarge). Source.


Ten bloggers. Fifteen dachshunds. One blog. Lots of dachshund life to discuss at the new Who's Your Dachshund?


Finally, while we don't think that 'Beau' was a dachshund, this is a poem that will certainly bring a tear to the eye of any dog lover. The legendary Jimmy Stewart recites his poem Beau on Johnny Carson.
Have a great Friday. Love your Dachshund.