THE DACHSHUND 235 



and so solely associated with the badger by those who patronise 

 and stand fast by the breed. This is not the case in the Continental 

 countries, where it chiefly predominates, and where its name has 

 become more familiar in the semi-diminutive, semi-nicknames of 

 Daxel or Teckel. Had the dog come to us under any other name 

 than Dachshund, and its inevitable translation of ' badger-dog,' there 

 would seem to be' every reason to believe it would have taken better 

 place as a worker than it has done so far. 



To properly appreciate the position that the Dachshund holds 

 in the countries that chiefly esteem it, it is necessary for the un- 

 acquainted British amateur to compare it with the position held by 

 some of our Terrier breeds. It is unnecessary to particularise ; but 

 for the present purpose any popular breed of working Terrier may 

 be taken as representative. In these islands we should have a 

 standard of excellence which would govern the positions of the 

 best-bred dogs at shows and elsewhere, a general type of well-bred 

 members of the breed, and the usual mongrel riff-raff; we should 

 have dogs bred and kept mainly for showing, others for pets or 

 companions, and others bred and maintained solely for work in the 

 special direction and under the special conditions demanded by 

 various circumstances. Such is precisely the position of the 

 Dachshund in the Continental countries named ; but it holds an 

 additional one, possessed by no other single breed in the British 

 Isles it is essentially the companion of the sportsman, the woods- 

 man, and the gamekeeper. Whatever the resources of the kennels of 

 the one or the other, one or more Dachshunds seem to be a sine 

 qua non, and in the vast majority of cases the Daxel or Teckel will 

 be a useful, well-trained dog, well up to any of the chance work 

 such as a gamekeeper or a sportsman would come across in going 

 his rounds, or in an ordinary stroll over the preserve with dog 

 and gun. 



This class of Dachshund serves as a sort of general utility dog. 

 If a hare or a rabbit be wounded by a shot, the dog will find or 

 retrieve it ; a varmint be found in a trap, it will kill it ; if there be 

 fur or feather to be found and driven from covert, the dog is trained 

 and is quite equal to the task. 



These are all services such as one can command from one or 

 other of our own breeds of dogs employed for sport ; but then a 

 single properly trained Dachshund will perform them all, whilst 

 the little hounds may also be trained to work more associated with 

 their name, and which I shall describe in detail later on. 



It has been made clear so far that the Dachshund is capable of 

 work in wood, covert, or field, of no mean order, and it is now 

 necessary to see how these faculties for work can be developed. To 

 this end we must take some stock of the breed as we now possess 

 it. Those who are responsible for the type of Dachshund have 



